Shape the Future of Business at NYU

Any student at NYU with a business concept or the desire to explore can access our many resources for entrepreneurs. What’s more, New York City itself is the place to be if you’re an innovator. “This is a melting pot of diverse cultures, people, and perspectives,” says Anandini Chawla. She is a Computer Science major at the College of Arts and Science with dreams of developing a start-up based on nutrition. “While technology permeates all aspects of our lives, business at its heart is still about people. NYU’s diverse population helps shape us into students with broad visions and open outlooks that drive creativity and initiative.”

Students take this creativity and drive to the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute, which leads university-wide initiatives to help launch successful start-ups. It also centralizes school-specific resources. At NYU, you have access to labs where budding NYU entrepreneurs come together for collaboration; participate in dozens of workshops, start-up boot camps, funding competitions, and coaching sessions; and work in ultramodern prototyping labs. Don’t know how to use a 3-D printer or an Arduino board? Maybe you’ve never even heard of an Arduino board? Don’t worry: it’s a programmable circuit board, and NYU staff can train you in everything you need to know about it.

Exciting opportunities arise when ideas transcend borders and minds come together. Students at the Stern School of Business who co-concentrate in global business can learn about economies in Asia and the Middle East, then see them in action by studying abroad at NYU Shanghai or NYU Abu Dhabi. They can also examine the way business evolves in emerging markets. Then, they look at how digital innovations can make geographical barriers a nonissue.

In addition to taking advantage of robust opportunities at NYU global locations on six continents, juniors and seniors at Stern can network with students from around the world by participating in NYU Stern’s International Business Exchange Program (IBEX). IBEX students spend a semester directly enrolled in a partner business school such as Yonsei University in South Korea or Copenhagen Business School in Denmark.

Technology has changed the face of business. At the Tandon School of Engineering, Business and Technology Management (BTM) majors learn how to be business leaders who can integrate complex technologies—whether they exist yet or not—into different professional settings. “The future of business is going to be automated,” says BTM major Isabella DeSimone, 2020.

Isabella is excited by the countless possibilities promised by new technologies. That being said, she is also concerned with how to implement them. “Artificial intelligence will improve efficiency and the quality of life for many. But it also means a lot of jobs will disappear,” she explains. “As a BTM major, I think about how job opportunities will shift in the future. I want to be someone who knows how to implement new technologies ethically and make incremental changes so as not to capsize whole lives.”

Businesses can profit while also benefiting society and respecting the environment. Through Stern’s four-course Social Impact Curriculum, students explore personal and professional ethics. They also examine corporate social responsibility. When they want to go a step further, some, like Maggie Paruta, 2020, concentrate in sustainable business. Here, they study business and the environment, strategy with social purpose, and social impact investing. Some pursue the Social Entrepreneurship minor offered in conjunction with the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Policy. They learn about economic inequality, government involvement in the market, the rise of mission-driven businesses, and the power of microfinancing for social good.

“Business is changing in many ways,” says Maggie. “But the trends I’m most interested in are the ones that show that people are increasingly making more conscious purchasing decisions, voting with their dollars, and pursuing meaningful careers.” These are things that have the power to gradually change the way businesses conduct themselves, moving beyond simple corporate accountability to shareholders. “When businesses are accountable to their employees, local and global communities, and the environment,” says Maggie, “they create real long-term value for society.”