The Ultimate 10 Steps Guide to Prepare for a Mock MBA Interview!

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Congratulations! You have successfully aced your entire MBA application process. Now there is only one last hurdle remaining, that is your interview!

We understand you do not want to miss any mark to make it to your dream business school.

So you have decided to give it a shot to mock interviews. But are not really sure how to do them? Relax! We have your back with our comprehensive ten steps guide that will cast away all your lingering doubts and give you a clear understanding of how to prepare it right!

How to Conduct a Mock Interview?

Who does not want to get selected for a business school they have been eyeing for years? In short, everyone! After all those sleepless nights spent studying hard for this day to come, you cannot resist anymore expressing how passionate you have always been about pursuing an education here.

But hold your horses! Do not get too overwhelmed. There is a possibility of getting either too excited or too nervous on your interview day. This unpredictable reaction can majorly jeopardise the chances of your enrollment. And that’s where mock interviews come to your rescue.

They will help you know the do’s and don’ts of the interview and give you a boost of confidence to get ready for your D-day.

So check out these ten valuable tips on how you can leverage your mock MBA preparations!

Choose Your Mock Interviewer

Whether you are staying in student housing in London or student accommodation in Coventry, you can always ask your roommates, friends, college professors or your mentors to be your interviewers. However, it is preferable to ask someone in the same industry or a senior professional who has expertise in interviewing candidates for MBA.

Moreover, If possible, try to give your mock interview in the presence of multiple people as it will teach you how to analyse various viewpoints and manage different mindsets altogether.

Choose a Perfect Interview Setting

Depending on the mode of your MBA interview schedule–online or in person, arrange your mock setup accordingly. Set a date and ask your interviewer nicely to be present on it.

Recreating the professional setup lets you be comfortable on the interview day and focus on the conversation rather than dealing with the bouts of anxiety.

Dress Smartly!

We have all grown up hearing, on many occasions, ‘Your first impression is the last impression’. Indeed it is, and you must make the most out of it. Ensure it by dressing up smartly in formal attire.

It is essential for mock interviews, too, as your interviewer can give you feedback on your outfit, mannerism, body language, and anything you need to improve on.

Carry your Documents

Take your resume, work portfolio, academic certificates, and any other important document that would be necessary for the interview. There is no fixed pattern for interviews; everyone conducts their own way– it can be a quick one or an hour long.

At any given point, your interviewer might need to cross-check what you claim or simply want to take the conversation forward by evaluating your credentials. So it is advisable to carry all the mandatory documents in your mock interview to practise any counter-question or show anything that you can be asked for.

Come Early

It will ensure you form a habit of coming on time for your main interview. Sometimes, we fail to comply with our schedule and run late for important events. So to avoid any last-minute faux pas, it is better to practise it beforehand.

Maintain your Calm

We know how much you have been dreading this interview but unnecessarily stressing out will only worsen it.

Every interviewer prefers a candidate who is self-composed and confident. So you have all the time in the world to calm your nerves down by giving multiple rounds of mock interviews until you feel comfortable with them.

Master the Basics!

There are some inevitable questions that you cannot evade whatsoever. So practising them before is the only plausible thing to do.

They can be: Why did you choose this major? Or What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Practising them on repeat in your mock interviews helps you to memorise the points you need to put across and polish every word to give your best possible answer.

Remember, the interviewers are experienced people. They can tweak these simple questions to get your authentic self out. So instead of asking, ‘Tell me about yourself ?’ They can frame it like ‘How would your friends describe you?’ The crux of the question is the same; only the arrangement of words will be different.

Learn to Answer Impromptu Questions

Had an MBA interview been so easy, everyone would have passed it, right! That’s why there are multiple ways to assess a suitable candidate, and one such route is asking impromptu questions. They are random, and some of them are bizarre, which are not at all related to your academic experience.

These are specifically asked to keep the students on their toes and evaluate their thinking abilities on how innovatively they can answer.

So don’t forget to ask your mock interviewer to prepare a list of such questions to practise them.

Speak about your Accomplishments

We know you are a bright young mind who has done many great things in life. And this is the perfect time to flaunt them all.

  • Talk about the internship you did last summer, how you managed to get into the top 10 students in your class, or how passionately you have been involved with an NGO for over a year.
  • Talk about all your achievements and works, no matter how small but significant to the interview. Praising yourself is not a bad thing, but it helps you create a solid personal brand.

Record and Review your Performance

The final step is to record your interview and evaluate yourself. It is as valuable as the feedback given by the mock interviewer. Besides making notes during your mock interview, you should also examine how you did in the discussion.

So while sipping a cup of coffee in your student accommodation in Birmingham, pick a piece of paper and write down all the minute details like your tone, your body language, your communication skills, and more to provide yourself with a clear picture of where you need to improve and work hard.

