On Wednesday, October 25, the Operations and Information Management Department (OPIM), held its 2nd annual Networking Dinner. This dinner is held for UConn School of Business Management Information Systems (MIS), Business Data Analytics (BDA), and Business Technology students, past and present, in order to enhance their networking skills and connect with people of similar backgrounds and interests.
This year’s Networking Dinner was held at UConn’s Graduate Business Learning Center in Downtown Hartford, where students, faculty, and alumni participated in a dinner similar to speed dating. At the dinner, alumni and faculty take their seats, and students move from table to table in between each course to speak to a new set of alumni. This networking method not only helped break the ice, but allowed for students to talk to more alumni in a structured setting.
Calvin Mahlstedt (’19) a junior MIS major, emphasized the importance of networking, not only for getting internships and jobs, but also for gaining valuable insight towards what others in the field have experienced and accomplished.
Each student attended the networking event for different reasons, some for insight on what alumni have experienced and others to hear about what the alumni have accomplished. However to many students, the largest benefit is being able to establish a connection with alumni for job opportunities and potential career paths after graduation.
A senior MIS student, Alex Martinez (’18), was happy to have attended the networking dinner because of the valuable connection he made. During one of his table rotations, Mr. Martinez met John Calabrese, an alumni who works at Travelers. Calabrese advocates for the program that he will be entering post graduation and Martinez is excited to have a connection when he makes that transition.
As the benefits for current student are evident, the event was also an opportunity for alumni to stay up to date on the advancements the department has made. During the dinner, the MIS Academic Director Jonathan Moore updated the audience on OPIM Innovate, a departmental initiative for experiential learning with emerging technology. He encouraged the alumni to become involved with teaching, workshops, and mentoring students within the department.