MIS Students Place 2nd in 2014 CoMIS Competition

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CoMIS

Imagine having just 24 hours to solve your company’s most pressing IT challenge. Imagine, then, presenting a solution to your executive board immediately thereafter. This scenario mirrors the challenge that student teams faced at the third annual Competition on Management Information Systems (CoMIS), held at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management April 2 – 5.

Joining top teams from around the United States, including Arizona, Arizona State, Emory, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Texas-Austin, and Texas-Dallas, the UConn team—led by assistant professor of OPIM Dmitry Zhdanov—was represented by three undergraduate upperclassmen: Tyler Campbell ’14, Dan Marquis ’14, and Yue Zhu ’14, all MIS majors. Sean Priest ’15 was instrumental on the practice squad.

After two days of educational and networking events with corporate sponsors, each team was presented with the case and given 24 hours to deliberate. Cases were submitted the following morning, and the CoMIS judging panel evaluated each team on a 20-minute presentation of their recommendations followed by a 10-minute Q&A session.

The top team from each group presented in the final round on Saturday afternoon, and winners were announced at an Awards Banquet on Saturday evening.

For the second time in three years, the UConn team placed in the final round, taking second place to the University of Minnesota for 2014. Indiana University came in third.

Please join us in congratulating the UConn team on their achievement!

Pictured (left to right): Yue Zhu, Tyler Campbell, and Daniel Marquis

Internships in Marketing, Sales and Social Media

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Caitlin Taylor

Internships offer our students excellent opportunities to get hands-on experience in all aspects of marketing. During the summer of 2013, Caitlin Taylor ’14 completed an internship in marketing and social media at The Blaze, a multi-platform news, information, and entertainment network headquartered in New York City and Dallas. Caitlin worked to identify new cable affiliates and assisted the marketing department on “Get The Blaze” projects, including crafting call-to-action posts for Facebook and Twitter, organizing a media discussion panel in Washington D.C. with U.S. Congressmen and Senators, and traveling to the National Cable Television Cooperative Conference in San Diego. Caitlin found her internship by initially connecting on LinkedIn with UConn alumnus Christopher Balfe, President and COO of Mercury Radio Arts, who currently heads up The Blaze.

Caitlin credits the UConn School of Business for providing her with a solid foundation of coursework which led to her success in this position. She stated, “I had to personally sell the network in person and over the phone—my sales classes gave me the tools and experience through the semester long role plays to successfully connect with affiliates to close the deal. Before my internship, I never really considered the media industry. I enjoyed the dynamic environment so much so that I wish to seek out other full-time opportunities in the media world.”

If you or your company are interested in hosting a summer marketing or sales intern, please contact William Ryan, Marketing Instructor in Residence,william.ryan@business.uconn.edu

2nd Session added to Pitch Competition!!

Posted on by Brian Kelleher

Monday night was a great time at the CCEI Startup Challenge Pitch Competition – in fact, we ran out of time before everyone had their turn to pitch!  So, we have scheduled a second session to allow everyone who showed up last night the opportunity to pitch their idea, but also if you were unable to attend on Monday, this will provide you one last opportunity to participate in this fun event.  We hope to see you there!

4/9/14, 6:00pm
UConn Storrs Campus
GENTRY 131 (School of Education Building – DIFFERENT LOCATION)
**Pizza, refreshments, and soda provided** 

The CCEI Startup Challenge Pitch Competition is the first  of two events that comprise the CCEI Startup Challenge initiative.  At the Pitch Competition,$10,000 in prize money (ten $1000 prizes) will be awarded to individuals or teams across multiple categories.  Individuals or teams can pitch more than one idea, and you could win in more than one category.  This competition is open to all UConn Students (all majors, levels, campuses), and the idea can be for anything – we encourage you to get creative!  Five of the prize categories are listed below; the other five will be revealed at the event. Pitches will be limited to 90 seconds and will be followed by up to two minutes of Q&A.  Have an idea?  Pitch it!

First Five Prize Categories Revealed:

  • Best Pitch Presentation
  • Best Product/Invention Idea
  • Best Mobile App Idea
  • Most Socially Responsible Idea
  • Best College Targeted Idea (“Most Likely to Succeed at UConn”)

MSFRM Students Take 3rd Place in Prestigious Rotman Trading Competition

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Marking its first time participating in the Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC)–a very prominent, well-established global competition–the UConn team captured third place in the Quantitative Outcry Case.