Take as many mock interviews as you want until you feel confident enough to sit for your MBA interview. As the old saying goes, ‘Practise makes a man perfect!’ Thus, it will help you to sharpen your skills further and keep you in the right mindset.

Your dream business school is only one step away, and you have to leave no stone unturned to reach your goal. With the proper guidance and perseverance, you can achieve it. All the best!

How can Amberstudent help you?

AmberStudent serves millions of students worldwide by providing the best options and rewarding experience for booking a house. We are upgraded with the latest COVID protocols and would be delighted to assist you in booking your ideal home. Check out our Instagram and Facebook to stay updated.

Author: Harshita A (Content Writer at AmberStudent)

Harshita A, a postgraduate in English Journalism and a graduate in Hotel Management. She has worked in diverse industries and with people from all walks of life. Her well-rounded experience sparked her curiosity in constantly learning new things about the world and led her to write passionately about them.

Tips for writing a personal statement for university applications

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You have done the research and shortlisted the best Universities where you wish to pursue a degree from. When you start the application process, you realize that it’s more than just filling out some mandatory fields in a form. You need to submit a well-written personal statement, which can make or break the chances of admission. This is your golden chance to prove that you are the best candidate among thousands of other applicants.

Remember that a personal statement is not a replacement for an online application or a recommendation letter. The online application is the primary source of information about you, proving that you are eligible to apply for the said position in the University. A recommendation letter serves as a reference from a mentor or a teacher who had worked closely with you and can give unbiased judgments on your capabilities.

An ideal personal statement has a 7:3 ratio of academic to personal interests and provides an exclusive glimpse of your experiences and how they have shaped your passion. It takes time and consistent effort to curate a personal statement that the recruiters can’t deny. While there are debates about what a perfect personal statement looks like, here are some pointers you can keep in mind to produce a balanced, disciplined, and enjoyable letter.

What to include in personal statement

  • Soft skills: Talk about the skills that make you desirable for a career in the chosen path. Refer to the positions of responsibility you have held in the past and explain how that reflects your ability to work in a team or to work well with deadlines.

  • Ambition: Every university wants to produce a valuable asset to the world and hence does not want to invest in people without dreams. Write about how the particular course will benefit your career, what you can contribute, and find a way to connect all the points to the bigger picture.

  • Extraordinary achievements: Include any past accomplishments that impacted your career choices and explain how it aligns with the values you hold on an individual level.

What not to include in personal statement

  • Your name and other personal information: You don’t have to introduce yourself since all the relevant personal details are available in the application form you submit.
  • Educational qualification: This is not a space to showcase your academic grades or the number of completed courses. Stick to how you can use your aptitude to your advantage.

  • Anything already covered in the University application: Don’t waste the chance by repeating whatever you have included in the application form. Respect the word limit and keep it focused on why you are eligible for the course.

Tips for writing a personal statement

  • Write multiple drafts

Once you know the basic do’s and don’ts of writing an impressive and detailed personal statement, it’s time to start writing. The first draft won’t be perfect, so write multiple drafts and edit it many times until you are content with the result. Another tip is not to be adamant about the word limit for your first draft and use available resources. For example, students staying on campus, like the accommodation near Warwick University or University College London, have full-time access to the library and other resources that may help them polish their writing.

  • Use honest and crisp statements

Gone are the days people fell for well-crafted stories of how your interest in electronics piqued as you dismantle the electronic gadgets in your home. Avoid cliches and stick to concise and convincing excerpts of how your passion grew. Avoid generic claims and make them personal; you can stand out only if you tell a unique story. It’s very crucial to own every statement you make and be entirely honest about what you write.

  • Make a good first impression

With the digital space taking over our lives, the attention span is limited, and people just skim over articles before getting to it in detail. Besides being good with words, you should focus on the look and feel of your letter. Anyone should be able to skim through it and get to the important points right. As with any piece of reading, start with an appealing introduction to keeping the recruiters hooked. If there are specific details that you want the recruiters to notice, highlight that part or use a different font.

  • Read it out loud

You should stick to a well-rounded story that connects dots between your passion, aptitude, and future plans. It should have a flow and follow a simple format and transition between the paragraphs. You can keep these points in check if you read out your draft. Read it from a recruiter’s perspective and see if you are touching on all the critical points. You can also ask a friend to listen as you read it and ask for an honest opinion.

  • Ask for feedback

This cannot be stressed enough. You should always take second opinions on your draft from people at different stages of the educational ladder. You can ask your peers, seniors, or professors to proofread your personal statement for any subtleties that you might not have noticed. Students in the final year of graduate programs often hang out together in their hostel lobbies, reading and discussing different sample personal statements. For instance, students in Coventry University student housing spend long hours at night brainstorming ideas and giving feedback to each other for improvement.

How can Amberstudent help you?

AmberStudent serves millions of students worldwide by providing the best options and rewarding experience for booking a house. We are upgraded with the latest COVID protocols and would be more than happy to assist you in booking your ideal home. Tune in to our Facebook and Instagram to stay updated.

