University of Liverpool Management School MBA students take San Francisco!
Following months of planning, the Management School Liverpool MBA students set off from campus and arrived in San Francisco on Sunday 29 January with a packed calendar of events ahead of them!
Day one:
Following a full day of travelling, the trip kickstarted with a visit to Plant Connection SF as students heard from Chris Butler, Google Lead Product Manager for Machine Learning. Chris shared his experiences as a product manager and the techniques he created within his various roles at Google, Microsoft, Facebook and more. The morning session was followed with a lunch break at the Ferry Building as students enjoyed views of the Bay and the Bay Bridge.
The second half of the day was spent with Del Seymour, founder of Code Tenderloin which is a social enterprise focused on getting homeless people into the tech industry in San Francisco.
Day two:
Day two of the San Francisco trip saw Liverpool MBA students take a trip to Silicon Valley as they heard from University alum, Dinesh Sharma, who discussed his journey from the university to Silicon Valley designing microchips and founding several businesses in the valley.
The group also heard from Trevor Martin, Ted Tisch and Adriana Dantas Lemberg at Mammoth Biosciences who are delivering on the promise of genetic medicine to detect and cure disease.
Day three:
The third day of the trip saw students meet with Paula Reina, Founder of Audiochain, and hear about her experience in the changing role of blockchain after the crypto, while opening up the space to any group questions about being an entrepreneur in the field.
The group then spent the remainder of the day participating in a walking tour through China Town and Little Italy and then spending the afternoon as they wished. Some visited Alcatraz, the sea lions, Pier 39 attractions and some hired bikes and did a 40km ride across the city and Golden Gate Bridge!
Day four:
Day four saw students fully immerse themselves into the world of Artificial Intelligence with a talk led by alum Kristina Messdaghi. Kristina shared her story of how she started in AI and the various areas of focus that naturally evolved over time due to technology, market needs and her own visions of solving problems.
The group then went on to spend the afternoon with Jonathan Nelson, Venture Capitalist, who provided an introduction to the venture capitalist mindset, and Stomio's data. Students were then placed into groups as they had the opportunity to present their pitch deck for the venture capitalist and the start-up co-founder Ayham Ereksousi (joining virtually). The presentations concluded with Jonathan announcing a preferred winning team, and a discussion on the pitches.
Day five:
The penultimate day of the trip saw the group visit UC Berkeley's official start-up accelerator who help Californian entrepreneurs and transformational start-ups. Located at the top of the tallest building in downtown Berkeley, they combine the consulting know-how of traditional accelerators with the vast resources of the universities research prowess. This robust partnership is coupled with SkyDeck’s unique mentorship program to create a powerful environment for start-ups.
The Trip ended with wine tasting and Lunch at Merryvale Winery
Merryvale's proprietors, the Schlatter Family, are winemaking traditionalists with a deep respect for Napa's winemaking legacy and a dynamic vision for the future of Napa Valley. They are committed to preserving the winery's rich history without compromising their forward-looking plans. Working closely with Winemaker Andrew Wright, they have sharpened their focus on Bordeaux varieties, the wines for which Napa is most renowned.
Commenting on the trip Dr Dane Anderton, Director of ULMS MBA Programmes, said:
"The international trip is a significant moment for our students to fully appreciate the frontiers of business strategy and innovation. Working with partners and alumni across many different sectors, cultures and technologies we immerse students with practical challenges that have direct links back into the curriculum."
Thank you to Austral Education Group for organising our week and Kaylee S. for hosting the Management School.