Fall On-Campus Course Sessions: Thursdays 3:10 – 5:10 pm: September 26th, October 24th, November 21st, and December 5th.

Travel Dates: Arrival on Monday, January 6, 2025. Departure on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.

Course Fee: $3,500

Immersive Field Courses: IFCs require a firm commitment and carry a financial obligation. Financial aid is available in the form of a student loan, a need-based HBS scholarship, or a combination of both depending on your individual circumstances. The Add/Drop process at the start of the term is the mechanism for any IFC enrollment changes, and, after that point, the course fee is non-refundable. Refer to the GEO website for full details on IFCs and be sure you understand the Course Policies and Course Fee & Financial Aid. Visit IFC Financial Aid for a quick assessment to determine your eligibility and process or contact finaid@hbs.edu for more information.

Enrollment: Limited to 45 MBA students (due to the nature of IFCs, auditing is not permitted)

Educational Objectives

Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the Middle East, is implementing ambitious measures aimed at diversifying its economy away from oil dependency as part of its Vision 2030 initiative. This transition marks a significant shift for the country. The society has been seen through a set of limited lenses in the West. Yet, like any other, it is multifaceted and should be understood through diverse lenses.

Over the past few years, the country has poured enormous resources towards diversifying sources of economic growth away from petrochemicals. Societal change has been rapid in some dimensions – exhilarating and sometimes disconcerting – and on others has been glacially slow. This has triggered new entrepreneurial opportunities as well as identified some vulnerabilities for entrepreneurs, incumbent enterprises, and financiers.

Emerging sectors such as tourism, media, hospitality, entertainment, mining, metals, finance, and digital technologies, including fintech, AI, and clean energy, are gaining prominence, and this diversification opens doors for innovation and investment.

This Immersive Field Course presents a unique opportunity for students to explore first-hand some nuances of Saudi Arabia's economic transformation. Through interactive discussions, on-site visits, and interactions with alumni, companies and business leaders, students will gain insights into the Kingdom's opportunities and challenges.

Course Focus and Format

Four sessions will be held on campus in the fall. These will provide students with case materials, readings, and video materials to acquaint students with working in Saudi Arabia. Materials to conceptually introduce students to frameworks that help think about the broader institutional context will be a key part of the preparatory learning for the trip. Students will grapple with the extent to which lessons from their RC courses can either transfer over to the Middle East or be modified appropriately. My work on Contextual Intelligence will be a central part of these discussions.

While In Saudi Arabia, teams of 5-6 students each will be immersed in a host company, assigned a topic for the duration of their visit, and ultimately be tasked with sharing insights from their experience. The idea of affiliating with a company is to provide a point of anchor to explore the chosen themes, rather than to do a ‘project’ within the company. Students will travel to Riyadh for this work.

The entire cohort will likely travel to one other location during the immersion to continue to explore the themes of the IFC. Location is TBD.

Relation to Research

My work for three decades at HBS and Harvard has been purely about economic development in emerging markets, typically through an entrepreneurial lens. An article I wrote in HBR in 2014, Contextual Intelligence, is used as part of the preparation for RC students in FGI, and I expect will be one of the conceptual anchors for this IFC. Similarly, frameworks that I have developed for competing in emerging markets, some with Krishna Palepu and then with dozens of PhD students over the years will be used in the Fall preparatory sessions for this IFC.

Grading

20% - Fall interim presentation

20% - January pre-trip submission

60% - Final submission and presentation to company

Course Credit and Fees

Students will receive 3 credits upon successful completion of this course.

HBS will provide logistical support for the immersion (including hotel accommodations, select meals, and local travel arrangements). Students will be charged a course fee to help defray a portion of these costs. Students are responsible for booking and paying for their own round-trip air travel and any costs associated with required visa documentation and immunizations. Students should ensure adequate processing time for all visas, as travel fees are not refundable if a student does not secure visas on time.

For detailed information about what the course program fee includes and excludes, as well as information about student accommodations, please visit the GEO website or email geo@hbs.edu.

GEO continuously evaluates the safety and logistical feasibility of running Immersive Field Courses in each location. Please be aware that IFCs can be canceled at any time due to changes in global health and safety or other unforeseen circumstances. Students will not be redistributed into another IFC, nor will a new course be developed. Course fees will be refunded.

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