Author Bio:

Arya Antherjanam V (Content and SEO Executive at AmberStudent)

Arya Antherjanam V dropped her research studies in Physics to pursue writing full time. A content writer by day, a poet by night, and a performer on weekends, she delivers SEO-optimized content and creates engaging copies.

How to readjust to campus life after the Covid-19 pandemic?

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The last few months have been a tough time for both current and future college students. With the world economy opening for the best, the student community has been left hanging in mid-air with an irregularity of higher education. After ultimately moving to online learning last spring, many universities have announced their plans for the upcoming fall semester, which has caused a panic amongst the student populace.

 

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This year, many institutions have decided to invite their students back into their universities. With a promising future outlook in 2021 and rapid vaccination drives being followed, many international education providers such as the UK, Australia, Canada, and the US have given out their MOUs to replenish their empty classrooms once again. While the decision couldn’t be any better, many students have come forward regarding personal concerns related to adjustments to the “New” normal.

 

This year, we have received hundreds of emails regarding the new updates/ changes of university education after the outbreak. To help our readers out, we have collected a series of some common questions and have answered them to deliver aid to you and your friends. Continue reading our article and find out the common problems during readjusting to campus life after the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Simple remedies while readjusting to campus life after the pandemic

 

●What to do when feeling a little different or awkward?

 

One of the most common problems that arose during the pandemic is the practice of 1-on-1 conversation. During the early days, communication didn’t feel abnormal. But as the new normal took place, many students reported hesitation or slower pace in their communication skills. That’s why it is vital to feeling similar as everyone around you would have felt the same and can effectively remove it with due course of time.

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Furthermore, try putting yourself back into your learning shoes and start practicing soft skills back at home. Though this may sound stupendous or fooling around, many of our readers have shared that having some spare time had helped them recover from their weak points. As well as anyone can be, going for one or two things to sharpen them better wouldn’t bring any harm, don’t you agree?

 

●Should you be concerned about the place you live?

 

With over one year being down, many students have expressed an upgrade in their student housing services. And it is perfectly normal! Students visiting many UK colleges are bound to check their place before signing their leases for the next semester. Proper sanitization, effective hygiene, and adequate precautions have become the new requirements for many students.

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Besides, many new agendas that safeguard the security of students have also become a new norm amongst the students. For starters, many students now aspire to efficient security measures and spatial rooms while looking for a place to stay. Despite the pressure of high charges of rents, a large flock of students is prone to choose safety and comfort over spendings for their stay.

 

●How to adapt to such a transition?

 

Many students also felt different due to a transition experienced in a short period. From spending hours outside and away from bed to giving your sofa or couch ample time, every student has suffered from what researchers are now calling the “Lockdown Fatigue”. As many have reported feeling less competitive or fully exhausted in a short time, others telltale their experience of having less focus and irregular work ethic.

 

A primary solution for such a problem lies in its entirety. Many new studies have shown that students who aim to cope after the pandemic’s contemporary living quickly jump over the fast-paced life. On the other hand, students must realize that having regular intervals of continuity of studies or work can leave greater productivity and enhance their efficiency for the long run.

 

●Does the idea “Is college still worth it” popping up?

 

With the upliftment of online study, the education model has shapeshifted 180-degrees that nobody would have thought of. From physical teaching to video-chat discussions, students have adapted to such practices to realize a secondary nature of learning. But despite this rise, many students still feel a vacant space of face-to-face education and experience, which is as satisfactory as online studies.

 

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Interestingly, many renowned universities such as University of Oxford, Imperial College London, and their peers have started giving transferable courses that can be changed from numerous city colleges onto their administration. This way, students can make a smooth transition when feeling low-point during one period and integrate productivity into their physical education model.

 

●What to expect if you’re an incoming freshman?

 

Those who are in their freshman year can start by making a suitable timetable as per their online classes. This will help them schedule their tasks according to their slots but will keep up to their leisure time as well. Students can also aim to wake a little bit early in the morning to tackle the crucial tasks and leave enough time during their afternoon or night.

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In addition, if leaving for offline classes or your campus, students can start their life by making as much communication as possible. One of the simplest ways to grow into your college life is by choosing various social groups, Facebook pages, and other social handles. This way, you can expand your network at a tepid pace and land on a safer foot after leaving the university.

 

Related article – 9 Things Nobody Will Tell You Before Sophomore Year.

 

Conclusion

 

So, here it is. These are some of the most common topics or queries we have collected from our readers and our participants. These points, as we hope, will cater to some or all of your needs and create better opportunities for you in the university. At last, if we have left some other points that you think would be great to add, we are always open to hearing from the young minds!

 

How Can AmberStudent Help You?

