Connected for Impact

Core capabilities

• Entrepreneurship, commercialization, and innovation

  Olin is recognized as a leader in entrepreneurship. For five straight years, we have been ranked as the #1 MBA for entrepreneurship. We have a host of unique educational experiences for our students, a great partner in Skandalaris Center, and a talented alumni community of entrepreneurs.

  Talented, too, are our faculty who engage in research in this domain. We aim to enhance our strategic focus by establishing a center to coordinate our activities in this domain and provide a unified approach to further growth.

  The university is focused on enhancing technology transfer and commercialization; Olin can apply its expertise in this area to the benefit of our university, our faculty, and our students. In collaboration with the new Vice Chancellor for innovation and chief commercialization officer, the office of technology management/tech transfer, Cortex, and the investment community, Olin can increase the impact of our university’s research. 

• Experiential learning

  Much knowledge is acquired in a lecture hall or library, but it’s equally important for students to roll up their sleeves and gain real-world experience.

  Business leaders are frequent guests in our courses, our students engage with alumni in a variety of fields, and educational programming from the Center for Experiential Learning provides hands-on experiences in a variety of professional settings. Whether that's interacting with a St. Louis-based startup or a major corporation in Singapore, real-world learning helps students gain the perspective and confidence that only come from experience.

  Although the university's job placement services are centralized in the Center for Career Engagement, Olin remains focused on ensuring that our students have the resources they need to earn the strongest job outcomes possible through our curriculum, course sequencing, alumni, networking opportunities, and other essential practices.

• Digital innovations

  Excellence in digital domains is essential to the success of our research and education mission. Though we have several courses and degrees that furnish students with modern methodologies, we must position ourselves to be at the forefront of emerging trends.

  Since innovations are a perennial area of demand for executive education, we need to ensure that our offerings are salient. With regards to AI, we are examining additional courses, training for our students, and upskilling and resourcing for faculty. Additionally, several of our faculty have processing-intensive research needs; we can address these needs in part through collaboration with the Digital Intelligence and Innovation initiative of Here and Next.

  The Center for Analytics and Business Insights will play a key role in these efforts. Finally, our Center for Digital Education is poised to become a leader in digital experiences and an indispensable resource for both Olin and WashU. We will invest in the people and infrastructure to achieve premier standing in this area.