Over the past 8 years, HBS Campus has turned into the gateway for the most prominent leaders in technology to connect with the leading business school students and professors from around the globe. Last weekend, over thousand attendees and about 150 speakers gathered at HBS to take part in Cyberposium 2003.
In the 8 year history of Cyberposium, the event has made some major transformations. It started out as a “Dot-Com” conference, but couple years ago turned into a “High-Tech” Conference. This year, another major transformation was made as it became the conference for “Technology” to cover wider range of topics like Biotech/Health Care, Digital Media, environment, education, etc. While the topics covered were widened, the goal and mission of the conference became more focused. The new vision was to “Build Leaders for Technology” as Cyberposium rises as a unique forum to breed a group of business leaders who are charged and ready to take the innovation and application of technology to new levels.
“Who’s next?” Milton Wong (HBS 2003), co-chair of Cyberposium 2003, asked the audience. “We believe it will be you.”
Keynote speakers like Sanjay Kumar of Computer Associates provided inspiration to the future leaders. He told the audience that the changes in the economy over the last few years have helped strengthen CA.
Panels like “Peer-To-Peer Networking and the Future of Online Music Distribution” which included Russell Simmons, Co-Founder & Chairman of Def Jam Records, attracted many students. Heated discussions erupted as panelists and the audience shared their differences in opinions about future of online file sharing.
Many panels, especially those that featured WiFi or other emerging technology drew large crowds. For example, “Wireless Technologies in the Enterprise” which featured panelists like Eric Janszen, CEO of Bluesocket, Inc., was standing room only. Many of these panels brought provoking thoughts to the students.
VC Feedback allowed students to pitch their new business plans to investors and get some valuable advice. Career Fair and Tech Show provided an arena for students to learn and share ideas about the new technologies. These events provided support the future leaders needed to get a job, find funding for their new idea, or network with current leaders.
“The success of this year’s Cyberposium was due to great time and effort spent over the last 9 months by 20 directors and 100 managers of the Cyberposium 2003 team,” said Milton Wong. The team consisted not just HBS students, but students from Contributing Partners from the MIT Sloan School of Management, London Business School, Columbia Business School, and Boston College – Carroll School of Management.