March 2, 2001
Contact: Jim Aisner
Harvard Business School
(617) 495-6157
International Alliance:
Harvard Business School and China's Tsinghua University Join Forces in Beijing
Schools Teach Top Chinese Executives about "Managing in the Internet Age"
BOSTON -- Nearly 90 senior Chinese executives from the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan gathered recently in Beijing to participate in a unique new executive education program created by a strategic alliance between Harvard Business School (HBS) and the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management.
Titled "Managing in the Internet Age" and taught exclusively in Chinese, the high-level, week-long program enabled leaders from a variety of private companies, state-owned enterprises, and multinational corporations in the region to interact and learn from one another about utilizing and managing information technology for maximum advantage.
The special program was created with the help of an advisory board comprised of 38 distinguished leaders from around the globe, including honorary chairman Zhu Rongji, premier of the People's Republic of China and dean of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management; chairman Henry M. Paulson, Jr., chairman and CEO of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.; and vice chairman Dr. Wang Dazhong, president of Tsinghua University.
Other members of the board include Steve Ballmer, president and CEO of Microsoft Corporation; Sir John Browne, group chief executive of BP Amoco PLC; Kim B. Clark, dean of Harvard Business School; Nobuyuki Idei, president and CEO of Sony Corporation; Richard T. Li, chairman and CEO of Pacific Century Group Holdings; Liu Ming Kang, president of the Bank of China; Robert E. Rubin, chairman of the executive committee of Citigroup, Inc.; Richard Schmalensee, dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management; Masayoshi Son, president and CEO of Softbank Corporation; Kelji Tachikawa, president of NTT DoCoMo; and John F. Welch, Jr., chairman and CEO of the General Electric Company.
"Drawing upon the expertise of two great universities," said Harvard's Dean Clark, "this program exposed influential businesspeople in the PRC and nearby lands to world-class research about technologies that will have an extraordinary impact on their future role in the world economy. We are grateful for the leadership of Premier Zhu Rongji, HBS alumnus Hank Paulson, and other members of the advisory board in helping us to launch this exciting new venture with our friends and colleagues at Tsinghua University."
The curriculum for "Managing in the Internet Age" featured many new teaching materials created especially for the program, including case studies on such companies as Alibaba.com, China Netcom, iSteelAsia.com, Jardines, Li & Fung, and SinoSecurities.com. Participants learned of the challenges and opportunities of the Internet Age through rigorous classroom interaction, discussion groups, and several lectures. Sharing the teaching duties for the program were prominent faculty members from both Harvard and Tsinghua.
According to Professor F. Warren McFarlan, director of Harvard Business School's Asia-Pacific Initiative and faculty chairman of "Managing in the Internet Age," "This program -- based on leading-edge research that is close to practice -- helped each participant face the future with a much clearer vision. Since we all learned so much from one another, it was a remarkable experience not only for participants but for faculty as well." The program will be repeated in Beijing next January.
A second executive education program created by Harvard Business School and the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management will be offered in Beijing next summer (June 24-29). Called "Competing in the Age of Globalization," it will be led by HBS Professor Richard H.K.Vietor.
In addition, both schools are engaged in a faculty development program that brings members of the Tsinghua faculty to Harvard Business School to participate in various on-campus executive education programs or attend sessions focusing on case-method teaching.
These programs are part of Harvard Business School's extensive international agenda, which encompasses numerous research and educational activities. The School has research centers in Hong Kong and Buenos Aires. Its 66,000 alumni hold leadership positions around the world, while some one-third of its current 1,800 MBA students are international, hailing from almost 70 different countries.
Founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School (www.hbs.edu) is located in Boston and offers full-time programs leading to the MBA and doctoral degrees, as well as a portfolio of more than 40 Executive Education programs. With a faculty of over 200 distinguished scholars, the School is dedicated to educating leaders who make a difference in the world. Its core focus is to shape the practice of business, build enduring knowledge, and effectively communicate important ideas to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.