HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL OFFERS NEW "IMMERSION" PROGRAMS
MBA Students Will Focus on China, New Orleans Recovery Efforts, or Healthcare Industry during Winter Break
BOSTON - “What should I do on my January winter break?” It’s an age-old question for college and graduate students alike. At Harvard Business School (HBS), some students like to relax or travel. Others have long participated in “treks” – student-run trips that give them an opportunity to explore careers and make valuable contacts in different parts of the world, including the San Francisco Bay Area, London, Washington, DC, and India.
This year, however, HBS is introducing another choice – a school-led option called the Immersion Program, which will combine significant educational objectives with the best features of traditional student treks to provide MBAs with comprehensive experiences in China, New Orleans, and the healthcare industry in Boston.
The Immersion Program involves a number of HBS faculty members, who will offer specially designed seminars at the School as well as educational components throughout each trip. Nearly 200 Harvard MBA students will participate in one of the three pilot programs:
- The China Immersion
January 2-13, 2007
The China Immersion is the largest of the three pilots, with some 70 MBA students traveling to Beijing, Hangzhou, Sanya, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Shenzhen with HBS Professors Richard Vietor and David Collis and Harvard University China scholar Professor William Kirby. The group will have the opportunity to experience firsthand the economic, political, and social developments that have transformed China over the last 25 years. The itinerary includes academic and media panel presentations on a variety of topics affecting China, including entrepreneurship, the impact of the ending of the WTO protection period for commercial banks, real estate development, and the financial services industry. Students will also participate in, networking events with HBS alumni in the region, visit with corporate executives and government officials, and soak up Chinese culture through tours and visits to national landmarks such as Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.
- The New Orleans Service Immersion
January 3-13, 2007
The service immersion brings nearly 50 HBS students, faculty, and staff to New Orleans to continue the work on education, redevelopment, and rebuilding that was begun during the student-led Hurricane Relief Trek in January 2006. The experience is an opportunity for students to simultaneously apply their management skills and make a personal contribution to the recovery of this unique city. Student teams focused on K-12 education will work on school reform projects under the guidance of HBS Lecturer Stacey Childress and with the help of New Schools for New Orleans and the Boston Consulting Group. HBS Professor Romana Autrey, a New Orleans native, will support teams undertaking strategic planning projects with the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations. Another team will work alongside HBS Senior Fellow and Director of Career Development Programs Tim Butler to provide career development tools and support to undergraduate students at Dillard University. A final group of students will participate in Habitat for Humanity’s homebuilding efforts.
- The Healthcare Immersion
January 8-12, 2007
This intensive health science and business program, which will take place in Boston, one of the world’s great medical centers, was created for students interested in all types of healthcare careers. Focusing on one or two medical specialties each day, it will feature discussions led by preeminent scientists such as cancer researcher Dr. Judah Folkman and medical ethicist Dr. Jerry Avorn. HBS faculty, including Professors Regina Herzlinger, Richard Hamermesh, and Richard Bohmer, MD, will also take part. This Immersion will also offer several field trips to local labs, companies, and hospitals. After a morning discussion on the principles of surgery, for example, students will visit Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Carl J. Shapiro Simulation and Skills Center. After another session on the science of cancer, the group will tour the Novartis Institute for BioMedical Research to learn how several compounds were identified, tested, and brought to market.
About Harvard Business School
Founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School (www.hbs.edu) is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston. Its faculty of more than 200 offers full-time programs leading to the MBA and doctoral degrees, as well as more than 40 Executive Education programs. For almost a century, HBS faculty have drawn on their research, their experience in working with organizations worldwide, and their passion for teaching to educate leaders who have shaped the practice of business around the globe.