Written by Abhishek Santosh, MS MIS ’23:
There are several reasons to pursue a Master’s degree in Management Information System at the University at Buffalo, but there was only one reason for me: product management centric coursework. And, if you want to change careers, UB’s MS in MIS program is the place to be. It is a perfect fit for students looking to venture into the product management sphere. For these reasons, I chose to enrol in this prestigious university.
Below are four key points to consider about how UB’s MS in MIS program can help you shape yourself into a product enthusiast.
- Coursework in product management. Specific courses, such as Digital Product Management, Enterprise Models and IT Project Management, give students a taste of what a product management role entail. Product management coursework instils core competencies such as conducting customer interviews, running design sprints, feature prioritization, roadmap planning and so on. Learning these competencies is the starting point for any product manager. Seasoned and experienced professors, Sam Marrazzo and Victor Stachura, assist you in honing these skills through hands-on experiments and presentations to large audiences.
- Product at UB (PUB): A dedicated club with product-minded students. PUB provides a platform for students to listen, participate and improve their knowledge by interacting with seasoned product managers. They conduct sessions on topics such as profile building, LinkedIn optimization, tools to learn, the need for system design and so on. These sessions help pave the way for students to ace their PM interviews and thrive in their roles. Students also use all these sessions to brainstorm, discover and innovate new products in the final mega event dubbed “PRODUCT HACKATHON.”
- Blackstone Launch Pad. Welcome to the world of pitching ideas and creating a Minimum Viable Product to be seeded. Launchpad hosts several competitions and bootcamps to quench your thirst for innovation. For example, Start Up Bootcamp assists enthusiasts in creating products from the ground up. Pitch your idea, form a team and create a presentation with an MVP to show to stakeholders are the steps.
- Opportunity to work as a product intern in the evolving startup ecosystem in Buffalo. Buffalo’s startup ecosystem is growing, and the University at Buffalo offers a variety of opportunities through internal websites such as Bizlink, Handshake and others to fill positions such as product intern, product analyst and so on. The Career Resource Center (CRC) assist students in delving deeper into their resumes and improving their academic pathway. Working in start-ups in Buffalo helps students gain a better understanding of how a product manager works before taking pursuing a full-time role.
BIO – Abhishek was born in Bangalore, India. Currently, he is a Master’s student at the State University of New York, Buffalo, class of 2022, majoring in Management Information systems with a specialization in Product Management. Abhishek is looking for a Product Manager Role in a global technology firm. Prior to University at Buffalo, he was a Software Development Engineer at Dell Technologies based in Bangalore, India. At Dell Technologies, he created Web applications aimed at improving the problem-solving capabilities of Dell’s Tech support Engineers and its partners. he developed and managed the releases of various modules and cloud applications at Dell, including the latest Digital Tech Console Application. Also, he is an innovator with 1 Granted and 3 Recognized Patents to his name by USPO. Abhishek did his undergraduate in Electronics and Telecommunication from Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Pune. Besides being a student at school, he loves venturing out and is in a constant mood to explore new hike trails, an extremely soft corner for the mountains! Also, he is a national-level squash player. Feel free to connect with him at asantosh@buffalo.edu, always up for a coffee chat.