SCALE Connect brings students from its global SCALE centers to Cambridge for three intense weeks of career development workshops; seminars; industry speakers; advanced training on topics/products such as data visualization, Python & machine learning, and Llamasoft; facility tours; and team-based challenges, including a "Shark Tank"-style product development/pitch challenge judged and sponsored by APICS Massachusetts Minuteman Chapter. The packed schedule wraps up with Research Expo, where students present their work-to-date on industry-sponsored research projects aimed at addressing real-world supply chain and operations problems.
This unique opportunity to work and learn with fellow supply chain and logistics students from all over the world is something only MIT-SCALE master's and graduate certificate programs offer.
Since 2021, due to COVID-19 restrictions, students participating in SCALE Connect have presented their research projects to an international audience of industry professionals, researchers, SCALE alumni, and other interested visitors in an expanded, fully online Research Expo. Students' posters, project summaries, and short video overviews were posted on a purpose-built Research Expo project web site. While missing some of the excitement (and refreshments) of the usual live event, the online event allows a global audience to review and engage with project materials over a short event window of a week or less,
