Students from the University of Pittsburgh School of Business, home of the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, were invited to MSA Safety, Inc., and Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC to learn about their cutting-edge innovation strategies.
These site visits were part of the required Integrated MBA Capstone course in which students integrate the knowledge and skills developed across the MBA core curriculum.
The 32 students in the class completed the site visits as part of the immersive weekend component of the class. In immersive weekend classes, students complete assignments before the weekend and then spend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on the experiential parts of the class including site visits, panel discussions, refining their own innovation projects, and pitching them to the class.
“The immersive weekend format allows me to focus exclusively on the subject matter and really dig into the content,” says Jill Vlah (MBA ‘26), a student in the part-time MBA program. “I primarily take online classes, and the weekend courses are also great opportunities to connect with my classmates.”
The immersion weekend takes students beyond the classroom, providing critical insights into the intersection of functional business areas, such as finance, accounting, marketing, management, and information systems, as they operate within the broader theme of innovation.
Innovation In Action
At MSA Safety, Inc., the students visited the Regional Learning Alliance, a full-service meeting and training venue, for a discussion on MSA Safety’s approach to customer-driven innovation. They also learned about the company’s innovation process and toured their on-site manufacturing facility.
At Westinghouse Electric LLC’s Cranberry Woods headquarters, the students received an overview of the company’s innovations from senior leaders, saw a demonstration of their in-house developed AI model, and toured a simulator of the control room of a Westinghouse nuclear reactor plant. The students networked with School of Business alumni at both companies after the tours.
“What stood out for me most was how structure and thoughtful evaluation can break old patterns and create space for new ideas to develop,” says Nick Karlowsky (MBA ’25), who is enrolled in the part-time MBA program while working as a vice president at Filtech.
“As a leader in a Pittsburgh-based business of 58 employees, nurturing innovation can be challenging. It’s easy for an organization to become ’stuck’ in familiar processes or comfortable routines. The capstone course gave me a structured framework for moving an idea from concept to execution, and it helped me better understand how to support innovation within my own company.”
Q & A With Panelists
Students submitted questions in advance to learn about influences on innovation in the Pittsburgh region. Panelists included Meghan Barrera, director of global strategic marketing packaging coatings at PPG; Kevin Dietrick, associate dean for strategy at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing; and Alison Gerlach, fractional chief marketing officer at Monarch Learning Labs and LifeX.
“The panel emphasized the value of open communication and synergy between the different roles and disciplines comprising an organization,” says Vlah. “This point is especially relevant in the context of our current remote work boom. As rising leaders, we must help the workforce maintain these collaborations, whether coworkers are separated by states or even oceans.”
For Anna Daniels (MBA ’26), learning how companies embrace innovation was a moment of personal growth. She explains that “one of the biggest lessons I learned was the acceptance of failure. There can be no innovation without failure, and I’ve struggled with that. I didn’t like bringing up new ideas unless they were foolproof, which is impossible. When my ideas didn’t pan out, it felt like a personal failure of mine rather than an opportunity to refine and keep moving forward.”
Accelerate Your Career
At Pitt Business, we help students find the MBA program that is best tailored to their individual academic and career goals, providing the highest possible return on investment. Options include a 12-month accelerated format, 18-month full-time format, flexible part-time format, or dual/joint MBA degree options. Click here to request more information.