OIM3565 Agile Experimentation
4 Advanced Management Credits
Business leaders and entrepreneurs should be Agile digital experimenters, capable of innovating by combining available technologies and services into digital experiences. In this course, students will learn about Agile digital entrepreneurship and follow an Agile methodology to conceive and create an internet of things (IoT) solution with a clear value proposition.
Agile Experimentation (AgileEx) is an experiential course in which teams of students use agile methodologies to design and prototype viable innovations combining hardware and software elements. The course involves:
- Practicing Agile project management methodologies and software, and learning how to scale Agile environments from small startups to large organizations
- Designing and building IoT devices with sensors and actuators, and programming hardware (i.e., Arduino microcontrollers)
- Designing digital interfaces (e.g., interactions, app mockups, information flows) with software tools
- Running experiments and surveying customers to test hypotheses and improve the prototype
- Building an innovation that is a feasible and responsible market solution
- Presenting your work in a final pitch that showcases your prototype and its market viability
- Learning about emerging technologies
The course aims to train business graduates who are confident life-long learners of technology, can work in Agile environments, and can participate in the development of innovative and responsible technological solutions.
Prerequisites: SME2012
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3565
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7525 Agile Experimentation
1.5 Elective Credits
Agile Experimentation (AgileEx) is an experiential course in which teams of students use agile methodologies to design and prototype viable Internet of Things (IoT) innovations combining hardware and software components. The course involves:
- Practicing Agile/SCRUM project management methodologies and software, and learning how to scale Agile environments from small startups to large organizations
- Designing and building IoT (or wearable) devices with sensors and actuators, and programming hardware (i.e., Arduino boards)
- Designing digital interfaces and processes (e.g., app mockups, process diagrams) with software tools
- Running experiments and surveying customers to test hypotheses and iterate in the development of a prototype
- Building an innovation with a clear value proposition
- Learning about emerging technologies
- Presenting your work in a final pitch that showcases your prototype and its market viability
The course aims to train business graduates who are confident life-long learners of technology, can work in Agile environments, and can participate in the development of innovative technological solutions that integrate hardware and software components.
The course does not require programming, Agile, or software/hardware prototyping experience.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7525
- Number of Credits: 1.5
EPS 7509: AI Pioneers: Creating the Future of Business
3 elective credit
This experiential seminar explores the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential for creating new business opportunities. Students will learn about cutting-edge technologies in AI, such as machine learning, computer vision, neural networks, and natural language processing. We will also cover recent developments in the AI industry and the impact of venture capital investment on AI startups. Throughout the course, students will have the opportunity to experiment with AI technologies and develop their own innovative projects. By the end of the course, students will have a deep understanding of the current state of AI and the potential for new business opportunities in this field. This course is ideal for students interested in the intersection of entrepreneurship and technology.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7509
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN4545 Alternative Investments
4 Advanced Management Credits
This course provides an overview of alternative investments along with several non-traditional investment strategies. It is intended not only for finance and investment professionals, but also for those with an entrepreneurial and disruptor spirit. The course begins with a brief review of traditional investments of publicly traded stocks and bonds along with their limitations and imperfections. Students will then consider alternative investment vehicles such as private equity, venture capital, commodities, income producing real properties, licensing and royalty rights, cryptocurrencies, and social impact investing. We will also consider the move toward ESG investments (environment, social and governance) and their emphasized role in the alternative sphere. Students will analyze case studies involving The Endowment Model for Investing, Fund of Funds, Peer-to-Peer Lending, and Social Impact Investing, culminating in a team based capstone project. The course materials will challenge students to recognize investment anomalies that the marketplace has not recognized. The course will also provide an overview of the material for the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Program (CAIA) professional certification. Students will develop a robust knowledge base for careers in portfolio management, investment product development, compliance, consulting, and risk management.
Prerequisites: SME 2021 or FIN2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN4545
- Number of Credits: 4
LIT4661 American Autobiography
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsAutobiography, always popular, has reached new heights of acclaim in recent years - especially in the United States. Why do readers find it so attractive? Sensationalist, exhibitionist, self-serving, revelatory, probing: while it can be all of this and more, autobiography as a literary genre has its roots in a person's desire for expression and meaning. As its writers explain themselves to the world, they explain the world to themselves, imposing on it their views and causes. Autobiography can demonstrate how history is made in words, not found; how people make sense of their own lives. Reading a cross-section of such works written by authors living in what is now the United States compels us to question simplistic notions of what _America_ stands for, and to rediscover its promises and its meanings in its variety and conflict.
