Silicon Valley Celebrates 10 Years
Marking a decade of innovative research, academic excellence and entrepreneurial success, Carnegie Mellon University celebrates its Silicon Valley Campus in Mountain View, California.
A beacon of technological achievement and a hub for developing creative software management leaders, CMU Silicon Valley has quadrupled in size since its inception in 2002 and has helped launch more than a dozen startups.
The event included a technology showcase as well as remarks from CMU President Jared L. Cohon, CMU Provost Mark Kamlet, California State Assemblyman Paul Fong and others.
"We are celebrating not just our academic achievements, but our important role as a change agent in the dynamic eco-system of Silicon Valley, said Martin Griss, director of Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley.
"We are excited to achieve the envisioned balance and synergy between innovative education, research and entrepreneurship."
More than 600 CMU Silicon Valley alumni credit their career success to novel teaching, helping them to try out new ideas, shedding those ideas quickly if they don't catch on and moving on to the next new thing.
That problem-solving DNA so intrinsic to the CMU culture is supported by the Silicon Valley entrepreneurship program which is closely tied to the university's Greenlighting Startups initiative.
CMU's Greenlighting Startups initiative supports and accelerates the commercialization of groundbreaking ideas.
"I had been involved with many startups before coming to CMU's Silicon Valley campus, but it was my classroom experiences and support from CMU faculty that gave me the confidence to start my own successful company along with other CMU alumni," said Manoj Rajshekar, who recently launched a startup, EngageClick, focused on building a Human Engagement Platform.
Rajshekar is a 2011 graduate of CMU Silicon Valley's software management program.
Bertrand A. Damiba, a Google product manager, praised the CMU Silicon Valley programs for valuable "hands-on learning" and a commitment to helping students develop crucial business and marketing skills. "It is learning by doing and plenty of teamwork that makes the program so great," said Damiba, a 2008 CMU Silicon Valley software management graduate.
CMU Silicon Valley offers part-time and full-time master's degree programs in software engineering, software management, information networking and electrical and computer engineering, as well as a Ph.D. program in electrical and computer engineering.
"Our anniversary celebration highlighted many of the programs and research spanning our novel work from solar panels and sustainability to mobile computing," said Steven Rosenberg, associate director of CMU Silicon Valley.
The 10-year celebration reflected on the accomplishments thus far and looked toward the future of Carnegie Mellon in Silicon Valley. "The future is about networking in a collaborative mode that benefits everybody," Cohon said.
He added, "Truly, this is the center of innovation of the world."
Related Links: Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley | Greenlighting Startups | Anniversary Event photos