Management of Technology (MOT) Undergraduate Minor
UG MOT Minor

Understand Business in Emerging and Global Technology-Driven Companies

The Management of Technology (MOT) undergraduate Minor provides a path for motivated students to gain an understanding of business and innovation practices in emerging and global technology-driven companies. MOT educates students to serve as leaders in the innovation economy with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to develop, scale and deliver breakthrough solutions to real-world problems. They will be prepared to do so within a range of organizational contexts.

Be a Leader in Innovation 

The MOT Minor adds value to any undergraduate degree by helping students develop a leadership and innovation mindset. A unique aspect of this minor is the inclusion of project-based experiential credits.

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UG MOT Minor

Students who complete the MOT Minor will have developed knowledge and skills in:

  • The innovation process from the conception of an initial invention and the problem it may solve, to the refinement of the solution, to the considerations needed in the scale-up and delivery of the solution, to the launch of a new product or an appropriately funded entity.
  • The personal skills of communication, teamwork, decision-making and leadership, and the integrity and character, that are necessary to engage with stakeholders and develop the invention into a real-world product or process.
  • Strategies and methods to engage in rigorous iterations to identify and deeply understand societal needs/problems and develop robust scalable solutions.
  • Types of organizational models and designs for the delivery of innovations to the world.
  • Understand the foundations of finance, legal and marketing to run the business of technology.

Course Requirements and Electives

Five courses with a minimum of 12 credits. In addition, students have several elective courses to select from to complete the minor. Course details can be found below.

  

 

 

 

What are the most common Undergraduate MOT Minor jobs?

While a MOT degree offers the widest possible option for careers, students can choose to work in Product Engineer, Product Development, Product Management, Product Marketing, Startup CTO and many other jobs to be more competitive in their chosen fields.

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Curriculum

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Required Courses

- Fall & Spring

MOT 4001: Leadership and Business Basics for Scientists and Engineers (2 credits)
Provides scientists and engineers with a working knowledge of the broader business context in which science and technology ideas are translated into solutions that address market needs and generate economic value. This two-unit course will broaden students’ business knowledge and project leadership abilities, enabling technical professionals to increase their business impact and career success. The three modules of the course will build practical knowledge and skills in (1) project leadership, professionalism, teamwork, and effective communication, (2) the process of innovation (i.e., transforming technical ideas into value-creating solutions) and (3) business acumen fundamentals.

Goals:

  • Understand the foundations of finance, legal and marketing to run the business of technology
  • Work with leaders to develop strategies to support the business goals
  • Lead enterprise-wide initiatives and the reinvention of business models
  • Develop flexible approaches for innovating and operating at the speed of agile

Competencies:

  • Business acumen – budget, legal, pricing, marketing, finance
  • Strategy formulation
  • Transformational leadership
  • Program/Project management/governance

- Fall & Spring

MOT 4002: Technically Speaking Leadership Lecture Series (1 credit)
The course features a selection of highly accomplished industry speakers, including UMN alumni, who share their unique insights on industry developments, leadership, and innovation accumulated through experience in their careers. The lecture series serves as a discovery course for topics at the intersection of technology innovation and leadership.

Goals:

  • Enhance personal leadership skills and capabilities
  • Tell the story of value creation in alignment with business priorities
  • Become a trusted advisor to the business by becoming ambassadors for the value of technology

Competencies:

  • Communications – verbal, written, presentation
  • Executive presence
  • Authentic leadership
  • Influence and persuasion
  • Resilience and Mindfulness

- Fall

MOT 4003: Leading Technology Innovation (3 credits)
The course provides students the perspective of a Technology Leader of an organization or product team. Details the innovation process, from an idea's inception through impact in the economy, regardless of organizational setting. Explores how solutions are developed to become ready for broader market deployment. Includes testing and development of the problem-solution fit, probing of solutions for robustness, and testing of both technical and operational scaling of proposed solutions. Examines the human aspects of innovation, specifically issues of team building and readiness. Considers the broader system for innovation, including the role of key stakeholders in shaping its success in order to arrive at an impactful solution. Addresses intellectual property, the effect of regulations and social and cultural differences across varied global markets, and the personal skills necessary to align and manage these issues.

Goals:

  • Deliver innovative products and solutions
  • Create deliberate, scalable innovation processes to enable the ability of the organization to prioritize and execute emerging trends

Competencies:

  • Perception of opportunities
  • Idea generation and evaluation
  • Cooperation and risk
  • Entrepreneurial leadership

- Spring

MOT 4004 Leading Innovation Teams (3 credits)
The course provides students the perspective of a Chief Technology Officer leading the transformation of technologies to products entering the market. Includes testing and development of the value proposition, and product-market fit. Examines the human aspects of company culture and building a team for growth. Considers the broader requirements for business model, go-to-market, funding, and resources required to build and scale a business. Addresses the skills needed to effectively communicate the organization’s strategy, technology roadmap, and growth and impact objectives.