This is an upper-level liberal arts course. Readings range from Benjamin Franklin to the present.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4661
- Number of Credits: 4
LIT4608 American Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course is a deep dive into literary works representing three major movements in American literature: Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism. Romanticism is thematically concerned with nature and the common man, the frontier and immigration. Our study may include Thoreau, Whitman, and Morrison, as well as the genres of the gothic story and the slave narrative. Realism and Naturalism are often understood as reactions to Romanticism and are thematically concerned with man-made reality, objectivity and Darwinian ideas. Our study may include Wharton, Dreiser, and contemporary U.S. fiction.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4608
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB3507 An Irish Journey: Leadership, Collaboration & Innovation in the Creative Ecosystem in Ireland
4 Advanced Management Credits (Elective Abroad)This course will provide undergraduate students a unique opportunity to experience and examine the current economic, social and political trends in the creative ecosystem in Ireland. We will directly engage and interact with Irish entrepreneurs, business executives, artists, performers, athletes and historians to strive to understand the ways in which creativity and innovation occur, flourish and extend far beyond the boundaries of this relatively small island nation. Our goal will be to immerse ourselves into the creative processes, systems, cultural norms and institutions that have led Ireland to gain the reputation and standing as one of the most innovative economies in the world.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MOB3507
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7546 Analytical Managers and Organization
3 Blended Credits
This course is designed to teach MBA students what it means to be an analytical manager, and how to build the capabilities required to be a highly analytical organization. It addresses the non-statistical topics in analytical decision-making at the individual level (including framing the problem and communicating the results), which should complement statistically oriented courses at Babson. It also addresses the key factors (in the DELTTA model-data, enterprise, leadership, targets, technology, and analysts) necessary to succeed with analytics at the organizational level. It incorporates new course content specifically relevant to big data and analytics based on it. The course specifically delves into how both large and entrepreneurial organizations are addressing big data and analytics, and focuses in particular on how digital and online firms use and manage analytics. We'll discuss various industries' and functions' use of analytics, but the only one addressed in any depth is web analytics for digitally-oriented businesses.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7546
- Number of Credits: 3
QTM6600 Analytics for Decision-Makers
1.5 Credits (MSAEL core)Data exploration and data-driven decision making are integral in identifying and validating business opportunities. Depending on the nature of the problem and the institutional context, techniques ranging from classical statistical methods (descriptive and inferential statistics) to more recent advances in big data and tools (Excel, R, Tableau) might provide the greatest utility and deepest insights. In this course, we encounter selection of these techniques and develop our ability to formulate analytics problems in ambiguous contexts, quantify performance of various solutions, and articulate the key results of our analysis to a non-technical audience, including using visualization methods.
Prerequisites: MOB6600 and EPS6600
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: MSAEL (Grad)
- Course Number: QTM6600
- Number of Credits: 1.5
POL 4606: Ancient Athens and the Birth of Political Thought
4 advance liberal arts credits
Pericles famously called Athens the "school of Hellas," emphasizing the city's role as a leader in the Greek world and a hub of art, knowledge, and innovation. This study abroad class in Athens (and beyond) will explore the political thought of ancient Greece through an examination of key texts, archaeological sites, historical monuments, and theatrical performances. Students will engage with the ideas of Athenian philosophers and political leaders, including Plato, Aristotle, and Pericles, and will learn about the development of democracy and empire in Athens. The class will also take day trips to other sites within Greece, including Delphi, Epidaurus, Olympia, as well as the mines at Laurion, Mycenae, and Olympia. We will attend a theatrical performance in ancient Greek (with supertitles in English) at the ancient theater of Epidaurus and take a day trip to Aegina, an island known for its ancient sites - and beautiful beaches! Through a combination of guided tours, lectures, and discussions, students will gain an understanding of the ancient Greek political system and the philosophers who shaped it. Readings, discussions, and writing assignments will be assigned to provide context and background for the sites visited and to help students to develop critical thinking skills and an understanding of the historical, cultural, and political themes that are explored during the tour.​​​​​​​
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: POL4606
- Number of Credits: 4