Joe Tranquillo

The Institute for Leadership in Technology and Management (ILTM), first offered at Bucknell University in 1993, is an intensive, six-week, student-centric summer program that focuses on accelerating undergraduates on their path toward becoming leaders of technology-oriented organizations. Entry into the program is competitive and limited to 24 highly motivated rising juniors from management, engineering and the liberal arts. Students do not receive academic credit, course grades or significant payment. The learning environment is composed of two interrelated parts. First, during each six-hour day students experience at least two classroom sessions. These sessions, led by faculty or external executives, are intimate, interactive, experientially-based and span from the theoretical to the practical. Each session aims to expose students to the complex, multi-faceted problems facing technology-based organizations in the 21st century. Second, interdisciplinary teams of students work on a client-sponsored consulting project that provides them opportunities to apply lessons learned from faculty and executives in the classroom. All projects lie at the intersection between technology and management  and are critical unsolved problems at the client’s organization. Interactions include a site visit, regular phone and email exchanges, and in-person meetings. At the conclusion of the six weeks, teams deliver a comprehensive consulting report and an in-person presentation to their client.