
Ask HN: Would you get an MBA at the Technion? - buildops
The Technion - Israel Institute of Technology has opened a new MBA program (in English, in Tel Aviv) featuring top professors from the Technion, London Business School, INSEAD and more focusing on managing technology ventures.<p>http:&#x2F;&#x2F;startupmba.technion.ac.il&#x2F;
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shadowmoses
Israeli universities are known for having great programs, I would imagine this
program at the Technion is going to be very good.

That said, a huge part of business school is networking, so unless you're
planning on being in Israel for your career, which, given it's policies is
actually quite difficult for most demographics, it may not be the most
practical move.

Finally, I think one needs to carefully decide for themselves where they land
on the boycott debate. In the U.S., the shift is beginning, especially in
academia. And academic boycotts have been supported internally in Israel. The
Technion's connection to Israel's military complex is strong in absolute
terms, and to come from abroad to attend such an institution is a very
deliberate decision that probably implies where one lands on an intense
political debate. A recent Israeli documentary expands on the broader issue:
[http://www.gumfilms.com/projects/lab](http://www.gumfilms.com/projects/lab)

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jk4930
When you do an MBA focused on startups, why should you care about academia's
fashionable political opinion on something?

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cylinder
Here's an MBA on startups: join an early startup and go along for the ride.

The corporate management / organizational concepts don't apply to tiny new
companies. Financial analysis and accounting? You can learn to read cash flow
statements after a quick online tutorial. Other than that delegate to a
trusted and reputable CPA advisor.

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digitalzombie
No, I can get an MBA closer from home and cheaper. I don't really need the
university brand name just how to run a business, it would be closer to CPA
imo. Where you figure out what business type you want such as corp c, corp s,
or lld. And where would you choose deleware to incorp or offshore to cayman
island, etc...

I've seen Sanford and they seem to be gear toward startup and have a better
grasp on it. They have a few guest speaker from industry and they're close to
silicon valley, a few of video seems to be gear toward tech startup.
Unfortunately, I doubt I would get into it and it's expensive, any CSU
(California State) would do for me.

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rtets
Yes - as a software engineer I would be interested in learning how to manage a
business tailored to the field I would be most interested in managing a
business in.

>> No. Getting an MBA is all about the contacts that you make.

Who's to say you wouldn't make the most relevant contacts for your business on
this program.

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davidf18
A $130 million was recently donated to Technion to help improve a Chinese
university: [http://israeliamerican.org/news/technion-university-haifa-
ge...](http://israeliamerican.org/news/technion-university-haifa-
gets-130-million-grant-li-ka-shing-foundation)

Also, Technion is partnered with Cornell to have NY City technical university.
[http://tech.cornell.edu/jacobs-technion-cornell-
institute/ov...](http://tech.cornell.edu/jacobs-technion-cornell-
institute/overview)

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ssharp
What are your career goals that you think an MBA from there would either
accelerate or open you up for?

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allsystemsgo
I have like, 3/4 of an MBA from a fairly well known school. Has it helped me
personally? Sure, I guess. Has it put me ahead of my peers at all? Eh, not
really. TBH, unless it's a top 10 school, I don't think it's worth it, unless
you have a scholarship.

That said, I haven't heard of Technion.

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beauzero
No. Getting an MBA is all about the contacts that you make.

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jbob2000
No, part of the value of an MBA is the name behind the school you got it from.
As well, in 20 years, will the degree be relevant?

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slantyyz
>> No, part of the value of an MBA is the name behind the school you got it
from. As well, in 20 years, will the degree be relevant?

Is any degree still relevant after 20 years?

I think for most people, 20 years of experience post-MBA are probably
infinitely more valuable than the MBA itself.

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brudgers
Twenty years after a BA in Philosophy, I can unequivocally state that it is as
relevant today as it was then.

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jbob2000
This was, essentially, my point. Business Administration will always be
relevant, but Business Administration for Startups is a little too focused.
What happens when the startup fad is over?

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slantyyz
>> This was, essentially, my point. Business Administration will always be
relevant, but Business Administration for Startups is a little too focused.
What happens when the startup fad is over?

I got my MBA 21 years ago. Practically speaking, nobody's going to ask you
much about your MBA after about 5 years of subsequent work experience. After
20 years, it doesn't matter whether you've done a generalist program or one
focused on startups, assuming you can even remember all of the stuff you
learned 20 years ago. Let me put it this way, the technology course I took in
my MBA -- it was a waste of time intro course that talked about paper tapes,
Winchester drives, etc. Most of my peers didn't even know what e-mail was.

No matter what, the typical MBA program requires you to take a lot of common
courses, so even if you're a Business Administration for Startups graduate,
you're not at a significant disadvantage over the next MBA.

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cylinder
No -- lack of name awareness. MBA is really only good for getting access to
on-campus recruiters and graduate programs, as well as networking with peers
(not really possible online). If I were to do an online MBA I'd probably do
Imperial as I know several people who've done it.

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1arity
Sure it would be fun. Meet some cool people, get a few nice letters. And
Israel is cool. Like to spend more time in that part of the world.

One question I couldn't find the answer to -- how much?

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hluska
According to this page, it costs $35,000 -
([http://www.technionmba.com/tuition-and-
scholarship/](http://www.technionmba.com/tuition-and-scholarship/)).

I think it's a little unfortunate that the Technion needs to write:

 _Not included: Airfare, airport transfers, housing, computer hardware and
peripherals, medical expenses (medical insurance can be purchased separately),
laundry, linens, souvenirs, additional trips and excursions per catalog, and
personal spending money._

I'd tend to argue that if you think your MBA tuition covers personal spending
money, you're likely not qualified to do the MBA, but I am much less patient
than the mean...:)

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buildops
Just FYI, you can get a $5000 scholarship, if you're accepted. Just tell them
you saw it on Hacker News & you want the "Bring a Friend" scholarship.

And the copywriting of the website is very different than the program, which
includes professors from Oxford, Columbia, LBS, INSEAD (Dan Kahenemann's
thesis advisor!) and the Technion

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bra-ket
I think this is ideal for a non-technical person with business skills who want
to connect to Israeli technical talent pool

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DSingularity
No, I boycott Israel over their governments treatment of Palestinians.

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bhouston
I would guess this type of stuff is done in part to counter Israel's
increasing international isolation because of the occupation stuff. I'm not
sure I'd want to be involved in that type of stuff and just go elsewhere if I
was interested in an international MBA.

The needs of the occupation drive a lot of research at Technion,
understandably so:

[http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/features/2014/11/9/the-
tech...](http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/features/2014/11/9/the-technion-an-
elite-university-for-israeli-student-soldiers)

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aridiculous
Give me a break. That's like saying Cornell's Tech MBA was created to fuel
America's military-industrial complex.

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bhouston
Israeli universities are pushing big into international collaborations of
various types to counter efforts at isolating Israel because of its occupation
policies. This isn't secret, it is a very conscious effort on the part of
Israel's universities to counter the BDS movement:

[https://english.tau.ac.il/vision/Shaoul_fund](https://english.tau.ac.il/vision/Shaoul_fund)