 

This post is written by AmberStudent.  AmberStudent is an international student accommodation booking platform that is devoted to giving you the best experience and option for student accommodation. They have upgraded continuously with the COVID policies and would be more than eager to assist you in finding the best home away from home.

 

Author’s Bio

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Vishvender Singh is a content marketing professional at Amberstudent, one of the top 10 accommodation booking platforms that has its presence in over 120 cities. Vishvender offers ghostwriting, copywriting, and blogging services and has worked with a great number of startups including TechAhead, Cannibals, and Stratezic Media. A college student, everyday learner and delivering his writings in the field of business administration and creative writing, he is the Go-To person for the best possible writing solutions you can ask for.

 

 

University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Business School Overview

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The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) offers these departments and concentrations: accounting, e-commerce, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics, finance, general management, health care administration, human resources management, insurance, international business, marketing, production/operations management, public policy, real estate, and quantitative analysis/statistics and operations research. Its tuition is full-time: $74,500 per year. At graduation, 81 percent of graduates of the full-time program are employed.

The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania was the U.S.’s first business school and now has the largest alumni network in the country.

In addition to graduate business degrees, students can pursue joint degrees, including an accelerated MBA/J.D. degree in three years in conjunction with the Penn Law School; an MBA/M.A. degree in International Studies; and joint degree programs through the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Students can also earn a Ph.D. at Wharton, typically in four to five years, in nine areas including ethics & legal studies, statistics and applied economics.

Students learn how to handle stress, make critical decisions and lead a team outside the classroom on outdoor trips called Ventures. Whether students are mountaineering on Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro, trekking through Antarctica or sailing in Grenada, they put their leadership skills to the test during the weeklong trips. For leadership training closer to home, students can get hands-on experience in about 25 research centers on campus and have close to 150 organizations to get involved in.

The school has campuses in Philadelphia and San Francisco. Students at the Philadelphia campus can live in University City, an area also home to Drexel University and the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

There are close to 90,000 alumni worldwide, and some of the most notable graduates are John Sculley, former CEO of Apple Inc.; Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn; and J.D. Power III, founder of J.D. Power and Associates, a global marketing information firm.

Stanford University Business School Overview

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The Graduate School of Business at Stanford University offers these departments and concentrations: accounting, e-commerce, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics, finance, general management, health care administration, human resources management, leadership, manufacturing and technology management, marketing, not-for-profit management, production/operations management, organizational behavior, portfolio management, public administration, public policy, real estate, sports business, supply chain management/logistics, quantitative analysis/statistics and operations research, and technology. Its tuition is full-time: $73,062 per year. At graduation, 67.50 percent of graduates of the full-time program are employed.

Stanford University 2021 Rankings

Stanford University is ranked No. 1 (tie) in Best Business Schools. Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence.

 

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UVA INTENDS TO START IN-PERSON CLASSES IN AUGUST

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The University of Virginia is developing plans for the fall semester that assume classes will begin on time in August and that in-person instruction will conclude by Thanksgiving.

UVA leaders shared those and other initial decisions Thursday in a message to the University community, outlining key assumptions about operations for the coming academic year while emphasizing that many details remain to be sorted out – all of which remain contingent upon the guidance of health experts and subject to changing conditions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Final decisions and additional details are expected to be announced in mid-June.

“We have been guided by our desire to offer an exceptional experience for our students and, at the same time, to safeguard the health and safety of the UVA and Charlottesville community,” said the message, which was signed by President Jim Ryan, Provost Liz Magill, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer J.J. Davis and Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Dr. K. Craig Kent.

A Fall 2020 Committee, formed in April and chaired by Magill, has spent weeks exploring issues and pursuing answers to key questions about the University’s upcoming academic year. The key issues have included:

  • Determining the date by which a decision about the fall semester must be made.
  • Identifying the safest date on which classes could resume on Grounds and what conditions might apply.
  • Thinking about alternative academic calendars and options for classes.
  • Looking at ways to support faculty in creating an amazing online experience.
  • Considering the impact of these decisions on the University’s finances and operations.

The committee and UVA leadership also have sought input from the University community, including conducting surveys of undergraduate, graduate, and professional students; holding a Faculty Senate virtual town hall; launching a faculty survey; and initiating plans for a staff town hall and survey.

In Thursday’s message, the UVA leaders said the current intention is to begin undergraduate courses on Aug. 25.

“Assuming state and federal public health guidelines allow, we are planning to have students back on Grounds and to hold in-person classes this fall,” the message indicated. “We are still trying to determine how many students we can have safely back on Grounds and living in dorms, and how many in-person classes we can host, given social distancing restrictions.”

Larger classes will remain online all semester, as will classes taught by faculty who have health concerns. Classes offered in-person, with the exception of some practicums, will also be available remotely, since some students will not be able to return to Grounds. Most students will have the option to remain home in the fall and participate in classes remotely. Most students also will continue to have options to defer enrollment or take a gap year.