Making up UConn’s team were MSFRM students Brian Asselin, Chad Belanger, Matt Dyer, and Tejas Patel. Continue Reading

Innovation Quest Competition Accepting Applications Until 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, April 1

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Idea to Prototype to Company: all University of Connecticut students who have an innovative business or product idea are eligible to enter the third annual UConn Innovation Quest (iQ) competition, which will be accepting applications until 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, April 1.

The First Place grand prize is $15,000, with second place at $10,000, and third place at $5,000 to put towards the start of a business. Winners of the competition and selected finalists will be invited to participate in the iQ’s summer inQbator program, dudring which they will have the guidance of mentors and the opportunity to start their business.

The iQ competition was brought to UConn at the encouragement of Keith R. Fox ’80, a longtime entrepreneur, executive and philanthropist who offered to sponsor the contest after seeing its success at Cal Poly. “Innovation Quest is about fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in our students with a mission of helping them to create companies and ultimately jobs here in the United states,” explains Fox.

Applications for this year’s Innovation Quest competition will be accepted until Tuesday, April 1st at 11:59 p.m.

» Innovation Quest Website

» Competition Application

FRM Introduces New 5th Semester Option

Posted on by Brian Kelleher

We are excited to offer a new full semester of three 3-credit courses for the incoming and current cohort. This semester will include two courses on advanced and quantitative applications in Financial Modelling and Financial Engineering and a comprehensive course on Enterprise Risk management (ERM).  This change will extend our 15 month program to 19 months.  The students choosing this option will graduate in May rather than in December.

Additional 5th Semester
Spring (2)

  • Programming and Modelling for Financial Analysis: This course focuses on the use of VBA in EXCEL, MATLAB, and SAS for financial modeling. With VBA, tudents will learn advanced materials such as Excel object programming, Database operations, file operations, graphical user interface design, bject-oriented programming, add-in, reports, and automation as well. Students will learn modeling techniques such as regression analysis, Monte-Carlo simulation, binomial trees, optimization, linear and non-linear programming, and data envelopment analysis and apply these in financial contexts such as portfolio optimization, credit risk, option pricing, capital budgeting, etc.
  • Advanced Analytical Applications in Risk Management:  This course will use datasets and software including Bloomberg, Matlab, EViews, Risk Metrics and others to train students in advanced applications of Risk Management models.
  • Seminar on Enterprise Risk Management (ERM):  This seminar course will introduce students to the current status of ERM.  Various risks faced by multinationals including Operational Risk, Geopolitical Risk, Supply Chain Risk, Cyber Risk.  The course will include the role of communication and ethical considerations in RM. 

MSFRM Receives STEM Designation

Posted on by Brian Kelleher

The State of Connecticut’s Office of Higher Education recently granted STEM designation for UConn’s MS degree in Financial Risk Management (MSFRM). Under the new STEM classification, MSFRM international students can now qualify for a 17-month OPT (Optional Practical Training) Extension making it a full 29 months of OPT.

MSFRM joins MS in Business Analytics & Project Management as the only two programs in the School of Business to receive STEM designation.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields are essential to U.S. economic competitiveness and growth. Over the last several decades the country has experienced a significant shortage of qualified workers for employment in STEM fields. Increasingly, businesses have to hire international workers to meet their needs. Therefore, STEM designated educational programs make it possible for international graduates to remain stateside longer to not only establish their careers but also to help meet the demand for STEM-educated professionals.

UConn’s STEM designated programs, and their related initiatives, also play an important role in Next Generation CT, state legislation passed into law and signed by the governor, that will invest over $1.5 billion dollars in UConn over the next 10 years.

“Recruiting the best and brightest international students to our program and then enabling them to successfully begin their professional careers is an important part of our educational mission,” said Professor Chinmoy Ghosh, head of the Finance Department and director of the MSFRM program. “Furthermore, providing a sufficient and qualified pipeline of talent for the nation’s economy is core to our service mission as a public institution.”

Under the traditional OPT program, international students who graduate from colleges and universities in the U.S. are able to remain in the country and receive training through work experience for up to 12 months. Students who graduate from a designated STEM degree program can remain for an additional 17 months on an OPT STEM Extension.

