A relatively unsung program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management is the school’s Health Enterprise Management program, and a “star” within this program is the Global Health Initiative (GHI)—co-founded in 2004 by Kellogg professor Daniel Diermeier, with several students in leadership and advisory roles. In this initiative, academics, students and representatives from corporations and nonprofits create products that solve medical problems around the world. One project that stood out in particular to us at mbaMission was the GHI’s receipt of a $4.9M grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2006 to develop diagnostic devices capable of identifying the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Another impressive experiential offering is the multidisciplinary “Medical Innovation” class, which brings together industry leaders, top faculty members and students from several of Northwestern’s graduate schools (Law, Engineering, Medicine and Business). During this two-term course, students experience the “entire innovation life cycle” from multiple perspectives: scientific, legal and entrepreneurial/managerial. Students even shadow surgeons and observe clinicians to facilitate their own brainstorming sessions for an innovative product. In the end, an actual product is created and presented to potential investors. Clearly, Kellogg provides students interested in health care with an opportunity to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty (and then sanitize them after, of course).
For more information on other defining characteristics of the MBA program at Kellogg or one of 15 other top business schools, please check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides.