Read about the Academy Experience

Negotiations are one of the most complicated human activities. They involve tactical strategy, mental acumen, defined expectations and adjustable concessions. The reason to negotiate is to resolve a difference. Parties involved in negotiations communicate in order to reach a conclusion. Each party tries to gain an advantage for themselves. Ideally, negotiations result in mutual benefit or mutual loss, but this isn't always the case. Cohesiveness, problem solving skills, facilitation, conflict dissipation, and mediation are each important to this process. Moreover, a resolution becomes more complicated as parties are added to negotiation.

To explore the fundamentals of negotiation, this workshop focuses on a physical exercise. Students split into two groups. The groups "face-off" with a blue line of duct tape on the floor between them. The workshop leader takes each group outside and gives them opposing instructions. One group is asked to coerce members across the line. The other group is instructed not to cross the line. Neither group knows their opponent's goal, which is sometimes referred to as "information asymmetry". Read More

The key to building a great business is persistence, which is a quality Josh Green has in spades. The original idea behind his company, Panjiva, was to develop something like Yelp for global manufacturers. Green's company wanted to provide easier access to information that global trade businesses need. There are plenty of review-based businesses out there. The basic model existed. However, those businesses often focus on the "casual" reviewer for content. Panjiva wanted to do something different. Panjiva wanted to supply all of the most useful information to global trade businesses. Panjiva wanted to be a hub.

There were some hiccups. A few of the early customers did not love the prototype. Green says an important part of growing a young venture is taking feedback from customers and potential investors. The company redesigned the prototype. "Customers started to buy the vision. They knew that one day there would be a big business at the end of the rainbow."

Then, the market crashed. Read More

Mt. Sinai graciously hosted a hospital tour and simulation in which students were given the opportunity to observe hospital facilities and use equipment. During one module, we discussed imaging modality and how it works. We used an ultrasound to look at students' hearts, livers, intestines, kidneys, spleens and aortas.

During the demonstration we discussed the differences between high-density and low-density obstructions in the body, such as differences between the appearance of liquid, gas, tissue, and bone on an ultrasound. We found that an ultrasound is particularly good at observing fluid around the heart, monitoring an enlarged aorta, and examining infections to the gall bladder.

In another module, students were introduced to Sim Man, a human medical "doll" who blinks, has heart sounds and who also has lung and breathing sounds. These sounds can be changed to simulate asthma attacks or popped lungs. Moreover, Sim Man has pulses in his wrists and his neck. He can also blink and talk. The only thing he can't do is move, except in replication of seizures, which makes him shake in bed. Sim Man is used to simulate medical scenarios for training purposes and for practice making decisions in as close to real time as possible. Read More

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of mock trials held in the U.S. annually. That's a staggering number, and there is good reason for all of this practice.

Because mock trials are structured much like real court trials and are bound by the same rules, they give participants and observers direct knowledge of the judicial system. Mock trials introduce students to the roles and functions of different people involved in a court case: judges, lawyers, witnesses, etc. They also acquaint students with legal procedures such as opening statements, direct examinations, cross-examinations, and closing arguments. Mock trials are especially useful for preparing students for legal careers.

The Baruch Leadership Academy's mock trial was held at the Fordham University School of Law's mock courtroom. Read More