Vote McCombs for SXSW 2024
Texas McCombs hopes to send business faculty and alumni experts as featured speakers — on everything from health information sharing to sustainable supply chain — to next year’s South by Southwest, and we need your support in the community voting process.
How to vote: Scroll down and click on the individual panels you’d like to see at SXSW 2024. You’ll be taken to the SXSW page for each entry where you can vote “up” on your favorites. If you don’t already have a SXSW profile, you’ll be prompted to create one. It takes just a minute.
Please cast your votes before the deadline of Aug. 20 and then share this page with colleagues, friends, and fellow alums so they can vote, too. All UT-affiliated speakers in bold.
FOOD
South Asia and Sustainable Supply Chains in Chocolate
Kirti Moteka, BBA ’26, Undergraduate Researcher, McCombs School of Business
There is a lack of representation from local voices in chocolate production: resulting in illegal child labor, eurocentric flavors, deforestation, and exploitation of African labor. How companies meet rising demands is unethical, yet occurs on an everyday basis with the unaware consumption of mass-produced goods. Through the lens of chocolate, we will analyze and inform on the various technological and cultural solutions (such as blockchain, biotechnology, craft consumption, Asian sourcing, etc.) that can be implemented in cocoa consumption to make the sweet treat more ethical and sustainable.
HEALTH & MEDTECH
Health Information Sharing and Diagnostic Disparity
Indranil Bardhan, Professor of IROM, McCombs School of Business; and Wen Wen, Associate Professor of IROM, McCombs School of Business
Healthcare disparity is a critical concern within the U.S. healthcare system due to its impact on patient care and treatment decisions. In this talk, we focus on disparate impact in healthcare, i.e., the unintentional discriminatory effects of physician diagnostic practices that might disproportionately affect minorities. Researchers found health information sharing helps with diagnosis decision making. Thus, our talk will also discuss how access to patient health information through health information exchange (HIE) systems influences disparate impact in physician diagnostic behavior.
SXSW EDU
HEALTH & WELLBEING
“Pivot with Purpose” Programs Impact Well-being Campus-wide
Gaylen Paulsen, Associate Dean and Director of Executive Education, McCombs School of Business; Jeff Mihm, Executive in Residence and Lecturer, McCombs School of Business; Bonnie Zavon, Project Manager, The Nexel Collaborative/Stanford University; and Judene Pretti, Director of the Strategic Enablement team for Co-operative and Experiential Education, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Postsecondary schools are addressing the loneliness epidemic by offering midlife transition programs with cohort-based and intergenerational learning components. Providing a framework for discerning one’s purpose and fostering connections among peers & across generations positively impacts the well-being of all participants. Welcoming mature adults as students into the classroom benefits instructors by providing mentors, life coaches, and discussion leaders with experience in work-life balance. Serving a longer lifespan also leads to greater diversity, more representative of our communities.
LEADERSHIP FOR TOMORROW
Liberal Arts: The Not So Liberal or Artsy Change We Need
Ishika Bhatia, BBA MIS ’25 and BA Economics ’25
At The University of Texas at Austin, we have a saying: What starts here changes the world. The question is, how can we change the world if we don’t know what the world entails? Through my session, I want to include a professional to discuss the numerous benefits of a liberal arts education and how it can allow for a better understanding of global perspectives, and how that can aid in creating a better educational and professional environment. Furthermore, I want to share my experience, as a member of a minority community, understanding the value of a global perspective.
TEACHING & LEARNING
Faculty Focus on Wellbeing to Get & Keep Students in College
David Quintanilla, Assistant professor of instruction,McCombs School of Business; Althea Woodruff, Well-being in Learning Environments Coordinator, University of Texas at Austin; Matthew Bowers, Associate Professor of Instruction, Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, University of Texas at Austin; Anneke Chy, Assistant Dean for Advising and Student Support, University of Texas at Austin
A main reason high school students list for not going to college is the impact it will have on their mental health. The number one reason students leave college is mental health. Given this reality and the strain on mental health resources following the pandemic, the key to helping to recruit and retain students may come from more proactively equipping faculty with tools to bring wellbeing support “in-course” rather than relying on external units to provide those services. Let’s hear from R1 faculty about how and why they prioritize student wellbeing beyond all other factors.
Microcredential Ambition of a High Impact Business School
Stephen Walls, Assistant Dean for Instructional Innovation, McCombs School of Business; Javier Motta-Mena, Educational Technologist & Microcredentials Program Manager, McCombs School of Business; Brandon Campitelli, Learning Experience Designer, Assistant Professor of Instruction, McCombs School of Business
Uncover the transformative potential of micro-credentials within public research universities in the context of a dynamically shifting educational landscape. We’ll delve into how micro-credentials can revitalize traditional academic offerings at stages like pre-college, undergraduate, master’s prep, master’s, and professional education, ensuring relevancy amidst burgeoning educational alternatives. Additionally, we’ll highlight the unique value micro-credentials can bring to students’ employment outcomes, forging a stronger bridge between higher education and career readiness.
