On Monday, Associate Dean and Entrepreneur-in-Residence of the Sy Syms School of Business Michael Strauss, kicked off the MTA LEAD program. As part of his role with the business school, Dean Strauss is able to assist students who have a business proposal or idea, and he gives them the opportunity to work one-on-one with a successful entrepreneur to help refine their career aspirations, to develop or to launch successful entrepreneurial businesses, and to provide immediate access to practical, real world experience and perspectives.
MTA LEAD is a program designed to provide YUHSB students with lasting business and communal leadership skills through high school and university leadership training. Participants will be mentored by industry leaders, like Michael Strauss, and will be able to participate in the Doris and Dr. Ira Kukin Entrepreneurial and Executive Lecture Series of the Sy Syms School of Business. The program will accomplish its objective, in part, by empowering YUHSB students with the ability to build on their entrepreneurial ideas to create meaningful and sustainable business projects. Students will learn to work as a team and will gain invaluable lifelong skills.
Over the course of the program, students with business ideas will work to develop a presentation, while receiving mentoring from a Syms student and advice from a business leader. Syms professors will also lead some workshops on business communications and marketing. Ultimately, students will present to an Executive Council; the winning presentation receives an Amazon gift card and present at the college business plan competition. Additionally, the Executive Council will work to try to find a business leader who can serve as a long-term mentor. Last year’s winner, Tsahi Halyo (’16), created a proposal for a USB watch.
Dean Strauss ended his presentation by giving the audience his contact information, so that if they have ideas or proposals, they could and should contact him.
More information about the program, as well as the programbrochure, can be found at yuhsb.org/mta-lead.
