The TechTrek program provides Boston College undergraduate students with the opportunity to interact with top executives from Apple, Google, and eBay. During spring break, students interested in business will take part in a field study in Silicon Valley and San Francisco.
Founded and led by John Gallaugher, an associate professor in the Carroll School of Management, TechTrek was established four years ago for CSOM graduate students and has recently been expanded to allow undergraduate participation. TechTrek is a three-credit seminar class that meets for half a semester and is not restricted to CSOM students. The class focuses on how companies develop from start-up to blue chip, both from the perspective of the firm and from those organizations that provide access to capital.
A group of 24 students will meet with CEOs, partners, and senior executives from over 15 companies, many of whom are BC alumni. TechTrek is the only university group permitted to visit Apple World Headquarters, and students will attend lectures and a dinner with partners and executives-in-residence at Tallwood Venture Capital, and sessions and lunch at the Googleplex. The group's itinerary also provides for one day of non-business fun, which includes eating dim sum in San Francisco and a visit to Alcatraz island.
Athough the course encompasses an extensive field study portion, most of the class is used for research and preparation. Prior to the trip, the students are broken up into teams of two and assigned to research a company that the class will be visiting.
Coached by Gallaugher, student teams work together to fully understanding the company's history, recent activities, and current competitive challenges, then share this with their peers. Groups assign readings, give a presentation, and run a discussion session. Students read two books and roughly 100 articles, and complete a rigorous exam before heading west.
"The class is set up so that we teach each other," said participant Gretchen Andrus, CSOM '10. Andrus said that the class is centered on student research that extends beyond the classroom. "[To prepare for the field study portion of the class] I've started reading rigorously, my Google Alert is set on each company we are visiting, and I am always scanning for any information about them," Andrus said.
