🧠 Origin Story
Technology can be a confusing career path to figure out alone. While other fields might have clean, graduation-to-retirement ladders to climb, those of us who are working on new capabilities and products will often have to take multiple leaps, from engineering to product, from individual contributor to manager, from financial technology to healthcare, among many big potential transitions.
Columbia in Tech started as a small brunch group of a dozen friends who got together in 2017 to talk about our experiences and try to help where we can. Often, our fellow alumni have gone through a change we’re considering, or might know someone with good perspective or an exciting job opening. As each of us started inviting friends, and they passed it on as well, our group has grown into a healthy community, supported by an all-volunteer team.
1500
newsletter subscribers
150+
alumni at reunions
🌅 Our Vision
We believe that Columbia can be among the best universities for impact in technology. We can start by building leadership among our liberal arts and Ivy League peers, and becoming the talent hub for New York tech.
We help alumni in tech build lifelong friendships, access expertise and opportunities, and thereby accelerate our collective impact.
💌 What We Do
Build a volunteer team of alumni and students dedicated to the cause, who serve as network “nodes” to connect individuals seeking specific expertise or opportunity.
Organize events and initiatives for alumni and students in the industry to build awareness and connection with each other.
Help our community to discover new opportunities, accelerate learning, and magnify each other’s needs and achievements.
🧠 Our Culture
At our best, we aspire to be
collaborative
entrepreneurial
human-centric
community-first
Collaborative (vs. Competitive) – We care most about the group’s success, and are willing to roll up our sleeves, irrespective of formal role, to contribute as needed.
Entrepreneurial (vs. Deliberative) – We learn quickly, ask for help, and have a history of taking action independently to make things happen.
Human-Centric (vs. Optimized for Volume) – We care about making the extra effort to help people connect and get to know each other in a meaningful way.
Community-First (vs. Leadership-Centric) – Our volunteer leadership is focused on being the most active members of an engaged community, not a separate community in ourselves.
