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Harvard Announces Expansion of Business School & Creation of New Innovation Lab

Oct 18, 2010

Harvard University announced on October 14, 2010 that the Harvard Business School (HBS) received a gift of $50 million from Tata Companies, for the creation of a new academic and residential building on the HBS campus in Boston for participants in the School’s broad portfolio of Executive Education programs. The School hopes to break ground for the building, which will be named Tata Hall, next spring.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who joined Mr. Ratan Tata, the Chairman of Tata Sons Ltd. since 1991 and an HBS alum, and HBS Dean Nitin Nohria for the announcement on the HBS campus, said Mr. Tata’s generosity would have a global impact. “Mr. Tata’s gift will create jobs right here in Boston, and the executives who study at HBS will go out into the world as ambassadors of our truly world-class city.”

Additionally, Harvard announced plans to open its first lab for innovation and entrepreneurship with the goal of spurring innovative ventures across the University, at HBS, and in the Allston-Brighton neighborhood. The Harvard Innovation Lab will be located in a building on Western Avenue in Allston that formerly housed public broadcasting’s WGBH.

The Lab is planned to come on line beginning in the fall semester of 2011. During stage one of the launch, it will be open to student entrepreneurs across the University, including undergraduates, students in Harvard’s professional schools, and graduate students. Student teams will have shared space to work on their ventures, access to experienced Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, support by faculty and administrators, and a program of related activities to deepen their understanding of entrepreneurship and innovation.

The BRA will work with Harvard, the Harvard Allston Task Force and the larger community to see how these new plans relate to the rest of Harvard's Master Plan.

For more information, read the story in the Harvard Gazette.

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