Twenty years ago, Gies Business made a calculated bet: that technology and management shouldn’t be taught in isolation. Today, as corporate leaders navigate the complex integration of AI into a relentlessly evolving digital landscape, the Master of Science in Technology Management (MSTM) program at Gies Business delivers the exact cross-disciplinary training required to translate technical disruption into strategic growth.

The blueprint for specialized leadership

The MSTM program was the first Gies master’s degree built by the Department of Business Administration, serving as the blueprint for the College’s current portfolio of specialized master’s degrees. The department has designed its course offerings to appeal to a broad range of students, from recent undergraduates to professionals who bring an average of eight years of experience when they enter the program. Today, its graduates typically pursue high-impact roles as project managers, technology consultants, data analysts, and supply chain managers.

“This degree is designed to develop unique managerial skill sets for those who are coming from more tech-focused backgrounds,” said June-Young Kim, director of the MSTM program at Gies Business. “Initially, its curriculum focused on preparing managers for large, established companies, but it has evolved to also cater to students interested in entrepreneurship, particularly in AI or biotechnology firms.”

Clinical Professor Hayden Noel, who teaches some of the program’s core curriculum, adds that the synergy created between the strong business and engineering programs at Illinois has provided immeasurable benefits and interdisciplinary richness.

“Because the students are a mix of engineers, bankers, finance, and other professions, they bring diverse perspectives into the classroom – not just by geography but from their different experiences in the working world,” Noel said.

Curriculum where theory meets emerging tech

Noel believes pushing students past their comfort zones is an intrinsic part of a Gies Business education. He has spent nearly two decades teaching marketing, watching STEM students discover that strategic corporate storytelling, consumer behavior, and brand-building are data-informed, highly disciplined sciences. He integrates the latest technologies into his new product development curriculum, asking students to generate product images with AI, use virtual reality (VR) to assemble product components, and create prototypes with 3D printing.

Gopesh Anand, professor of business administration at Gies Business, has taught MSTM courses in operations management and statistics since the program’s inception. He is known for using memorable examples, like the “I Love Lucy” episode at the chocolate factory, to illustrate fundamental operations concepts like bottlenecks, standard work, communication, and the importance of making problems visible.

“The next big challenge for us as educators is ensuring that we teach students the dangers of relying on AI too early without learning the fundamental concepts so that they can evaluate the outputs critically,” Anand said. “The reason to get a business degree at Gies Business is not to learn code; it is to be able to say ‘this is what I’d like the code to do’ and then use that knowledge to evaluate and implement a solution.”

Turning technical fluency into real-world strategy

"The faculty push us to understand and use AI in a way that we won't be replaced by AI," said Harvin Patel (MSTM ’26), who came to Champaign from Gujarat, India, with an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering.

Patel already had experience managing operations and developing clientele at his father's chemical manufacturing and trading business when he signed up for the MSTM program. It served as a cross-disciplinary bridge, allowing him to apply high-level management theory to concrete innovation, including a hands-on project developing a self-heating lunchbox.

"Even though I had the technical acumen, I was not built for factory work," said Patel. "To truly succeed, I knew I needed to step out of my comfort zone and work on my business acumen."

Patel took on the challenge of case competitions. His performance so impressed one of the judges that he was offered an internship at Horizon Hobby, which began in May.

Gabriela Galesi Sandschafer (MSTM ’26) saw the Gies Business MSTM degree as the next step to put her on the fast track to a career in technology consulting. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Information Science + Data Science with a business minor from Illinois in three years.

“I’m not a huge coder, I like interacting with people and helping them solve their problems,” said Sandschafer. “The diversity of this program has prepared me to succeed in a global business environment.”

Sandschafer says that she valued the Gies MSTM program’s practical courses, such as Enterprise Database Management and Technology Strategy, which she found directly applicable to her future career. Through Gies connections, Sandschafer secured an internship with AI-driven engineering firm Altimetrik and worked as a graduate research assistant conducting a competitive analysis of technology management degrees for Professor Kim.

Sandschafer’s understanding of data-driven insights and business strategy has already translated into an immediate job opportunity. She has recently joined Deloitte as a technology enablement and transformation analyst.

Anticipating the business-tech demands of the future

Under the leadership of Director June-Young Kim, the Gies Business MSTM program will continue to thrive. The College is looking to deepen its global footprint by forging robust, institutional partnerships with leading tech enterprises, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region that many of our students call home. Concurrently, the curriculum continues to structurally evolve—refining its cutting-edge elective courses, optimizing program timelines, and ensuring highly competitive pricing models designed to attract a dynamic blend of high-growth tech entrepreneurs and cross-disciplinary professionals.

"Gies Business' forward-thinking approach to technology means they teach us how to use our own minds,” said Patel. “You will never be under-prepared or under-confident no matter what career path you choose, because you're groomed to prepare for it."