“Undeniably, international students bring valuable contributions to our programs and classrooms,” adds Jud Saviskas, executive director of the School of Business in Stamford. “STEM designation now allows these highly skilled foreign graduates to extend their post-graduate training, establish their careers, and enhance the U.S. economy.”

1st Annual Risk Management Academic Conference

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

The Master of Science in Financial Risk Management (MSFRM) Program at the University of Connecticut will host the First Annual Academic Conference on Risk Management at Storrs, Connecticut on May 30, 2014.

Date & Time

  • May 30, 2014 (Friday)
  • 9am-5pm

Program Committee

  • Chinmoy Ghosh
  • Chanatip Kitwiwattanachai
  • Efdal Misirli

Purpose

The purpose of this conference is to bring together academic researchers at the frontier of risk management and investments. This year’s conference program includes empirical perspectives on credit contagion, hedge fund investment, fire sales, market efficiency, mutual fund investment and media visibility in financial markets, central bank borrowing and risk shifting by banks in Europe.

Invitation

The Finance Department at the UCONN School of Business organizes this conference for the first time this year, and we would like to make it an annual event where prominent scholars and active young researchers present their work and receive valuable feedback. We will be happy if you can join our conference in its inaugural run.

Presenters

1. Jean Helwege, J. Henry Fellers Professor of Business Administration at the University of South Carolina, “Do Hedge Fund Fire Sales Disrupt the Stock Market?”  (9:00 – 9:50 am)

Discussant: Namho Kang (University of Connecticut)   (9:50 – 10:05 am)

Audience Q&A. (10:05 – 10:15 am)

 

2. Jennie Bai, Assistant Professor of Finance at Georgetown University, “Non-committable Channel for Credit Contagion”.  (10:15 – 11:05 am)

Discussant: Chanatip Kitwiwattanachai (University of Connecticut).  (11:05 – 11:20 am)

Audience Q&A. (11:20 – 11:30 am)

 

Lunch & Remarks from Dean John Elliot (11:30 am – 1:00 pm)

 

3. Ron Kaniel, Professor of Finance, University of Rochester, “Making the list – the impact of WSJ fund rankings on consumer investment decisions”,  (1:00 – 1:50 pm)

Discussant: Jonathan Reuter (Boston College, NBER). (1:50 – 2:05 pm)

Audience Q&A. (2:05 – 2:15 pm)

 

4. Bing Liang, Professor of Finance, University of Massachusetts Amherst, “Hedge Fund Ownership and Stock Market Efficiency” (2:15 – 3:05 pm)

Discussant: Jean Helwege (University of South Carolina). (3:05 – 3:20 pm)

Audience Q&A. (3:20 – 3:30 pm)

 

Coffee Break (3:30 – 3:45 pm)

 

5. Phillip Schnabl, Assistant Professor of Finance, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Kaufman Management Center, NYU “Who Borrows from the Lender of Last Resort?”. (3:45 – 4:35 pm)

Discussant: Jennie Bai (Georgetown University) (4:35 – 4:50 pm)

Audience Q&A. (4:50 – 5:00 pm)

2014 Ph.D. Awards

Posted on by Brian Kelleher

 

2014 School of Business Hall of Fame Award

  • Management – Lauren D’Innocenzo

 

2014 Ph.D. Program-wide Outstanding Student Scholar Award

  • Management – Margaret Luciano, winning 2nd consecutive year

 

2014 Departmental Outstanding Ph.D. Student Scholar Awards (*Nominated for Program-wide Outstanding Scholar Award)

  • Accounting – Biyu Wu*, Andrew Duxbury, Valerie Tellez
  • Finance – Yihong Xiao*, Charles Clarke, Steven Kozlowski, Xiangkun Yao
  • Management – Margaret Luciano*, Brian Fox, Rebecca Ranucci
  • Marketing – Anna Vredeveld*, Nian Wang, Selcan Kara, Bin Li, Zahra Tohidinia
  • Operations & Information Management – Yuan Jin*, Yucheng Chen

 

Departmental Ph.D. Student Teaching Awards

  • Accounting – Biyu Wu
  • Finance – Yihong Xiao
  • Management – Wonseok Choi
  • Marketing – Selcan Kara
  • Operations & Information Management – Gang Wang (Winner of the Ph.D. Program-wide Teaching Award)