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Diana BartlettAssistant Vice President,
Corporate Partnerships
Phone: (909) 607-9864
Email: diana_bartlett[at symbol]kgi.edu
September 2011
As per tradition, TMPs officially launch in early September. For 2011-12, Kickoff Day was September 7, and most of the corporate liaisons for the 18 projects joined students, faculty and staff for this auspicious occasion.
Craig Adams, director of the TMP Program, told the audience about the significance of the capstone initiative. "Affording a team of bright students the opportunity to dig into an important problem really brings together the key lessons KGI students have had from their courses."
During Kickoff Day morning, each corporate liaison spoke about his/her background and summarized the project. It was a high energy event for first time sponsors (such as Pfizer), veteran organizations (Life Technologies embarks on its ninth TMP this year), and those who have returned after a year or two hiatus (Clear Springs combines economic analysis with technology review).
While it's certainly exciting, Kickoff Day is also nerve-wracking, as it represents the first face-to-face sessions for teams and their company representatives. Although teams/faculty advisors/liaisons had had preliminary contact in late summer via conference calls, they all realized that work still remains on project definition. Virtually all Kickoff Day afternoon meeting agendas included the topic "scope discussion."
Not usually stated as an explicit sponsor benefit, the ability to scope abstract concepts into valued deliverables is, nonetheless, one advantage organizations gain from such meetings and interchanges, especially during September.
What's more, for some corporate managers learning to lead a remote project team is also a valuable benefit that will enhance their worth to their companies. During Kickoff Day, the teams and liaisons began to outline how their remote communication strategy will function.