To increase options and to ensure that all undergraduates can earn a full year’s worth of credits no matter how they begin the semester, the University is exploring an expansion of its January Term course offerings. It also is considering ways to allow students to stretch their classes across a longer period of time than the traditional academic calendar. Details on those considerations, as well as those for professional and graduate schools that might have unique requirements or constraints, will be coming later.

The University is planning to finish in-person instruction by Thanksgiving, after which students will not return to Grounds until the new year to minimize risks associated with travel back and forth to Charlottesville. Whether exams can be hosted on Grounds before Thanksgiving or offered remotely hasn’t been determined.

The University community message also promised plans for enhanced safety measures, including protocols for testing, tracing and isolating anyone who tests positive for COVID-19, as well as identifying spaces to quarantine on-Grounds residents exposed to those who have contracted COVID-19.

“We are also acquiring personal protective equipment – including masks – for students, faculty and staff. And we are developing social distancing guidelines, as well as norms and rules around these guidelines,” the message stated. “This includes making plans for managing dining halls, libraries and recreational facilities, as well as for ramping up scholarship and research – which we are preparing to do now.”

The message acknowledged there are risks associated with bringing students back to Grounds and emphasized the trust being placed in the entire University community.

“We also believe we should do our best to be open for students, for several reasons. One of UVA’s greatest strengths is our world-class residential learning experience – something that, as all of you know by now, cannot be fully replicated online,” the message said. “We also appreciate that learning remotely is much harder for some students than others, given different living arrangements, family circumstances, and family obligations. There is also no end in reasonable sight for this virus, which makes it even more imperative that we do our best to adapt.”

Additional updates concerning the framework for the upcoming semester will be announced in mid-June.

 

‘LOOKING BACKWARD, LOOKING FORWARD’

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To the University community,

On Sunday, I offered some brief reflections on social media regarding the death of George Floyd. Those reflections and that medium were inadequate to the topic, which is why I am writing to you today.

Let me start with the obvious but nonetheless essential. What happened to George Floyd – his callous and indifferent killing at the hands of a white police officer – was immoral and sickening. As Dean Risa Goluboff wrote recently, it might be tempting also to say it was “shocking,” but that wrongly suggests it was surprising. The recent and senseless deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many others before them whose lives were cut short demonstrate otherwise. This sort of violence against black people, including at the hands of those who are supposed to protect all of us, is sadly all too familiar and stretches back not just decades, but centuries, through the Civil Rights Era, Jim Crow, Reconstruction, and slavery.

And let me apologize. When I wrote last weekend, I felt deep despair. Despair for the treatment experienced by so many people of color in this country – not just by police, but by every segment of society, including higher education, including here at UVA. Despair for the current state of our country, which seems to be unraveling before our eyes. Despair for the continued racial inequities across a wide range of contexts – education, criminal justice, health care, housing, jobs – that are still there, as is the systemic racism that underlies those inequities.

But in my own despair, in indulging in it, I failed to express the genuine sorrow I feel for the unequal and unfair burden that I know our black students, faculty, and staff carry with them, not just through this episode, but through every day. George Floyd’s death is just another sharp reminder that far too many people of color in this country live a life that is less secure – less safe – than white people, in part because of encounters with police officers who inflicted harm on people they were meant to protect. As a white parent of four kids, I have not had to have the conversation that so many black parents have had with theirs, cautioning them about how to behave around those who are meant to protect all of us. For all of that, I am truly sorry – both for that burden and for failing to acknowledge it.

And I know it’s time to act and not simply to despair or rest on faith. Over the weekend, the Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at UVA posted a powerful statement from a group of faculty, staff, and community members reflecting on the latest tragedies. In it, they wrote:

We must continue to do the hard work that will help ensure that our future is different, more just, more accepting, and more inclusive. The future we envision is one in which the devaluing of life is no longer accepted, and where bigotry no longer contaminates our systems and institutions, burdening some community members much more than others.

I couldn’t agree more, and I am committed to that work. It’s in many ways why I came (back) here.

Through the hard work of many students, faculty, and staff – not to mention the persistent advocacy of alumni and community members – UVA is a better place today than it was a decade ago, or the decade before that. But there is more work to do in order for UVA to look more like the state and country in which we live; in order for UVA to be a trusted neighbor to the Charlottesville region; and in order for all students, faculty, and staff to have their voices and their presence equally valued, respected, and included in their everyday lives on Grounds.

I have tried to champion some of that work in my two years as president, and some of it – like increasing student and faculty diversity and being a good neighbor to the Charlottesville region – is in our strategic plan. To complement and push that work forward, today I have asked three colleagues to lead a racial equity task force: Ian Solomon, the Dean of the Batten School of Public Policy; Kevin McDonald, our Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and Barbara Brown Wilson, a faculty member in the School of Architecture and the faculty director of The Equity Center. This group will convene with students, faculty, and staff to gather together the growing list of recommendations, suggestions, and demands regarding the subject of racial equity at UVA – and to solicit others – and will send me a concrete and prioritized set of recommendations about the best steps forward, including actions that can be implemented right away.

