The Curious Case of the Asian Harvard Annual Conference
2009 Harvard Asia Business Conference
Joey Chung (OA), 2009 Harvard Asia Business Conference Co-Chair
Issue date: 3/2/09 Section: News
This year's conference placed a keen focus on Asia in the context of the current state of the world. Over this past year, the world has seen a number of new developments led by unpredictable economic, political, and social forces. Faced with the emergence of the current global financial crisis, the recent historic presidential election in the US, an ongoing debate on environmental sustainability, and renewed concerns of national security and regional stability, both the dynamism and fragility of the world we live in today is again reminded. In this whole new world of constant change, the conference tried to examine Asia along several key dimensions, from continuous economic development to radical changes in foreign policy. A total of 14 panels ranging from Capital Markets, Consumer and Retail, Energy and Environment to International Commercial Arbitration insured a well-rounded range of discussions that are most pressing to those interested in Asia business affairs today.
To many of us, from the perspective of an Asian attendee, the idea of flying 25 hours in order to attend a business conference in the US East Coast, about my home region with mostly my own Asian counterparts listening to CEOs and corporate VPs from companies that may be only a 2 hour drive away back home, might seem a bit preposterous at first. Yet to many conference participants, this has become so much more than simply another Asia-related conference organized and held by yet another school. The first signs of the phenomenon occurred on Friday afternoon, as early attendees arrived and first found their way to the HBS campus, asking HBS students the exact directions to the Spangler Meredith room where registration would take place, and how they could find Aldrich 12. These were not your usual 2-3 individual tourists who walked around campus aimlessly looking for the best photo opportunities in front of Baker or leaning next to the Centennial Bell. Many of them were led by university professors as they meticulously studied the buildings, the fireplaces in Spangler, the flat screens with latest announcements in Aldrich. Yes, to these foreign guests who flew all the way here, they have indeed come to attend the Asia Business Conference. But even more so, they have come to attend a field study about the HBS experience, to understand what makes it what it is, to experience the lifestyle of its students as they listen to panels in the Aldrich classrooms, and engage in case-like discussions with speakers and moderators whom mainly include current HBS faculty as among their credentials. To many, this is a field trip that only happens to include, among many others, the Harvard Asia Business Conference.
To many of us, from the perspective of an Asian attendee, the idea of flying 25 hours in order to attend a business conference in the US East Coast, about my home region with mostly my own Asian counterparts listening to CEOs and corporate VPs from companies that may be only a 2 hour drive away back home, might seem a bit preposterous at first. Yet to many conference participants, this has become so much more than simply another Asia-related conference organized and held by yet another school. The first signs of the phenomenon occurred on Friday afternoon, as early attendees arrived and first found their way to the HBS campus, asking HBS students the exact directions to the Spangler Meredith room where registration would take place, and how they could find Aldrich 12. These were not your usual 2-3 individual tourists who walked around campus aimlessly looking for the best photo opportunities in front of Baker or leaning next to the Centennial Bell. Many of them were led by university professors as they meticulously studied the buildings, the fireplaces in Spangler, the flat screens with latest announcements in Aldrich. Yes, to these foreign guests who flew all the way here, they have indeed come to attend the Asia Business Conference. But even more so, they have come to attend a field study about the HBS experience, to understand what makes it what it is, to experience the lifestyle of its students as they listen to panels in the Aldrich classrooms, and engage in case-like discussions with speakers and moderators whom mainly include current HBS faculty as among their credentials. To many, this is a field trip that only happens to include, among many others, the Harvard Asia Business Conference.
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Carl @ Harvard Application
posted 2/17/10 @ 9:09 AM EST
Awesome info, great read. I added this site to my favs and look forward to reading more!
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