The Behavioral Operations Management Summer Institute
The Behavioral Operations Management Summer Institute
What is the purpose of the summer institute?
The purpose of the summer institute is to provide doctoral students who are interested in behavioral research a solid foundation to conduct behavioral operations management (BOM) research. Additionally, we hope that the summer institute will encourage collaboration and strengthen the research community amongst the next generation of scholars.
What will we do during the summer institute?
The schedule will generally be divided into morning and afternoon sessions. The morning sessions will be primarily in lecture format. They will provide a general overview of the behavioral operations management field, review core behavioral economics/psychology topics, and discuss operations management applications. The afternoon sessions will be more focused on small group discussions, practicums (e.g., applying ideas to actual research activity), and roundtables (informal discussions). There will also be free time to prepare for the next day, have office hours, pair up to work on ideas, and get to know each other. The tentative schedule is here.
Who is the summer institute for?
The intended audience for the summer institute is doctoral students completing their 2nd-4th years who have largely finished their foundational coursework and passed their qualifying exams, but still have time to take on new projects before they start the job market process. In general, the summer institute is designed for any student who has already started or is seriously considering conducting behavioral operations management research, broadly defined (e.g., lab experiments, field experiments, analytical models, secondary data). No prior knowledge of behavioral operations management is required to apply. Indeed, the summer institute is designed to help any student interested in behavioral research get a solid foundation in the core methodologies and foundational literature of the field. More information about applying is here. If you have questions about whether you (or your PhD student) may be a good fit, please contact the organizers.
What is the cost?
There is no cost to apply, and tuition will be free for admitted students. The program includes materials, breakfast and lunch. Attendees will be responsible for their own transportation, accommodations, and dinner expenses. More information about accommodations can be found here.
How competitive will it be to be accepted?
We have the capacity to accept roughly 30 students and within that constraint will accept as many students as we feel fit the program's objectives. Given that this is the second year the summer institute is being offered, we unfortunately do not have much further information as to the competitiveness of gaining admission.
How do I register if I am accepted?
The organizers will email you a link to the registration page after you have been accepted.
How often will the summer institute be offered?
Our plan is to offer the summer institute every other year (in the odd years) - rotating locations among various host schools. The first summer institute was held at the University of Michigan during the summer of 2019. We did not offer the institute in 2021 due to Covid-19.