A joint program for mid-career professionals that integrates engineering and systems thinking. Earn your master’s degree in engineering and management.
“I’ve always wanted to be at a place that values engineering and tech, and that’s one of the main things that drew me to MIT Sloan,” says Abhi Rao, MBA '26, SM '26. Rao is a student in the Leaders for Global Operations program (LGO), a unique two-year program where students earn both their MBA from MIT Sloan and their SM in engineering from the MIT School of Engineering.
Before coming to MIT Sloan, Rao worked at a supply chain startup where he held multiple supply chain strategy consulting roles. After several years at a successful startup, he wanted his next adventure to utilize what he had learned from his unique journey so that he could apply it to the ideas he was passionate about pursuing.
Rao says that one of his research advisers while he was an undergraduate student at Ramaiah Institute of Technology in India was an MIT alumna. “The mindset she brought to engineering and research inspired me to apply to MIT.”
Rao has found that MIT Sloan’s focus on entrepreneurship has helped him—he’s working to scale ideas at the intersection of social media and mental health. “To see how everyone else is grinding, it really pushes you. Trying to found something and scale something is not easy—you go through a lot of ups and downs. Having this community to connect with over those challenges has been amazing.”
A Day with Abhi Rao
8:00 a.m.
I start my day by grabbing coffee in the LGO lounge. There’s coffee and small snacks there, and it’s great to be able to duck into the lounge before or between classes.
8:15 a.m.
I’m chatting with a friend before my first class of the day, Economic Analysis for Business Decisions. The LGO program provides the perfect opportunity for me to gain cutting edge technical skills in AI/Analytics while also honing my business acumen and financial knowledge to scale startups.
8:30 a.m.
This class is part of the core curriculum for first-year MBA students, and Assistant Professor Benjamin Vatter does a great job of building intuition into some of the prevalent concepts of economics.
10:00 a.m.
My next class is Financial Accounting. Coming from an engineering background, I didn’t have a solid foundation in accounting. Strengthening my understanding of these fundamental concepts will set a strong foundation for the rest of my career.
11:30 a.m.
Between classes, I grab lunch with Roberto Interiano, another LGO student. We were both accepted into the Sandbox Innovation Fund (iHQ at MIT), which provides funding and mentorship to MIT student entrepreneurs–we check in weekly on our progress on ideation, market analysis, and customer discovery.
12:30 p.m.
The LGO program brings together people from really different backgrounds and perspectives. One person in my class worked as a NASA engineer on mission-critical projects while another person scaled a Y-Combinator startup for ~6 years before returning to business school.
1:00 p.m.
My third class of the day is Deep Learning with MIT Associate Professor Phillip Isola. My goal with this class was to push myself out of my comfort zone and take a class that is technically demanding. The class covers a breadth of topics ranging from designing LLMs to building computer vision systems. The class has been one of the most challenging but rewarding experiences so far. It's a great way to be exposed to the broader MIT engineering ecosystem.
2:00 p.m.
After Deep Learning, I walk back to the MIT Sloan campus from the engineering campus. It’s a great time to catch up with my friends Matt Johnson, MBA '26, SM '26, (left) and Ben Maltbie, MBA '26, SM '26, (right). I appreciate how inclusive most of the class has been so far. MIT Sloan is known for its brand of “Low Ego, High Impact” leaders, which is evident in my cohort’s culture.
2:30 p.m.
It’s time for my last class of the day: Communications for Leaders with Senior Lecturer Virginia Healy-Tangney. The class has really helped me hone my presentation skills and practice captivating a large audience.
4:00 p.m.
After classes, I head to the gym for a workout. I’m part of the MIT badminton team where I take part in inter-collegiate tournaments. Badminton has been a big part of my life. I played pro badminton growing up. I’m so happy I discovered the badminton community at MIT. There really is something for everyone here.
