I am going to take this opportunity to reflect back on my first semester at MIT now that the spring semester is officially over. Without further ado, here is my verdict for the classes listed in descending order of preference:

1. ESD.762 - System Optimization
   This is without a doubt my favorite class last semester. The topic is not only interesting but also fun. Who would have thought that using Excel and Crystal Ball to build mathematical models and crunching out numbers were actually fun. Moreover, the cross-disciplinary aspect of System Optimization make this class useful in real-life applications. As for the professor, what else can I say about Prof. Simchi-Levi? He is simply an engaging and insightful lecturer. Unfortunately, this course is the abridged version of System Optimization, which is designed specifically for the SDM program. I wish that they had given us the 9 or even 12-unit version of this class. Nonetheless, this is still a great class.
2. 15.840 - Innovations in the Marketplace
   This course is the SDM’s version of Marketing 101, in which we focused on the product design and development aspects of the marketing. 2 professors, Prof. von Hippel and Prof. Dan Ariely, jointly taught this class. However, it was the guest lecturer that I liked most about this class. In fact, I rank Ken Morse’s talk on High-Tech Sales and Entrepreneurship to be the best talk of last semester.
3. 15.981 - Technology Strategy
   I am really ambivalent to this class and it has been a love-and-hate relationship. Strategy as a subject is something that I enjoy studying. It has provided me the frameworks and challenged my thought process on businesses. The only problem that I have with this class is delivery. I can see the benefits of case studies and the discussions that followed, but I reject the professor’s intention of keep the scope of the discussions strictly within the frameworks that we learned from class. I also object the absence of clear explanations on some of the principles in this class. Without infringing on the class discussion, I think the majority of the class can benefit tremendously from a short lecture at each session to clear some of the ambiguities that have often plagued the student’s write-ups.
4. ESD.72 - Engineering Risk-Benefit Analysis
   Unlike the majority of my class who hated this class, I actually like this class even though I will probably end up with a grade of "B" for this class. The problem sets may be long and time-consuming but I still think I learned something from the class.
5. 15.980/ESD.936 - Product Design and Development
   This course started on a high note but ended on a low note. Lectures from the second half of the course were boring and have no value-added. The saving grace to this class was the semester-long team project, which, through a great team effort, my team was able to complete with rave remarks from the faculty. I had experienced teams from hell in the past (work, undergrad, grad, personal, etc), but having gone through a pleasant experience of working with the project team for this class, my faith in teamwork has finally been restored.
6. ESD.922 - SDM Thesis Seminar
   This is a seminar where SDM students discover possible thesis topics and advisors by listening to guest professors speaking about their research. There was a good mix of good and bad lectures from this seminar. My 2 favorite guest speakers were Prof. Tom Allen and Prof. Michael Cusumano.

For fellow SDM students, what are your favorite classes?

5/23/2005 6:36:42 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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