MIT Sloan School of Management announced the launch of its new Digital Product Management Certificate program, created in response to increasing demand from both students and employers. The certificate is available to students who are enrolled in MIT Sloan graduate degree programs.
Product managers play a number of important and complex roles, overseeing the processes of how a product is designed, engineered, marketed, and launched. Research from McKinsey & Company indicates that the role of product manager is growing and changing, with an increased focus on understanding the customer and using machine-learning tools designed to augment decision making. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of global technology leaders surveyed for the IEEE’s Impact of Technology in 2022 and Beyond survey say recruiting for open tech positions—requiring skills in technology, business and leadership—will be challenging.
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“The field of product management has changed dramatically, largely because of the need to deliver value in software,” says Vivek Farias, Patrick J. McGovern (1959) Professor at MIT Sloan and faculty lead of this certificate program. “This is not just an engineering task, and often the types of problems solved with software can’t be defined right away. It’s an art to be able to manage a complex, iterative process and learn from the market while not spending too much time or money. Good product managers are experts at that art.”
Farias describes this certificate as being a “very MIT program,” in that it reflects MIT’s motto of mens et manus (“mind and hand”). Students start the program with a month of working on an actual product team at one of MIT Sloan’s approximately fifty partner companies—which cover a wide range of sizes. After that, students begin classes in which they gain a wide variety of skills and understanding. For example, students may undertake a project in which they build a working URL shortener on Google Cloud, as an exercise in gaining a better understanding of the challenges faced by those who actually create the software product.
“We are seeing tremendous growth in careers in product management,” says Mark Newhall, Director of Employer Relations and Recruiting in MIT Sloan’s Career Development Office.
“Employers are seeking product managers who have a blend of strong tactical execution and leadership skills. This new certificate will enable students to differentiate themselves as having a serious interest in pursuing a career in product management.”
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Newhall notes that product management (tied with finance) is now the second most popular career function for MIT Sloan graduates. For those going into the technology sector—which was about a quarter of the school’s MBA ’21 graduates—it is the most popular career function. Between 2012 and 2020, the number of MIT Sloan graduates going into full-time, product management roles has more than doubled. MIT Sloan’s Digital Product Management Lab (PM-Lab)—one of MIT Sloan’s Action Learning Labs that allow students to integrate classroom learning with real-world management challenges—has experienced a 7.5x increase in the number of student applications between 2018 and 2021. Most PM Lab participants go on to recruit for product management roles over the summer and full-time.
The new Digital Product Management Certificate includes 12 units of required courses, comprised of the DPM Lab and the core Digital Product Management class, and the 27 units of electives in subject areas, which includes operations and product development, product strategy, marketing and sales, and finance.
Steve Papa, a serial entrepreneur who has built B2B products and companies creating $100B of peak market capitalization, and who lectures regularly in MIT Sloan’s Digital Product Management class with Farias, emphasizes the outsize role product managers now play in the success of technology companies. “Product managers are the fulcrum for the success of a technology company to a much greater extent than the storied role of the general manager in the last century,” he says.
“MIT Sloan is excited to offer this new certificate program, which builds on our already very popular offerings in product management,” says Jake Cohen, Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate and Master’s Programs at MIT Sloan. “This certificate helps position our students for success in product management roles.”
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