Welcome to IE!

As the Dean of the School of Science and Technology, I would like to take this opportunity to formally welcome you to the Saudi Aramco Masters in Business Analytics & Big Data program (SAMBD) at IE University. To help introduce myself, over the past 17 years, I have been at UC Berkeley where I was the founding director, chief scientist, and a professor of a major center in the College of Engineering.

For all of us, it is definitely an exciting time to be at IE. We are creating a new tech hub in Europe and setting a new global standard in science and technology. By “educating technology leaders and conducting impact-driven research”, the IE School of Science & Technology is evolving to redefine the forefront of technology and empower global advancement.

We are thrilled to have you join the Saudi Aramco Masters in Business Analytics & Big Data Program and welcome you to the vibrant community of IE University. This is a great time to be upgrading your skills in data, AI, and business analytics. The world is in the middle of an enormous digital transformation and the role of data and tech only continues to increase.

Our objective is to empower your success as technology leaders and innovators, not simply technical workers. In fact, IE is among a few leading schools including Stanford, Berkeley, and MIT who are actively working to reinvent a new category in Science, Technology and Engineering.

To benefit from this, you will, of course, need rigorous technical skills, but you will also need multidisciplinary breadth in your coursework. And further, you will also need the mindset, behaviors, and proactivity needed for innovation and leadership. All of which you can develop at IE.

This program will be both challenging and rewarding. As you begin, let me offer you some important starting advice for actions that you can take:

1. Use your “Agency”. This means you should own your own learning journey: Make your own decisions about what you will need to understand and learn. Use your own critical thinking. Ask “does it make sense?” Learn to be active, not passive, in what you decide you need to learn and do in this program as well as in the rest of your career.

2. Build your own unique “portfolio”: Taking courses is not enough. Find or create the projects and experiences that you will showcase and discuss with your employer upon your graduation. This may include projects in labs, structured mentoring, or even internships. Demonstrate your ability to build, organize, lead, create, and/or innovate within the safety of the school and campus environment. Create your own differentiated, resume-building portfolio while you are in school at IE.

3. “Connect” with others. There are global students, not to mention a multitude of  global faculty and industry partners. Work with everyone. Use this opportunity to build relationships with credibility and trust. Over time, you will see that building relationships with trust and with diverse networks are necessary for innovation and technology leadership.

Our intention is that you will be capable not only of solving a tough technical problem but of solving the “right problem” and getting the “right job” done. Further, we want to empower you to not only innovate but to adapt, grow, and future-proof yourself in a world that never stops evolving.

Of course, today is just the beginning of your journey at IE. Good luck as you get started. I look forward to meeting and interacting with you over this next year.  Congratulations on your acceptance into IE’s Saudi Aramco Masters in Business Analytics & Big Data.