Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of being a Global Partner?
Other than the staff time required, there is no cost or fee associated with participation in the FIELD Global Immersion. Harvard Business School will be responsible for student travel, lodging, and board during the immersion.
Can I have my team travel to another city to meet with colleagues or conduct interviews during the immersion?
Students are travelling with a class of approximately 50 students and an HBS professor. For this reason, students will remain in the immersion city and will not be able to travel for overnight trips to other locations during the immersion. Their time has been structured for meetings with the Global Partner organization, as well as required classroom sessions with the professor and classmates.
Can we publish an article about the FIELD Immersion work at our company?
All information must be reviewed by Harvard Business School in order to be approved for publication, per the agreement documents. Please contact geo+hbs.edu with any requests.
When and where can I go to view the approved project, my company and contact information, as well as the student team and resumes?
You can view your by signing into our online system. In late October, Project Sponsors will be able to view a list of their student team and resumes in the system as well.
Will language support be provided for the student team?
Basic language support will be provided for customer interactions, when the student teams are in the field interacting with local consumers. For meetings within the company, language support is not provided. Project Sponsors are expected to speak English and ensure interactions with others at the organization are able to take place in English, or provide translation for these interactions.
Will any of the students be fluent in the local language?
Students will be traveling to locations they have not previously been to, therefore is not likely that they will speak the language native to the immersion location.
Will we be able to arrange focus groups?
The students will be required to spend time interacting with local consumers, but HBS is not able to provide funding for focus groups. If you wish to arrange focus groups for the student interactions with local consumers through your organization, you are welcome to do so.
Can we update the scope of our project?
The HBS Faculty approved the project scope as fitting with the academic goals of the FIELD course. The expectation is that the projects will follow the original approved scope. Should you wish to make any changes we ask that you review proposed updates with your student team, and also alert our office to ensure the project maintains the correct academic focus.
Do we need to provide transportation for the student team?
No. Student teams will have transportation provided by HBS, and will be required to utilize the HBS-coordinated transportation while in the immersion location.
If you have additional questions, please contact geo+hbs.edu.