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Online program offers skills for digital transformation

Rapid advances in digital technologies have the potential to transform how every industry, business and organization operates. To help technology leaders prepare, Cornell has developed a Digital Transformation certificate program.

In this program, participants will learn how to find and produce new and streamlined disruptive business ideas through digital auditing and a rapid ideation process, as well as pitch ideas and develop plans to rigorously test and evaluate each opportunity to ensure market suitability.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for business leaders and entrepreneurs to build new ventures and transform industries and organizations enabled by these technologies,” said faculty author Karan Girotra, professor of operations technology, information and management at Cornell Tech and at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.

“Digital technologies lend themselves to rapid iteration, low-cost development and experimentation, and businesses need to learn a new way to build products enabled by these technologies. It’s a key skill set for any digital era builder.”

This program consists of seven two-week courses, including:

  • Preparing for Digital Transformation;
  • Rapid Ideation;
  • Generating Opportunities for Digital Disruption;
  • Developing and Pitching Ideas;
  • Value Creation and the Business Model Canvas;
  • Prototypes and Pilots; and
  • Experimentation Planning.

Participants who complete the program will receive a Digital Transformation Certificate from Cornell Tech and 70 professional development hours. Visit the eCornell website for more information.

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Cornell’s new certificate program boosts presentation skills to further career growth

The ability to present on any subject, in any place, to any audience is an invaluable asset for every professional. According a Forbes report on a new survey, seventy percent of Americans who give presentations agree that strong presentation skills are critical to their success at work. Yet twenty percent of survey respondents said they would do almost anything to avoid giving a presentation.

Today’s accomplished working professionals lead through their ability to communicate information and emotion effectively, even in the most intimidating circumstances. Cornell’s new Executive Presence certificate program will help learners conquer performance anxiety, refine public speaking skills, and build confidence, with the end goal of maximizing speaker-listener connection and furthering career growth.

“Executive Presence is not magic,” says faculty author David Feldshuh, Professor of Performing and Media Arts, Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences. “It’s a skillset that learners can master with practice and experience.”

The course teaches the learner how to use breathing, visual focus, voice, and gesture to deliver authentic and engaging presentations in a wide variety of settings, from formal speeches to personal interviews. Through the use of video feedback, self-coaching questions, rubric self-analysis, and expert real-time coaching, students learn to diminish restrictive presentation habits, including performance anxiety and mannerisms, and work to become more responsive and expressive. They gain increased insight by watching others present, and understand more fully the importance of effective body language and vocal variety.

“It’s not about achieving perfection or competing with someone else,” says Dr. Feldshuh. “In this class, you compete with yourself. The core skills, analytical tools, and transformative training exercises are intended to position the learner for a lifetime of development. A fundamental learning goal is for learners to know themselves as presenters, and become experts in self-coaching to ensure continued improvement after the course is completed.”

Aspiring leaders, managers, senior leaders and executives, CEOs, actors and performers, and anyone who wants to strengthen his or her ability to connect with others while speaking will find value in this certificate program, which is available online through eCornell.

Upon successful completion of the Executive Presence certificate program, which consists of a single, 15-week course, learners earn an Executive Presence Certificate from Cornell College of Arts and Sciences, and 60 professional development hours.