Eleven days after I returned to UVA to begin as president, I spoke at an event to mark and remember the one-year anniversary of the white supremacist march through Grounds the year before. As I said then and will say again here:

I stand here today as an ally. I am surely an imperfect one, which is to say I am human, like all of you. I will disappoint some of you for doing too much and others for doing too little, some for going too fast and others for not going fast enough. But I know in my heart where I would like to go, and that is the place where our aspirations and our realities finally intersect. I know that many of you, so many of you, would like to get there as well.

I look forward to our continued, imperfect journey together.

Best,

Jim

James E. Ryan
President
University of Virginia

U-M Precision Health COVID-19 research

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U-M PRECISION HEALTH COVID-19 RESEARCH PROJECTS

M-CURES (Michigan COVID Utilization and Risk Evaluation System)

Goal: to build models using clinical data including laboratory results, vital sign measurements, and receipt of medications for predicting patient outcomes and resource utilization in patients who test positive for COVID-19, to guide clinical and operational work.
This project is a partnership with the Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation (IHPI), requested by Jeffrey Desmond, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Michigan Medicine, and John Ayanian, MD, MPP, Director of IHPI and Chair of Precision Health’s Faculty Advisory Committee.

Co-Leads:
Brahmajee Nallamothu
, MD, Data Analytics & IT Workgroup Leader, Precision Health; Professor, Cardiovascular Diseases, Dept. of Internal Medicine; Director, Michigan Integrated Center for Health Analytics & Medical Prediction (MiCHAMP)
Michael Sjoding, MD, Assistant Professor, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Dept. of Internal Medicine
Jenna Wiens, PhD, Co-Director, Precision Health; Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering
Karandeep Singh, MD, MMSc, Assistant Professor, Learning Health Sciences and Medicine

I am extremely impressed with how my grad students came together and worked together. They exceeded all expectations. —Jenna Wiens

Early risk stratification of COVID-positive patients using chest imaging data

Goal: make available, through the Precision Health Analytics Platform, the chest x-ray images of all Michigan Medicine patients tested for COVID-19.

Lead: Michael Sjoding, MD, Assistant Professor, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Dept. of Internal Medicine

COVID-19 survey

Goal: to send a COVID-19 survey to all CBR-consented participants.  The survey asks about COVID symptoms and SARS-CoV-2 exposure, enhancing the biorepositories and allowing research to continue to develop a COVID-19 phenotype.

Lead: Cristen Willer, PhD, Cohort Development Workgroup Leader, Precision Health; Associate Professor, Internal Medicine, Human Genetics, and Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics

Our overarching objective is to evaluate the impact of the novel coronavirus and to identify clues to prevent severe COVID-19 disease. —Whitney Hornsby, Willer Lab

Wearables In Reducing risk and Enhancing Daily Life-style (WIRED-L) / COVID-19 Health Evaluation & Cardiovascular Complications (CHECC) Study

WIRED-L Goal: establish the Wearables In Reducing risk and Enhancing Daily Life-style (WIRED-L) Center, dedicated to building and testing mobile health (mHealth) apps that leverage wearables like smartwatches to improve physical activity and nutrition in hypertensive patients. WIRED-L will enroll diverse communities that include African Americans and older adults rarely included in mHealth studies, to better close the digital divide between rich and poor. Funded by the American Heart Association.
(CHECC) Study ($200K supplemental research grant related to WIRED-L)

Goal: to better understand the broad impact of COVID-19 infection on the daily lives of MIPACT and REACH-OUT participants. Specific aims include determining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physiologic parameters among mHealth participants, and determining the short- and intermediate-term CV health and outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lead: Brahmajee Nallamothu, MD, Data Analytics & IT Workgroup Leader, Precision Health; Professor, Cardiovascular Diseases, Dept. of Internal Medicine; Director, Michigan Integrated Center for Health Analytics & Medical Prediction (MiCHAMP)

COVID-19 starting population at Michigan Medicine

Goal: to capture the COVID-19-positive patient population at Michigan Medicine and make this starting population (and relevant data) available through the self-serve tool DataDirect for cohort-building and research purposes.

This project is a collaboration with the Michigan Medicine Data Office for Clinical and Translational Research and the Research Data Warehouse.

COV-IND-19 app (covind19.org)

Goal: to provide a resource to describe the COVID-19 outbreak in India to date, as well as prediction models under various hypothetical scenarios. The figure and forecasting models update as new data becomes available, at least daily.

