Harvard to open international offices in Mumbai, Cape Town, and in Beijing

April 02, 2015 12:19
Harvard to open international offices in Mumbai, Cape Town, and in Beijing

Harvard has authorized the formation of three new international offices in Cape Town, Beijing, and Mumbai, with each office in a different stage of development, according to Vice Provost for International Affairs Jorge I. Domínguez.

The Center for African Studies is expected to open an office in Cape Town, South Africa, by the end of 2015 or early 2016, according to Domínguez. An expected office in Beijing would  be connected to the existing Harvard Center Shanghai, and, if approved by the government of India, the Harvard School of Public Health will open an office in Mumbai. These offices would be used for research and academic work for Harvard affiliates in those regions.

These offices join 16 other offices Harvard operates internationally, including multiple Latin America-based offices of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Business School locations across Asia, and the recently-opened Medical School research center in Dubai, among others. While the University has research centers and offices abroad, it does not, unlike some of its peers, have any international campuses.

Caroline Elkins, History professor and director of the existing Center for African Studies, will direct the center in Cape Town, although she will remain based in Cambridge.

“[The office in Cape Town] is most definitely imagined as being an engaging space for our students and faculty but also the broader community in Africa,” Elkins said, adding that she hopes the office will facilitate research in the region and offer students more study abroad opportunities.

The office in Beijing would be connected to the existing University-wide office in Shanghai and possibly serve a similar function; the Shanghai office includes a conference venue and facilitates internships for undergraduates.

“A lot of the work in China unavoidably requires interacting with the Chinese government, and that’s in Beijing,” Domínguez said, explaining the reason for the location of the planned center.

Domínguez said the proposed Indian office is in the earliest stages of development compared to the offices in China and South Africa. He said he hopes the Indian government will approve of the Harvard office in Mumbai this summer.

 

- Manohar

If you enjoyed this Post, Sign up for Newsletter

(And get daily dose of political, entertainment news straight to your inbox)

Rate This Article
(0 votes)
Tagged Under :
Harvard University  India  Beijing