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Pharma Families: The Kenyan Asian Story (05/04)

The Man from the Priory - Dr Chai Patel (04/04)

Karan Bilimoria - Bottled for Business (02/07)

Lakshmi Mittal's Ring of Steel (01/04)

Mayank Patel - Currencies Direct (01/07)

Mike Jatania - Lornamead Group (01/07)

OXFORD TO SET-UP BUSINESS RESEARCH CENTRE IN INDIA
New Delhi, January 21, 2008 (IANS)

Oxford University has reached an agreement with Hindustan Construction Co (HCC) to set up a business research centre in Maharashtra and offer executive courses to working professionals. The institute, christened Oxford University Business Research Centre, would start functioning from 2009, John A. Hood, vice-chancellor of the 900-year-old varsity, said here.

"This is a first of a kind project by Oxford. We have no such centre anywhere in the world and I think the agreement is historic for our university," Hood told reporters. "The centre will do a lot of business related research and develop case studies for use in both Oxford and India. The economic growth, successful business ventures and an ever growing IT sector in India needs to be closely observed and this centre will try to achieve that," he said.

Hood is currently in India as part of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's high-level delegation. Ajit Gulabchand, chairman and managing director of HCC said that the institute would be set up at the company's upcoming Lavasa hill station, an hour's drive from Pune.

"The centre will be under the guidance of SAID Business School of Oxford. It will do research on Indian business and make efforts to develop a global understanding for better future," Gulabchand said.

Hood said Oxford would also give executive courses to working professionals.

"The courses would vary from one day to four weeks in duration. Both Indian professionals and foreigners working here would be eligible to study there. Professionals from government, private and non-government organisations can pursue executive programmes here," he said.

The professor said Britain and Oxford have historical relations with India. Currently there are 260 Indian students studying at Oxford. "We have a lot of valuable manuscripts, collection of art and artefacts and certainly scholars from India are of immense importance to us," Hood told IANS. "We want to learn from India."

Roy Westerbrook, dean of development at the SAID Business School, said: "We will conduct a survey on the needs of Indian working professionals. We will talk to Indian and foreign business leaders and develop case studies. The world must know India better."

When asked on the total investment in the project, Gulabchand said: "It will be huge. I can tell you, apart from executive courses, we may offer other courses in due course of time."