Lead: Bhramar Mukherjee, PhD, Cohort Development Workgroup Leader, Precision Health; John D. Kalbfleisch Collegiate Professor of Biostatistics; Chair, Biostatistics

Data scientists have a huge role to play in this collective war against the virus, not just for forecasting but for optimally deploying resources. As we go through this pandemic, I root for public health, for science and innovation, and for the magic of human kindness. —Bhramar Mukherjee

Understanding COVID-19 co-morbidities and risk factors

Goal: using electronic health record data on patients in Michigan Medicine who tested positive for a SARS-CoV-2 infection, to expand knowledge about the underlying risk factors and comorbidities. By characterizing COVID-19 patients’ health profiles and contrasting them with the overall Michigan Medicine cohort, the project can highlight differences in regard to pre-existing conditions and lab measurements, and use demographics to quantify existing health disparities. The aim of the project is to identify subgroups in the overall patient cohort that are especially vulnerable to COVID-19.

Lead: Bhramar Mukherjee, PhD, Cohort Development Workgroup Leader, Precision Health; John D. Kalbfleisch Collegiate Professor of Biostatistics; Chair, Biostatistics
Co-Investigators:
Lars Fritsche
, PhD, Assistant Research Scientist, Biostatistics
Sachin Kheterpal, MD, MBA, CO-Director, Precision Health; Professor, Anesthesiology; Associate Dean, Research Information Technology (Medical School)
Lynda Lisabeth, PhD, MPH, Cohort Development Workgroup Leader, Precision Health; Professor, Epidemiology; Research Professor, Neurology
Cristen Willer, PhD, Cohort Development Workgroup Leader, Precision Health; Associate Professor, Internal Medicine, Human Genetics, and Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics
Maxwell Salvatore, Research Area Specialist

Remote outreach for recovered and recovering COVID patients

Goal: Use current Precision Health protocol (remote outreach, e-consenting, and electronic survey delivery) to contact recovered and recovering COVID patients. Biosamples are being used when available.

Lead: Bhramar Mukherjee, PhD, Cohort Development Workgroup Leader, Precision Health; John D. Kalbfleisch Collegiate Professor of Biostatistics; Chair, Biostatistics

COVID-19 PROJECTS BY PRECISION-HEALTH-FUNDED RESEARCHERS

Near real-time cytokine measurement in COVID-19 patients

Goal: To apply the cytokine screening platform to COVID-19 patient cytokine monitoring and potentially develop a fully automated system near the bedside that would be useful in guiding the immunotherapy of cytokine storm, which is frequently associated with severe cases of COVID-19 patients. This is an extension of the PH-funded project of PH Scholar Yujing Song.

Co-Leads:
Benjamin Singer, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Katsuo Kurabayashi, PhD, Professor, Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

I’m personally very excited about this synergistic collaboration between Engineering and Medicine to translate our platform to wide clinical use to tailor biomarker-targeted immunomodulatory therapy. —Katsuo Kurabayashi

Digital assistance to help people cope with the COVID-19 outbreak

Goal: To build an online interface in which people can write about the major issues they are facing during the COVID-19 outbreak. The system will use natural language processing to analyze the responses and provide personalized feedback and pointers to useful resources. In collaboration with psychologists from University of Texas, motivational interviewing experts from the U-M School of Public Health, and health communication experts from Michigan Medicine. This work is directly related to the PH-funded research of PH Investigators Rada Mihalcea and Veronica Perez-Rosas.

Lead: Rada Mihalcea, PhD, Janice M. Jenkins Collegiate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering; Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Professor, Data Science Initiative, U-M Office of Research

Natural language processing to understand mental health changes in response to COVID-19 outbreak

Goal: Development of natural language processing methods to understand the changes in mental health associated with the COVID-19 outbreak, and whether certain people are more susceptible to be affected by these changes. This work is informed by collaborations with psychologists and experts in the study of depression from the School of Public Health and Medical School at Michigan, and the Psychology department at the University of Texas.

Lead: Rada Mihalcea, PhD, Janice M. Jenkins Collegiate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering; Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Professor, Data Science Initiative, U-M Office of Research

Network analysis for drug repurposing

Goal: A multidisciplinary team including Danai Koutra, PhD, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, aims to develop network analysis techniques to identify combinations of existing drugs that could improve outcomes for COVID-19 patients until a vaccine is developed.

This project is a multidisciplinary collaboration among the Graph Exploration and Mining at Scale (GEMS) lab, the U-M Center for Drug Repurposing, and Michigan Medicine.

Statistical estimation of time-varying transmission and removal rates in epidemiological processes: an application to the COVID-19 pandemic

Goal: to study the pandemic in the most severely impacted countries, and analyze and forecast the evolving pandemic by using a Poisson model with time-dependent transmission and removal rates, which can capture possible random errors in reporting.

