DukeUniversity's Pratt School of Engineering has appointed technology entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa as executive-in-residence in the Master of Engineering Management program. Wadhwa will serve as a mentor to students in the program and assist faculty interested in commercializing technology developed at Duke.
Wadhwa is the founder and ex-CEO of Relativity Technologies in Raleigh, N.C. He co-founded Seer Technologies in Cary, N.C., in 1990. From 1986 to 1990, he was vice president of information services at Credit Suisse First Boston in New York.
Wadhwa is a regular columnist for BusinessWeek Online and has been frequently profiled in major media outlets. He was founding president of TiE Carolinas, an entrepreneurial networking and mentoring group, and has advised dozens of business executives.
"Providing students access to a seasoned, successful international entrepreneur such as Vivek Wadhwa is one of the most powerful teaching resources we can offer," said Jeff Glass, director of the Master of Engineering Management (MEM) Program. "His participation will strengthen the industry relevance of our program and enable students to explore different career options through one-on-one mentorship, seminars and workshops."
Glass said Wadhwa will advise faculty interested in commercializing technology developed at Duke. Glass said he hopes to engage Wadhwa in campus entrepreneurial activities such as the Duke Startup Challenge and TechEval. Wadhwa will also assist in establishing a corporate advisory board of top industry leaders for the MEM program.
"I am really excited about the opportunity to give back to the community by helping teach and mentor the next generation of industry leaders," Wadhwa said. "DukeUniversity's engineering school is researching an amazing set of technologies, and some of these may do a lot of good for the world. The MEM program is very unique in the way it provides real-world management training for technologists. I look forward to contributing to these initiatives."
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The MEM program combines a core management curriculum with a masters-level technical education and an engineering internship. Program courses include business law, finance, marketing and management courses, with an emphasis on technology management, innovation managementand entrepreneurship.For more information about MEM, visit its website at http://memp.pratt.duke.edu/index.php.