Kellogg Tech Week
By Nikki Cope, KTech President 20–21
This past week, KTech hosted its Inaugural Tech Week with our day-long, virtual Kellogg Tech Conference | Emerging Together: The Next Generation of Tech on April 14th as the main event. The week engaged hundreds of MBA students and alumni as well as prominent industry and academic leaders.
Our focus was on facilitating dialogue around the human impact of technology as it continues to transform industries and individual experiences in thrilling ways, but can also be the source of misuse, discord, and unintended consequences. The programming explored the importance of the values that make Kellogg exceptional — collaboration, community, and brave leadership — in deeply understanding and addressing that human impact. We also took a break from Zoom leveraging a range of platforms including Clubhouse, Kumospace, Twitch, TikTok, Medium, and more.
One of the sessions that struck me most deeply was our closing Conference keynote with David Risher, Founder and CEO of Worldreader and former SVP, Amazon Retail, moderated by Kellogg Professor Carter Cast (KSM ’92). The conversation explored how reading is crucial obviously for education, but also growing as a more empathetic leader (you can read more about that idea here and here). In fact, one of my favorite classes at Kellogg has been Moral Complexities in Leadership taught by Professor Brooke Vuckovic that explores ethical challenges through the lens of fiction. The class helped me navigate the intricate, interwoven system of decisions business leaders face and better consider the potential consequences.
Inspired by the spotlight on reading, our 20–21 KTech leadership team assembled a list of our personal recommendations. In the spirit of varying formats, we wanted to share a variety of content from books to documentaries to podcasts. We hope something on this list piques your interest and starts a discussion; we are always happy to chat!
READ
Ready to get started? Our reading list spans fiction and non-fiction as well as our favorite newsletters that help keep us in the know. We even included a bonus — the novels David Risher and Carter Cast recommended during their fireside chat.
- Fiction: Dune, by Frank Herbert; Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton; Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood; I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
- Non-fiction: Building for Everyone, by Annie Jean-Baptiste; Mismatch: How Inclusion Shaped Design, by Kat Holmes; Race After Technology, by Ruha Benjamin; Invisible Women, by Caroline Criado Perez; Mindf*ck: Cambridge Analytica and the Plot to Break America, by Christopher Wylie; Superintelligence, by Nick Bostrom; The Perfect Weapon, by David Sanger; Irresistible by Adam Alter; Hello World, by Hannah Fry; Dare to Lead, by Brené Brown; The Psychology of Money, by Morgan Housel
- Company Stories & Memoirs: The Everything Store, by Brad Stone; The Ride of a Lifetime, by Robert Iger; Uncanny Valley, by Anna Wiener; No Rules Rules, by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer; No Filter, by Sarah Frier
- Newsletters & POVs: Stratechery, by Ben Thompson; Emerging Tech Brew; The Information; Launch Ticker; The Hustle; Lenny’s Newsletter; 2PM; Rock Weekly; MatthewBall.vc; HackerNoon
- David and Carter Recommend: We Need to Talk: A Memoir About Wealth by Jennifer Risher and more; A Promised Land, by Barack Obama
WATCH
Looking for something to binge? This list ranges from our favorite TV shows to movies and even a couple YouTube series.
- Movies & TV: her; Ex Machina; Silicon Valley; Devs; Black Mirror; Westworld
- Documentaries: The Social Dilemma; Persona; Coded Bias
- YouTube Series: MKBHD Quality Tech Videos; The Basics
LISTEN
Hoping to listen to something new? Hear from a range of voices covering tech trends, product design, and the latest news.
- Episodic Podcasts: Recode Decode and Pivot, by Kara Swisher; Masters of Scale, by Reid Hoffman; Exponent, by Ben Thompson; Analog(ue), by Myke Hurley and Casey Liss; 99% Invisible, by Roman Mars; Design Better, by Ben Evans; Big Tech’s Role in Policing the Protests on Gadget Lab, by Sidney Fussell and Lily Hay Newman; Inclusive Design, by Sabrina Meherally; This Week in Tech, by Leo Laporte; The Pitch, by Josh Muccio; The Tech Pivot, by Chris Hilton and Jacob Knopf
- News: The Daily Crunch; Techmeme Ride Home; Robinhood Snacks
Finally, I wanted to shout out the incredible KTech leadership that made all this programming possible. Your thoughtfulness, commitment, and creativity help us bring our big ideas to life.
KTech’s mission is to make Kellogg the premier tech destination for MBAs by attracting top talent, preparing students for successful careers, and cultivating a thoughtful tech community. The club has more than 850 members and almost one-third of Kellogg students pursue careers in the tech industry post-Kellogg. If you are interested in learning more, you can check out our website and follow us on Instagram.