Lead: Yi Li, PhD, Professor, Biostatistics

COVID-19 PROJECTS BY PRECISION HEALTH MEMBERS

Lead: Nikola Banovic, PhD, Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Antibody fractionation and cytotoxicity testing of patient’s COVID-19 convalescent plasma

Lead: Sofia D. Merajver, MD, PhD, Professor, Hematology/Oncology, Dept. of Internal Medicine

Molecular pathways of COVID-19 acute kidney injury

Lead: Matthias Kretzler, PhD, Professor, Internal Medicine/Nephrology and Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics

HARMONY – Home Activities and Routines Observed Naturally

Lead: Richard Gonzalez, Amos N. Tversky Collegiate Professor of Psychology and Statistics; Director, Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research

Disposable face shields as PPE for healthcare workers

Lead: Max Shtein, PhD, Professor, Material Science and Engineering and Stamps School of Art & Design

Intern Health Study (assessing risk exposure, work demands, and physical and mental health of 1500 training physicians during the COVID-19 outbreak)

Lead: Srijan Sen, MD, PhD, PROMPT Precision Health Study Leader; Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg Professor of Depression and Neurosciences, Associate Chair for Research and Faculty Development, Dept. of Psychiatry; Associate Vice President, Health Sciences, U-M Office of Research

Assessing COVID-19 using social media

Co-Leads:
Al Hero, PhD, John H. Holland Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; R. Jamison and Betty Williams Professor of Engineering; Professor, Statistics
Walter Dempsey, PhD, Assistant Professor, Biostatistics; Assistant Research Professor, Institute for Social Research

Internal medicine family support network

Lead: Amy Cohn, PhD, Data Analytics & IT Workgroup Leader, Precision Health; Alfred F. Thurnau Professor, Dept. of Industrial and Operations Engineering; Associate Director, Center for Healthcare Engineering and Patient Safety

Survey: older Americans’ access to prescriptions during COVID pandemic

Lead: Brian Zikmund-Fisher, PhD, Associate Professor, Health Behavior & Health Education; Research Associate Professor, Dept. of Internal Medicine

Prophylactic vaccination against COVID-19

Lead: James Moon, PhD, John G. Searle Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences; Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Don’t Be Afraid to Fall: Brené Brown Delivers Message of Resilience for 2020 Graduates

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Internationally acclaimed researcher and author, UT Austin graduate and McCombs School of Business visiting professor Brené Brown delivered a message of resilience and hope for 2020 graduates at The University of Texas at Austin’s Spring Commencement ceremony.

Brown was the keynote speaker for this year’s virtual ceremony, which included a celebratory Tower lighting and live conferring of degrees.

“My falls have taught me a hundred times more than any of my achievements ever have, ever could and ever will,” Brown told graduates. “I owe 100 percent of my accomplishments to taking smart risks and trusting myself.”

New Online Master’s Degree in Data Science is a First for The University of Texas at Austin

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USTIN, Texas — In response to high demand for professionals with scientific and technical training to understand and work with massive amounts of data, The University of Texas at Austin is set to launch a new online master’s degree program in data science. Pending final approval by UT System and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the new program will be a collaboration between the Department of Computer Science, ranked among the top 10 programs in the country by U.S. News and World Report; the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences, one of the university’s newest and fastest-growing departments; and online learning company edX.

“UT Austin is home to top leaders in diverse disciplines ranging from statistics to data science to machine learning,” said Paul Goldbart, dean of UT Austin’s College of Natural Sciences. “These talented faculty experts are joining together to advance a highly relevant new master’s degree program that will prepare our students for professional success across nearly every industry.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that by 2026, there will be a need for 11.5 million more data scientists. Data science professionals tackle projects within organizations as diverse as searching for a COVID-19 vaccine, engineering cybersecurity solutions, and helping publishers and broadcasters understand their audiences’ preferences.

“Data science is the fastest growing career field in the world, and there is a huge demand for experts,” said Michael Mahometa, director of consulting and professional development in the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences. “There are very few aspects of the modern economy that data science doesn’t touch.”

UT Austin’s online data science master’s degree will be the first from a top-tier university to be available for less than the cost of a new economy car. Students who receive admission to the program will be able to complete the degree for about $10,000, in contrast to other competitive, nationally ranked institutions with data sciences degrees, for whom the cost of tuition ranges from $20,000-$70,000. The degree program is designed to offer flexibility, allowing prospective students to attend part time on their own schedules.

“Too often, qualified students forgo graduate study because of factors such as family obligations, the need to maintain an income, or the fear of not being able to afford tuition,” said Don Fussell, chair of the Department of Computer Science. “Our objective when we embarked on this project was to create the first technical data science master’s degree that didn’t force students to make those tradeoffs.”

The Department of Computer Science launched a successful computer science online master’s degree program last year in conjunction with edX. The new program will build on the achievements of that program.

To be admitted into the program, candidates must have completed an undergraduate degree, ideally in science or engineering, and taken the GRE. Program leaders are encouraging candidates with degrees in other fields to apply if they have a passion for data science and work experience in the field.

Applications for the new data science online master’s program will open this summer.