India will soon have an international office of the prestigious Harvard University. Mumbai, the financial capital of India will host the Ivy League University. The other places where the international office is proposed are China and South Africa.

The aim of this international office in these regions is to facilitate research and academic work for its affiliates.

These offices are in their different stages of development. While its office in Cape Town is slated to open in 2015 or early 2016, Harvard is yet to get a green signal from the Indian government for its School of Public Health program in Mumbai.

Jorge I Dominguez, Vice Provost for International Affairs, Harvard University hopes that the approval from the Indian government will come soon, probably in this summer.

He also said that the upcoming Beijing office will be connected to the Harvard Center in Shanghai, which was opened in March, 2010. The Shanghai office already has a conference venue and it provides internship opportunities for undergraduates.

The reason for establishing in Beijing is the strategic relation one has to maintain with the Chinese government as one can’t certainly bypass the government institutions.

Harvard has 16 more offices around the world such as many Latin America based offices of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, various business school locations in Asia and the Medical School research center in Dubai.

All these offices have one goal, to fulfil: providing research and academic work for the Harvard affiliates. The office in South Africa will be an engaging experience for the faculty, students and the business community.

Harvard’s Indian story begins in 2006 with the establishment of India Research Center (HBS IRC) in Mumbai. As India remains a fascinating site for global operation, the emergence of both MNCs and Indian corporations created a need for better understanding of the business environment in India. The demand for sound business education led Harvard to establish HBS IRC through which business cases related to the corporations operating in India were formulated.

The purpose was to create an intellectual capital that would address the growing business concern in the South Asian region. In 2008, Harvard set up the Harvard Business Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary in India. It also started an executive education program in Hyderabad and Mumbai. Harvard University business cases are widely taught in various business schools in India and South Asia; more than 90 cases have been written. Furthermore, more than 100 Indian faculty had the opportunity of participating in Global Colloquium for Participant Centered Learning; they learnt about effective business teaching using the case method.

Harvard has also started its executive education program at TajLands End, Mumbai. The state-of-the-art classroom with a seating capacity of more than 80 participants, hosts many business leaders, government officials and academia who gather to analyze cases and discuss course development.

With the evolving nature of business scenario in India, Harvard wishes to engage in meaningful participation. It constantly endeavors to formulate business best practices, share its own teaching practices with different audiences and foster a sustained economic growth.