The first programme, which lasts three and a half months, will begin in May 2009 with 50 participants, rising to 100 in subsequent years. Candidates will need to have an undergraduate degree or its equivalent and at least three yearsa full-time work experience. The programme is open both to women who already run a business and want to develop it and to those entering the field for the first time.

aDelivering this programme will present us with some unique challenges,a said its academic director at HEC, Oliver Gottschlag. aWeall be using a mix of faculty from HEC and Tsinghua, as well as contributors from Goldman Sachs offices around the world. And for the academics and mentors coming in from abroad that will mean working with simultaneous translation into Chinese in the classroom and in group discussions. Weare also acutely aware of the specific demands of running a business in such a rapidly developing market as China. Itas not just a question of simply cutting and pasting teaching techniques and case studies from the main HEC MBA a everything has to be tailored very closely to the local environment.a

aThere is a very strong groundswell of entrepreneurship in China,a said HEC associate dean, Valerie Gauthier, ahowever many women there are still lacking the tools and guidance which would allow them to take small successful businesses to the next stage where they really begin to generate wealth and employment on a wider basis. Wead like to believe that this new programme may be a first important step in helping to solve that problem.a