MBA students of Amrita School of Business (ASB), Coimbatore interacted with Prof. V. G. Narayanan, Harvard Business School, in a session held at Sri Krishna Hall in the campus on 6^th October 2015. Prof. Narayanan addressed the students through online video conference.

He spoke to students about HBX Credential of Readiness (HBX CORe), a digital learning program of Harvard Business School. This virtual classroom program teaches the fundamentals of business through three courses– Business Analytics, Economics for Managers and Financial Accounting– to people across globe with no prior business knowledge.

Prof. V. G. Narayanan pointed out the huge potential of online business education in India. “The second largest number of participants for HBX CORe is from India and we are creating partnerships with b-schools in the country,” said Prof. Narayanan.

“Unlike the usual online courses, HBX CORe has an interactive mode of teaching and there are several elements included to sustain the attention of the participants. The videos of real managers discussing real problems would anchor the course offerings, to help students understand the applicability of even the most abstract and esoteric concepts,” said Prof. Narayanan. He demonstrated the program through videos.

On HBX CORe, the participants would engage with the teaching material in ‘lean forward’ mode, rather than passively watching the video lectures. The videos extend for 3-5 minutes before being required to interact with the material. There are provisions by which the participants could interact with fellow members.

The faculty from Harvard Business School would deliver courses through HBX at a scheduled time. The participants may or may not choose to attend the classes. The videos of the classes are archived and hence, available for later study. However, the participants are expected to spend about 120-150 hours CORe, followed by a 3-hour computer-based exam. The faculty interaction is through forums and fellow participants clarify answers with each other. Faculty would intervene, in case the group reaches wrong conclusions.

Certificates are provided to students after successful completion of the course. The subject credits are transferable only in few partnered universities.

“The program permits the passive participation of 1500+ students at a time. Among them, 60 can become active participants. The success rate of the program is high with around 86 percent of them completing the course,” added Prof. Narayanan.

The talk was followed by Q&A session in which students clarified questions on the certification, validity of course, credits transfer, etc. “Providing an immersive learning experience to multiple learners across the globe is an exciting pedagogy,” remarked Dr. Raghu Raman, Chairman, Amrita School of Business. Prof. Narayanan expressed his happiness in meeting the students of ASB Coimbatore.