Bobby Bahram Credits Jenkins MBA for Setting Him on Entrepreneurial Path
Bobby Bahram did not always feel destined for the entrepreneurs’ life, but that is the path he’s been on since graduating from the NC State Poole College’s Jenkins MBA program in 2001.
Bahram had selected Entrepreneurship and Technology Commercialization (TEC) as his MBA concentration, and says he ‘immediately felt at home.’ He also completed the finance concentration. The combination has served him well in his roles with start-up companies like Transloc Inc., where he is chief finance officer and chief operating officer; RadarFind Corporation, which he co-founded; and IBM, where he was involved in product development and spinoffs.
During a visit to Poole College’s Nelson Hall location, Bahram praised the TEC program, saying “it is a real differentiator for the college.”
He knows the program well. Not only was he one of first groups of MBA students to complete the curriculum, but he now is a guest speaker in current students’ spring TEC class, talking about financing for start-ups. He also speaks on the topic for the CED in Raleigh and other organizations. “I help out where I can,” he said.
TEC is one example of how Poole College incorporates real world experience in its academic programs by having teams of students work on projects for companies or, in the TEC case, new technologies that may have potential for commercialization. Read the full story about Bobby Bahram on the NC State Jenkins MBA website.
About Poole College’s Real World Approach to Business Education
Poole College was established in 1992 to provide management education with an emphasis on teaching students with a technology oriented background. The college’s faculty embraced this mission and have developed concentrations of study that enable students to delve deep into real world problems through team-based practicum projects. Students in these practicum experiences – completed in collaboration with company mentors – provide solutions and occasionally launch new businesses. The teams are often interdisciplinary, involving students in design, engineering and textiles, and several of the courses are co-taught with faculty in the other disciplines. Students are invited to report on their projects during the college’s Leadership and Innovation Showcase held each spring. The TEC program’s website is currently being redeveloped.
Other project-based curricula are managed by the BioSciences Management Initiative, Enterprise Risk Management Initiative, and the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative. Students also work on projects arranged by the college’s Center for Innovation Management Studies.
