Smith School Hosts CIO Forum and Globalization & Innovation Conference
The Smith School hosted the successful eighth annual CIO Forum Friday, Nov. 9, presented by the Center for Electronic Markets and Enterprises and the Center for Health Information and Decision Systems, in conjunction with the Smith CIBER Globalization & Innovation Conference. The events centered on the theme of technology, innovation and globalization and included a very well-received keynote speech by Lemuel Lasher, chief innovation officer and president of Computer Sciences Corp.’s Office of Innovation. Lasher talked about his unique position with CSC and how important innovation is in the workplace. "Innovation results from the creative application of intellectual capital in a disciplined manner to a problem,"  he said to the audience of around 150. CIOs gained insight into how to involve new business models and new business practices built on the capabilities of new information technologies. Lasher's presentation is available online. (PDF)

Smith School Wins Cornell MBA Stock Pitch Competition
A three-person team from the Smith School of Business has captured the title and a $3,000 prize at the sixth annual MBA Stock Pitch Competition that took place at the Parker Center for Investment Research at the Johnson School at Cornell University on Nov. 2. In what was one of the most competitive fields to date, 12 teams competed for top honors. The Maryland team included second-year MBA students Siddharth Mathur, Alex Obaza and Eric Olesh (pictured, from left). The second place winner was Northwestern’s Kellogg, which placed first in each of the last two years. They took home a $1,500 prize. Newcomers Wisconsin-Madison placed third.
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Smith MBAs Travel to NYC for Annual Wall Street Trek
A group of first- and second-year Smith MBA students traveled to the New York City area on the Finance Association’s annual Wall Street Trek, Nov. 8-9. The trip is designed to allow Smith Students interested in pursuing careers in capital markets to attend discussion and informational sessions with Wall Street professionals. The goal is to expose the students to a variety of jobs inside the industry and give them the opportunity to network with Smith alumni who are currently employed in capital markets.
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Smith Team Places Second at Howard MBA Exclusive Case Competition
On Nov. 2 a team of Smith MBAs consisting of John Bullock, Tekisha Harvey and Ngozi Pole took second place at the Third Annual Minority MBA Exclusive Case Competition at Howard University. The competition was sponsored by LMI Government Consulting which provided participants with a case based on a real-world supply chain issue that one of their clients, National Veterinary Stockpile (NVS), is facing. This issue at hand was the ability of NVS to manage inventories of animal vaccine during a time of budget constraints, outdated vaccine production techniques and uncertainty that surrounds the threat of diseases like avian flu and mad cow.
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Smith Undergrads Put on Strong Showing at Biz Quiz Competition
The Second Annual Nationwide Fisher National Biz Quiz Challenge took place at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business from Oct. 25-27 – and Smith was well represented. A group of Smith undergraduate students - senior Leslie Lin, and juniors Eric Liang and Ademola Sadik - traveled to Columbus for the competition and advanced to the semifinals, placing fourth overall out of 18 schools. The event was co-sponsored by Nationwide Insurance and the Wall Street Journal. All questions for the competition were drawn from the front pages of the Journal from Sept. 4 - Oct. 20, 2007. This required participating students to have read and be familiar with every issue published during this time period.
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Smith Partners with Clark School to Launch Certificate Program
Profiting from innovation takes guts, intuition and fundamental knowledge of how to manage new ventures. The University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering and the Robert H. Smith School of Business have teamed up to offer an intensive, challenging five-part executive education series on this critical subject, launching on Dec. 7. Two conferences and several lectures supplement a robust curriculum leveraging the unique capabilities of two world-class institutions. Completion of four of the five modules results in a Certificate in Innovation Management from both schools. Participants can register for just one session or the entire series. Read more at http://www.execed.umd.edu.

Smith to Host Diversity Workshop for Prospective MBA Students
On Saturday, Dec. 1, the Robert H. Smith School of Business opens its doors to prospective MBA students at Kaleidoscope: Women & Diversity at Smith, an annual workshop geared toward members of underrepresented groups who are interested in management careers. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore topics related to Smith and MBA programs in depth, such as the admissions process, financing an MBA and post-MBA careers. Current Smith full-time MBA students have described Kaleidoscope as a great way to experience a typical day for someone enrolled in the program.
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2008 Smith Leadership and Excellence Awards
Do you know a business leader who has made a significant and positive impact on the mid-Atlantic region? The Smith School is now accepting nominations for the 2008 Smith Leadership and Excellence Awards, which may be submitted online. Deadline for nominations is Wednesday, Nov. 21.
►www.rhsmith.umd.edu/awards 

GAO’s Jim Lager Discusses What Drives Ethical Behavior with Smith Students
Jim Lager, Government Accountability Office deputy ethics counselor, shared his experiences and discussed what drives behavior, compliance-based thinking and regulation with 75 Smith students on November 7. His lecture was the third and final installment of the Robert H. Smith School of Business’s Business Ethics Lecture Series for fall 2007.
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