Business
Innovation Management : The Business of New Ideas
9th – 12th graders | Session A | 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
New ideas are at the core of every business’s health. Within a highly experiential curriculum, students will learn and test-out business tools that generate, screen, prioritize, and improve raw concepts into feasible business cases. Such leadership skills are critical in any setting; from social improvements and not-for-profit endeavors to classic garage start-ups, struggling small companies and behemoth corporations.
As with many business courses, there is a fair amount of in-classroom interaction and discussion; impromptu Internet and GenAI research; phone calls to gather market input; groupwork; and spontaneous presentations by individuals and groups. Students need to be excited to be active and attentive every day!
There are no pre-requisites for this program. Any level of experience with creating documents, slide presentations, and videos may come in handy, and an Excel spreadsheet is used in one module.
By the end of the course, students will:
- Realize how major entrepreneurial archetypes drive innovation in different directions.
- Learn how to create, customize, and use an Idea Filtering system.
- Listen to pitches and objectively pick the best idea for their group.
- Reflect on their own learnings, surprises, likes and dislikes around “the business of new ideas.”
Instructors: Mark Wilson, faculty, Simon Business School
The Basics of Investments and Careers in Finance
9-12th graders | Session A | 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
This class introduces the many disciplines of finance, what to expect during academic training at a university level, and potential career paths.
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an investment banker, a financial advisor, or real estate investor? Examine the pros and cons of various career paths within the world of finance. Learn about different types of investments, build your own hypothetical investment portfolio, speak with professionals in the industry, and more.
This class will also introduce several aspects of personal finance (things we wish we thought about when entering college).
Instructor: Simon Business School faculty and Rob Rahbari, senior investment officer, Investment Office.
Language and Advertising
9-12th graders | Session A | 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
This course examines how advertisers use language to sell products and how it affects our perception of the products and ourselves. This course will appeal to those who are curious about the central role language plays in the art of persuasion. The course touches upon the structure of language only insofar as it is relevant for understanding advertising as a form of social action. The acquired linguistic tools will help us to understand how commercial messages achieve their effect in business, culture, or even grass roots movements.
By the end of this course, students will gain:
- Skills to distinguish parts of language used to manipulate consumers.
- Knowledge of how current hot topics intersect with marketing.
- An understanding of the relevance of emotion in branding.
- A toolkit to resist manipulation.
Instructor: Solveiga Armoskaite, faculty, Writing, Speaking, and Argument
Topics in Business
9-12th graders | Session B | 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
This hands-on, fast-paced course introduced students to the fundamentals of business through real-world simulations, team challenges, and interactive workshops. Over the week, students explore core areas including marketing, operations, finance, and strategy, applying concepts directly through the Coffee Shop Inc. simulation. Students practice data-driven decision-making, collaborated to solve business problems, and gained exposure to how companies create value in competitive markets.
By the end of the course, students will:
- Walk away with a stronger understanding of how businesses operate.
- Gain the confidence to think like emerging business leaders.
Instructors: Simon faculty and staff, Simon Business School