The Centre, which will be located at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, will address major business issues affecting India, through collaborative research between academics in Oxford, India and elsewhere.
In announcing this initiative, Dr John Hood, said: 'The primary objective of this research centre is to learn from India's business success. A clear understanding of the issues faced by India and their innovative solutions, as India transitions from poverty to prosperity, will form a guide to future generations of countries attempting similar transitions.
The Oxford University India Business Centre, has been generously supported by Lavasa Corporation. As part of this support, Lavasa has endowed a new Chair – The Ajit Gulabchand Professor of Indian Business Studies at the University of Oxford, named after Lavasa's Chairman. The new Professor will be based at the Saïd Business School in Oxford, and it is envisaged that the appointment will be made for the next academic year.
Professor Colin Mayer, Dean of the Saїd Business School said: 'We are enormously grateful for the generosity of Lavasa in making the establishment of this important Centre possible. The purpose of the Centre is to address major business policy questions in India through collaborative research. Besides the generation of research-based projects, the Centre will be concerned with teaching and will provide doctoral programmes for students and scholarships for our degree programmes in Oxford. We will also develop a range of executive education programmes for practitioners to be delivered in India.'
One of the key activities of The Oxford University India Business Centre will be to develop a range of custom and open executive education programmes which will be delivered in India at a new facility located in Lavasa, near Pune. The facility is part of a new development by the Lavasa Corporation Ltd. A scoping study with companies located in India and elsewhere is underway to begin development of these programmes which will first be delivered in early 2010.
Mr Gulabchand, Chairman of Lavasa Corporation, commented: 'It is a matter of great pride for Lavasa to have partnered with the most respected educational institution in the world.'
Mr Ajit Gulabchand and Dr John Hood will sign the official Memorandum of Agreement at The World Economic Forum at Davos on 25 January 2008.
Alongside, Said Business School has also announced the third annual Oxford India Business Forum will take place on 14 March 2008 in Mumbai. Paul Sarbanes, former US senator, and Michael Oxley, vice chairman of NASDAQ, will join a distinguished panel to debate the theme of corporate governance in the context of capital markets at the third Oxford India Business Forum. Other confirmed speakers include: James Turley, chairman, Ernst & Young; Antonio Borges, vice chairman, Goldman Sachs International; and Peter Sharratt, Vice Chairman Europe and Asia, Lehman Brothers. The Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Dr John Hood, will also attend.
The Oxford India Business Forum is an annual event that provides a platform for global business leaders, academics, policy makers and sector specialists to debate some of the most pertinent issues affecting business, economic and social growth in this part of the world.
Established in 1996 the Saïd Business School is one of Europe's youngest and most entrepreneurial business schools. An integral part of Oxford University, the School embodies the academic rigour and forward thinking that has made Oxford a world leader in education. The School has an established reputation for research in a wide range of areas, including finance and accounting, organisational analysis, international management, strategy and operations management.
