Bhupendra Yadav was a practicing physician at one of India's leading medical institutes, in Delhi. He had also worked as a consultant for the World Health Organization on polio immunization projects. His highly accomplished career notwithstanding, he aspired to accomplish even more by transitioning into the fast—growing field of biotech.

Of all the places he could have chosen to build the business knowledge he needed, Bhupendra went with Vanderbilt for "its strong core courses and great resources to learn about the health care industry." Nothing better exemplified that unique combination than a cutting—edge project that Bhupendra worked on during his first year. As part of a student team that included a CPA and an investment banker—and mentored by Professor Michael Burcham, who has been a health care CEO himself—Bhupendra helped Goldman Sachs "strategically predict the consolidation/M&A landscape in the health care industry given the policy changes by the new [Obama] administration." Working closely with Goldman Sachs's private wealth managers, he says, was "a great opportunity to apply the skills I learned in the classroom to real—world situations."

Such opportunities not only were valuable learning experiences. Bhupendra credits them with enabling him to secure an internship in San Francisco with Genentech, one of his "dream companies."