SCET Instructor Highlight: Luke Kowalski
At the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET), we believe that students learn entrepreneurship best through hands-on opportunities and direct engagement with industry leaders. Our approach ensures that students learn practical skills from individuals who have tackled real-world challenges and understand what it takes to innovate in today’s fast-paced industries. Our instructors include a diverse group of accomplished entrepreneurs, executives, and leaders who bring first-hand experience building businesses to the classroom.
Luke Kowalski, a senior vice president at Oracle, teaches a SCET special topics course called “Future of Technology: How Innovators Critically Examine Game-Changing and Time-Wasting Technologies.” This course teaches students to analyze emerging trends and predict the success or failure of technologies like virtual reality, blockchain, and AI by studying past successes and failures. Through literature reviews, netnographic analysis, and case studies, students will develop skills to identify patterns applicable to their research, careers, or entrepreneurial ventures. Students will produce a published technical report highlighting the barriers for the adoption of emerging technologies.
Before his tenure at Oracle, Kowalski worked with various startups in technical, design, and business roles, as well as for Netscape’s Server and E-commerce division. His diverse background, combined with his passion for leveraging disruptive technologies, makes him a valuable addition to the SCET teaching team and an inspiring mentor to Berkeley students.
We followed up with Kowalski, where he shared insights into his teaching philosophy, the value of entrepreneurship skills, and his approach to leadership.
Q: What inspired you to focus your teaching on entrepreneurship and technology innovation, and how has your industry and/or founder experience shaped your approach in the classroom?
New and innovative enterprises contribute positively to our economy and society, in general. Providing tools and lessons learned to future generations helps to maintain our regional and global leadership. We focus on practical and applied stories in our classes, and these in turn get translated into methods, toolkits, and resources for startups to better compete and succeed.
Q: Why do you think it is helpful for everyone, regardless of their field of study, to learn innovation and entrepreneurship skills?
Luke Kowalski: Entrepreneurs are assumed to be born with leadership, business development, networking, and technical skills to start and grow their ventures. But these skills, behaviors, and methods can actually be taught and practiced by everyone. They do not come from a magical well, family, or one region. Any professional, in any field can benefit from innovation lessons, ideation practice, design thinking, and other training.
Q: What’s one leadership lesson you’ve learned that has fundamentally shaped your own approach?
Luke Kowalski: The power of undersharing is critical to being a leader, and it is not a lesson that anyone teaches in schools. Everyone instead talks about collaborative styles, wearing your heart on your sleeve, and exposing your vulnerabilities to the world on social media and in the boardroom. But this does not work well for leaders. The oversharing, gossipy, and overly familial style can fail to inspire and create unnecessary rivalries. A good leader inspires by sharing the right information, at the right time, with the right people.
Q: Given your success in the industry, why teach at Berkeley?
Luke Kowalski: My engagement at Berkeley is a passion project. My parents were both educators and I think this is the best form of community service, particularly during, or after a career in industry. I firmly believe that Berkeley students have the potential to change the world and leverage disruptive technologies while still making a positive social impact which is why I hope to have the opportunity to continue teaching at SCET and Berkeley.
Q: What excites you most about the future of technology and the next generation of innovators?
Luke Kowalski: The power of technology to transform society includes saving time and improving health outcomes and happiness. I am always inspired by the original and creative ideas presented by the students. They are not yet jaded and skeptical. Their fresh approaches, focus on positive social impact and responsible use of technology truly inspire me!
Through his teaching, Kowalski brings the dynamic world of innovation and entrepreneurship into the classroom, enabling students to build essential skills and adopt the mindset needed to tackle today’s challenges. His classes provide a valuable opportunity for students to engage directly with industry practices, preparing them for the future of work and innovation.
Aspiring and current entrepreneurs can connect with Luke Kowalski on LinkedIn and explore SCET’s courses to learn from his expertise and experience.