When aviation expert Kate Klassen wanted to broaden her business knowledge and executive leadership skills, she turned to the Management of Technology (MOT) MBA program to help get her business ideas off the ground.

My experience at SFU Beedie

The instructors and professors were available and approachable, and not just in a ‘here are my office hours’ way. They were genuinely interested and engaged in helping you apply the courses to your real-world problems and connecting you to people within a network if they knew that they would have a better solution.

I would never have called myself entrepreneurial, but the opportunities available to me now allow me to be. The MOT program supported the growth of that skillset. I am confident in my ability to make suggestions and push forward ideas—and stand behind those ideas—because I can think creatively and see the big picture.

My Journey

I was on track at a growing company in an emerging industry but lacked the skills to capitalize on some of the available opportunities. I wanted to be a bigger part of the business conversations going on around me. One of the owners of the company I was at brought up the MOT program, and it made sense for me to pursue this direction.

It felt like I didn't need to look anywhere else. I didn't want to do an MBA because I was a few years out of school at this point, and I didn’t intend to take one or two years off from work for a program. Because of the part-time and evening nature of the program, it was an easy decision.

Highlights

The majority of people in my cohort come from more traditional technology backgrounds like software development or data security—my technology approach is a bit different. The structure of the MOT curriculum allowed us to have so much engagement with others within the group and to develop those soft skills that come from working with a diverse crowd. As someone who has only ever worked in small companies, I appreciated being able to learn from people coming from large multinational organizations and to understand how to apply a particular topic across a broader perspective.

Where I am today

Eight months into the program, I hit a wall in my job. I relied heavily on my core group within the MOT program for advice and guidance. It was a big decision, but the support of my cohort and the skills I had already gained in the MOT program gave me the push and the confidence I needed to step out on my own.

I joined another drone company, Coastal Drone Co, where I am now co-owner and director of operations. We’ve had an incredibly successful year, and every day I get to be creative and use the skills that I learned in the program.