Harvard Business School has opened its first classroom in India at Taj Lands End in Mumbai. Ratan Tata, Chairman – Tata Sons, inaugurated the amphitheater-styled classroom in the presence of Nitin Nohria, Dean – Harvard Business School and other distinguished dignitaries.
Addressing the inaugural class, Ratan Tata, Chairman – Tata Sons said, “India now has a facility to provide people participating in courses and I am very pleased that the Taj Lands End and Tata Group could do what I thought would be a fitting proposition to Harvard to give them a physical facility that would enable them to provide a touch and feel of executive education in India. I am very proud that we have been able to provide them with this facility; you will now have a classroom that will give India and the participants a real feel of business school without being in Boston”.
Built and owned by Taj Lands End, the classroom gives participants and students a true Harvard Business School case method learning experience, for the first time in India. Raymond N Bickson, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer – Indian Hotels Company Limited, said “Indian Hotels Company Ltd is proud to have partnered with Harvard Business School to develop this unique state-of-the-art multi-media facility at Taj Lands End. The hotel’s proximity to the important business hubs and the airport coupled with contemporary facilities will offer students an ideal combination of an academic environment and a hospitality experience. The addition of the classroom has further strengthened our long standing association with the Harvard Business School and deepened its engagement with India”.
The company’s association with Harvard Business School upholds the Tata Group’s ethos of giving back to society by supporting education and encouraging future leaders to enhance their skills at this world class facility. Since its inception in 1936, Tata Institute of Social Sciences has made significant contribution to policy, planning, action strategies and human resource development, in several areas ranging from sustainable rural and urban development to education, health, communal harmony, human rights and industrial relations. The first of its kind classrooms at Taj Lands End with a seating capacity of 82 students are virtually indistinguishable from the MBA classrooms in Boston. The Harvard Business School faculty will offer programs to leaders in business, government and academia on a wide range of subjects such as Corporate Social Responsibility, Building a Global Enterprise, and Case Writing and Course Development.
