University of Maryland Smith MBAs Participate in AECOM Innovation Challenge
According to a press release, four Robert H. Smith School of Business MBAs recently participated in the AECOM Innovation Challenge. Taken during the spring 2017 semester, the two-credit independent study challenged Smith students and AECOM innovators to find a solution to a challenge facing the company.
AECOM is an American multinational engineering firm that provides design, consulting, construction, and management services to a wide range of clients. According to the Smith School, the AECOM Global Challenge is “designed to foster achievement and celebrate success from across the globe. It sparks natural curiosity, supports discovery, and promotes the core skills and processes of innovation, while encouraging teamwork.”
The four Smith MBAs worked on the SMARTSite project, which, according to the press release, fell under the “City of the Future” innovation category. The category was described as “a development of a service offering that leveraged existing contracts and where they saw the marketplace going.”
The Smith team was comprised of CJ Mulligan, Stephanie Bo, Andrew Boyd, and Eric Horan. The Smith team was lead and advised by Ben Solomon, an adjunct professor at Smith and CEO of Hyperion Technologies. Hyperion Technologies offers consulting or engineering services in the Washington DC metro area.
“I liked our internal team–we worked really well together,” Mulligan said. “It was an insane amount of work, and we were able to provide something very valuable to AECOM.”
Phil Horvitz, a University of Maryland alumnus and CTO in the Advanced Technology Office at AECOM Management Services, said that he was excited to see his alma mater well represented at the AECOM Innovation Challenge.
“The MBA students Ben assembled did a terrific job in supporting our team and building up the business case for SMARTSite,” he said. “I know they gained valuable experience and maybe even had a little fun while working with our folks.”
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Max Pulcini
Max Pulcini is a Philadelphia-based writer and reporter. He has an affinity for Philly sports teams, Super Smash Bros. and cured meats and cheeses. Max has written for Philadelphia-based publications such as Spirit News, Philadelphia City Paper, and Billy Penn, as well as national news outlets like The Daily Beast.