Goals:

  • View talent and culture as a top priority and recognize how to enable the technology workforce to support transformation and growth
  • Modernize the technology organization and delivery models to provide the speed and agility necessary to meet today’s pace of change
  • Be recognized as a change leader
  • Increase tech savviness to ensure that the rest of the organization can engage in and contribute to a tech-driven business

Competencies:

  • Leading individuals and teams
  • Change leadership
  • Global effectiveness
  • Fostering diversity, equity and inclusion
  • Relationship management
  • Teamwork and collaboration
  • Product/Process management

Elective Courses

Choose one from the following:
* Also satisfies one of the Liberal Education Credits.

  • ANSC 3509* Animal Biotechnology (4 Credits)
  • ARCH 3511* Material Transformations: Technology & Change in the Built Environment (3 Credits)
  • ARCH 3315* / HIST 3708* The Age of Curiosity: Art, Science & Technology in Europe 1400-1800 (3 Credits)
  • BBE 4733* Renewable Energy Technologies (3 Credits)
  • BBE 4305 Pulp and Paper Technology (3 Credits)
  • BBE 5305 Pulp and Paper Technology (3 Credits)
  • BIOL 1015* Human Physiology: Technology & Medical Devices (4 Credits)
  • CEGE 4562 Environmental Remediation Technologies (3 Credits)
  • CI 2311W* Science, Technology, and Society (3 Credits)
  • DES 3141* Technology, Design, and Society (3 Credits)
  • ESPM 3601* Sustainable Housing: Community, Environment, and Technology (3 Credits)
  • FSOS 3105* Technology in Parenting and Family Relationships (3 Credits)
  • GCC 3015* Bioinspired Approaches to Sustainability: Greening Technologies and Lives (3 Credits)
  • HMED 3075* Technology and Medicine in Modern America (3 Credits)
  • HSCI 1714* / 3714 Stone Tools to Steam Engines: Technology and History to 1750 (3-4 Credits)
  • HSCI 1715* / 3715 History of Modern Technology: Waterwheels to the Web (3-4 Credits)
  • HSCI 3331* Technology and American Culture (3 Credits)
  • IE 5541 Project Management (4.0 credits)
  • MGMT 4080W Applied Technology Entrepreneurship [WI] (4.0 credits)
  • MILI 3589* Medical Technology and Society (3 Credits)
  • NURS 3115* Health Informatics and Information Technology (3 Credits)
  • PMB 1212* Plant Biotechnology and Society (3 Credits)
  • VBS 1001* Introduction to Biotechnology (4 Credits)
  • WRIT 3371W* Technology, Self, and Society (3 Credits)
  • WRIT 3577W* Rhetoric, Technology and the Internet (3 Credits)

*Or any elective approved for the Technology & Society theme of liberal education credits.

MOT Minor - Summer Intensive

MOT Summer Intensive Minor

  • May 15 - June 2: May Term
    • Liberal Ed Elective (Online)
    • MOT 4001 (2 cr - 9.3 hrs/ week)
  • June 5 - July 28: Summer (8 Weeks)
    • MOT 4002 (1 cr - 1.75 hrs/ week)
  • June 5 - June 30: Summer I (4 Weeks)
    • MOT 4003 (3 cr - 10.5 hrs/ week)
  • July 3 - July 28: Summer II (4 Weeks)
    • MOT 4004 (3 cr - 10.5 hrs/ week)

MOT Summer Intensive Schedule

  • May 15 - June 2: MOT 4001 [TWTh 10am - 1:30pm]
    • Class-  TTh
      • 10am - 12pm Lecture
      • 12pm - 2pm Workshop
    • Field Trip - Wed
      • 10am - 2pm Field Trip to Local Business
  • June 5 - July 28: MOT 4002 & 4003 [ TWTh 10am - 2pm]
    • MOT 4002 – Wed
      • 12pm - 2pm Speaker Series Lecture
    • MOT 4003 / 4004 – TWTh
      • Tuesday & Thursday
        • 10am - 12pm Lecture
        • 12pm - 1pm Speaker (Virtual Option for Accelerator Only)
        • 1pm - 3pm Workshop
      • Wednesday
        • 10am - 12pm Field Trip to Local Business

Are you a BASE participant?

BASE participants will have the opportunity to get full credit for MOT Minor! We will offer the option to do the entire course from May-July or take some and gain some credits. This program will run concurrently with the accelerator, allowing you to work with both MOT minor and BASE Accelerator participants. The Minor participants do not need to separately apply for the BASE program. 

Learn More and Apply to BASE

Interested in our Minors?

Please contact Madeleine Stevenson, our Graduate Program Coordinator, for more information.

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