Networking as a Santa Clara University Online Student

Santa Clara University's Online MBA program is designed to help you become deeply integrated into the Silicon Valley, whether you're located in the Bay Area or work full time on the opposite coast. Online resources keep you connected to faculty leaders, current students, and Leavey School of Business alumni, while on-ground networking and skill-building events bring you face to face with innovative business owners, executives, and corporate consultants.

SCU Networking and Development Opportunities

• Leavey News & Notes: Keep track of planned networking events, specialty courses, company visits, student development organizations, and more with this monthly newsletter, available as a downloadable resource here

• Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE): Working in partnership with Bay Area business leaders, the CIE offers a variety of on-site career development and networking events, including:

  • Entrepreneur Forum Speaker Series, an intimate session in which students hear from those living the "startup story" and follow up with real-time Q&A
  • Office Hours for Entrepreneurs, a quarterly opportunity for students to meet with Silicon Valley experts in 20-minute, one-on-one consulting sessions
  • Business Pitch Competition, invites students to conceptualize and pitch a new business venture, with winners earning cash prizes up to $10,000

• Case Study Competition: This event presents students with a specific corporate challenge and gives them three hours to propose an original, targeted solution

• Quarterly Company Tours: Exclusive to Online MBA students, company tours are hosted by current Online MBA students and take you to technology, healthcare, finance, and media firms for an inside look at how Silicon Valley businesses operate

• Graduate Business Student Clubs: Leavey School of Business graduate students manage a number of student clubs that demonstrate their diversity, motivation, and commitment to personal and professional development. Among the membership opportunities available to our Online MBA students are:

  • Women in Business
  • Entrepreneur Club
  • Graduate Finance Club
  • JD/MBA Connection
  • Business Analytics & Data Science (BAnDS)
  • SCU Healthcare Club
  • Fashion Technology and Business Club
  • Ambassador Club

• Venture Capital Investment Competition: Our Online MBA students are invited to participate and compete in this collaborative experience that draws together MBA students from all over the world with venture capital firm representatives and innovative startups to simulate the VC investment process. Since Silicon Valley is the international hub for venture capital, students at Santa Clara University are well-positioned for this opportunity to emulate and learn from the strategies and insights of experienced VCs

• Startup Grind Global Conference: The Leavey School of Business sponsors a group of Online MBA students each year to attend this global conference. If you are an entrepreneur, this is the event for you! Top venture capital firm representatives and startup CEOs will be speaking at the 2019 conference, including CEOs from Airbnb, ClassPass, SoulCycle, Stripe, Box, Casper, Blue Bottle Coffee, Y Combinator, Brandless, Front, Blavity, Airtable, ZipRecruiter, SendGrid, and more