FAQs

The Authors@Wharton Speaker Series is free and open to all undergraduate and MBA students. All we ask is that you register so we can keep track of attendance numbers. Registration opens 2-3 weeks prior to each event and is posted on our website, through a variety of email blasts, MyWharton, and through Twitter or Instagram @whartonmlp.

We typically have 3-6 events per year; usually 2-3 in the fall and 2-3 in the spring. We usually host our first event in October and the last in March.

We welcome suggestions from anyone via email.

Although we do not have a formal student committee, you can still help and volunteer at events! Students can assist in event management by way of logistics and support (book giveaways, microphone runners, book signings). Time commitment is minimal and usually an hour is all we need. For more information, email Eden Sabala, Associate Director of Events, esabala@wharton.upenn.edu.

Feedback comes from people you select from past work experience; colleagues and friends/family; we provide the learning team feedback. The skills measured are outlined in the competency model – Emotional Intelligence, Influence, Teamwork, Communication, Decision making, Motivation, Creative and Critical thinking; and Diplomacy.

As part of the ECFP, you receive five sessions, roughly three in the Spring semester, one during your internship, and one in September to wrap up learning and develop a plan for moving forward for self development.

Your coach will reach out with an email with date options, which will be posted on the scheduler. Between sessions, you and your coach will craft homework and field assignments for you to practice in order to help you support your learning goals. Prior to each new session, you will complete a prep form in which is designed to help you reflect on your learning from your practice assignments and frames your next coaching session.

The coaches all have independent executive coaching practices with industry standard coach credentialing and at least, 5 years of experience. Coaches have a broad range of industry experience and work with senior level and executive clients. For the most part, students are assigned randomly.

You and your coach will discuss your progress throughout the program. High level information, like your attendance and overall commitment to assignment completion and working towards your goal are tracked by your coach and submitted to the Leadership Office. Students work many goals with their coaches. Here are some examples:  How to listen to opposing viewpoints; how to manage competitive behavior; how to engage others; how to read people; general interpersonal skills, taking risks, influencing team members, and executive presence.

We are looking for candidates who received a B+ or higher in MGMT6100 and the following competencies: Leadership Character, Emotional Intelligence, Team Development Orientation and Skills, Communication Skills, Coaching Approach, and Diplomatic Abilities.

The selection process is comprised of an application with essays and one Wharton peer recommendation, interviews and presentations with behavioral observation.

The recruiting cycle will begin in November 2023.

Leadership Fellows are trained in a variety of development skills. Topics include:  Influence, Team Performance, Team Formation and Identity-Building, Team Process Consultation, Emotional Intelligence, Coaching skills, Crucial Conversations, and Facilitation skills

There are roughly 100 students that apply annually and 48 Fellows are selected each year.

Terra Dotta is the platform for ventures and intensives and other global events around the school.

No.  This is the first year we are running CourseMatch for all ventures.

No.  Ventures are purely for personal development and are not graded or counted toward required credits.

During the CourseMatch run, waitlists will be created that include all students that input utilities for a venture and did not win it.  Students with the highest relative utility will be placed on the waitlist first.  After CourseMatch results are released, students who did not previously input a utility for a venture can still place themselves on the bottom of the waitlist on a first come, first served basis.

CourseMatch will not limit your enrollment in multiple ventures as long as you have the budget to pay for it. However, CourseMatch is programmed so that a student cannot win two ventures that are scheduled to occur at the same time (for example two ventures that are scheduled for the same dates (winter break ventures) and/or two ventures that are the same but are held at different times (for example, the Andes Expedition scheduled for January and the Andes Expedition scheduled for March).

There is no prototype for a Lipman Fellow. Being an interdisciplinary team including students from different schools on campus, we aim to build a team with diverse skill sets and ways of thinking. We look for students with an interest in working or volunteering in the social sector after graduation, eager to work and learn in a team environment and have a good sense of the leadership dimensions they want to develop during the experience.

Lipman Fellow applications will be accepted in early to mid September. An email blast will go out will additional details in the middle of August 2015. Interested students can find all application information on the Lipman Family Prize website.

Initial ideas for the projects completed in the second semester are generated by the three prize finalist organizations. They are each then scoped by Lipman Prize staff and fellows working on the particular project. Final agreement on the project design and key points of contact are designated by the work begins.

The Lipman Fellows program is open to 1st and 2nd year students as well as international students. Additionally, two undergraduate seniors will be selected as fellows through a nomination process.

Nonprofits, NGO’s and for-profit social enterprises all apply for the prize. Last year, they operated in 156 countries though most were based in the United States or Western Europe. The prize finalists does not have to operate outside the United States, or in any particular geography. However, the issues addressed by its finalists are considered globally-relevant challenges.

The Lipman Fellows program creates an opportunity for students to research and assess Prize applicants. Lipman Fellows then complete consulting projects supporting prize finalists. Finally, they are able to attend a partially subsidized site visit to see the work of their finalist client and present their findings. The work of the finalists can take place anywhere in the world. The Board Fellows serve as visiting board members at a nonprofit based in and serving the local Philadelphia area. Board Fellows are selected in their first year and serve over the span of 18 months through their second year. Board Fellows have direct and deep contact with their assigned organization, each working to make a positive contribution to the organization’s growth and sustainability. The Board Fellows are not consultants. They are part of the governance level leadership at a Philadelphia-based organization.

Lipman Fellows receive leadership training in four of the eight dimensions: Emotional Intelligence, Communication, Team Work and Influence. There is a combination of retreats, workshops, team 360’s and experiential learning activities designed to introduce theoretical frameworks, research and active reflection to highlight ongoing learning opportunities.

Selection for board fellow roles occurs during an MBA student’s first year.  The application process will start at the beginning of September and continue through the beginning of October.

Fellows are matched in April, and make first contact with their placement board shortly thereafter.  While some board fellows opt to engage with their boards over the summer, mandatory attendance at board and subcommittee meetings begins in September of the fellow’s second year.

The placement process is completely fellow-driven.  After being selected, board fellows will be given a matching packet containing information on the ~60 organizations eligible to host a board fellow the following year.  Fellows then submit a list of their top 6 organizations, which is then optimized with the top 6 selections of the other 39 board fellows in their class.

We are looking or humility, comfort with ambiguity, passion for service, and appreciation of diversity.

Yes indeed.  Board fellows must attend 1 full-day training in the spring of their first year, as well as 2 full-day trainings during pre-term before their second year.  Additionally, during their board service term board fellows participate in both small- and large-group meetings monthly from September to April.

Applications are available Mid-February and are open until Mid-March, after Spring Break. There is an online application first, our Venture Fellows review the applications then, select candidates for interviews. The Venture Fellows interview the specific candidates and then select the final group in Mid-April.

Yes, we have a mandatory 1-2 day transition with the previous VF class, a mandatory 7-day training in August before classes begin and then another mandatory 3-day training in early December. All dates are advertised during the advertising process.

Many students find that going on a Venture inspires them to apply to the Venture Fellow Program. However, you are not required to participate in an expedition to become a Venture Fellow.

Venture Fellows are 2nd year MBA students. You apply for the Venture Fellow position during the Spring semester of your first year at Wharton.

We do not require outdoor technical skills, but it helps to be comfortable operating in the outdoors.

You are welcome to apply to the program, but being away for the Fall semester is a disadvantage in the application process.

Please make sure you are doing well academically. Students in the bottom quartile are not eligible for the Venture Fellow Program.