 Elizabeth Kaufman
Vice President
Citibank
New York, NY
 |
 B.S. -
Economics, Rutgers University |
 |
Acting Senior
Technology Officer, responsible for technology standards,
strategy, and direction. |
 |
"It's important to
integrate an awareness of the world around you through
extracurricular activities." |
 
"Because the technology and industry in business are moving so rapidly now
that an education over a four year or five year period or six year period
is no longer enough. You need to be self educating all the time. And
courses given periodically, not enough. You need to be out there reading
the literature, understanding what's going on and integrating that into
your daily job. These are the kinds of people that we look for today."
Elizabeth Kaufman of Citibank is working on a collaborative program
between businesses and universities supported by her company and the
National Science Foundation. As a member of a group that is trying to
design an undergraduate curriculum in computer systems, she is aware of
the similar needs of different industries.
Industry, Kaufman explains, is looking for people with multiple abilities.
Certainly, a "very solid knowledge base within your concentration in
college -- be that electrical engineering or music or whatever" is the
most important qualification. Business also looks for candidates who show
"critical and systemic thinking skills, so that you can analyze problems
and come to logical and reasonable conclusions." In addition, industry
wants engineers who can work collaboratively and "articulate their ideas."
Kaufman points to some other qualities Citibank looks for in candidates.
"It's important to integrate [into your knowledge of your field] an
awareness of the world around you through extracurricular activities,
through community affairs programs, through a course that may not
necessarily be a required part of your curriculum so that you bring a
holistic view to the world and to life and to your job and to your
profession."
Another valuable quality is concern about the community. "Community
participation is extremely important because we believe that it creates
the kind of individuals who will bring commitment and dedication." Kaufman
emphasizes one more characteristic: "The commitment to lifelong learning
is what's going to make them important and contributing members of this
corporation." Engineers need to keep up with the constant innovations that
affect their work, but Kaufman adds, "We need to have people who
understand the implications of the outside world on our products and
services and technology. We need to recruit people who have a broad view,
and the lifelong commitment to learning is what enables that to go on
indefinitely."
Download Full Profile as PDF
|
|
