by Romanshika Singh
As Harvard Business School Online (HBS Online) marks a decade of growth and success, it is a time for reflection and forward-thinking for the entire team. Since its launch in 2014, HBS Online has transformed online learning by reaching diverse learners around the world and adapting Harvard’s case-based methodology to a virtual environment. To learn more about this journey, we spoke with Simeen Mohsen, Senior Managing Director of HBS Online, about the most pivotal moments, the challenges the team overcame, and the vision that continues to guide its evolution.
HBS Online Staff with Professor VG Narayanan, Senior Associate Dean of Executive Education and HBS Online.
What pivotal moments have shaped HBS Online’s success over the past decade?
Mohsen: In 2014, we took our first big step into online education by launching CORe (Credential of Readiness) and the course platform that would bring it to life. CORe combines Business Analytics, Economics for Managers and Financial Accounting into one comprehensive program. There was both excitement and uncertainty about how this course would be received, but when our first learner completed it, we knew we had something special.
Since then, we have taken several crucial steps. In 2015, HBS began offering CORe to new MBA students as a preparatory program, providing them with the essential foundational knowledge to prepare them for the MBA program. In 2016, we welcome in-person attendees to our first Connext conference on campus, creating a space for connection and inspiration.
In the beginning, HBS Online was known as HBX. Market research made us realize that people didn’t always connect “HBX” to HBS, so we rebranded to HBS Online in 2019. This helped clarify our identity, and since then, everything that is intended to the public is under HBS Online, although internally some of us still call it HBX from time to time.
Since the rebrand, we have expanded our reach, surpassing 100,000 learners by 2020, another key milestone, and recently reaching 255,000 registrations.
How do you translate HBS content and pedagogy online? Can you tell us more about how you distribute content?
HBS Online’s certificate and accreditation programs are delivered through a bespoke platform, launched in 2014 as the ‘HBX Content Platform’ with CORe. Now known as the HBS Online platform, it replicates the dynamism of the HBS classroom through three key elements: active learning, social connections and real-world cases.
The platform keeps learners engaged in activities every three to five minutes, such as surveys, problem-solving exercises, and the famous HBS cold call. These interactive features ensure that knowledge is applied in real time.
Social interaction is the cornerstone, allowing participants to connect through forums, group chats, and the HBS online community. This collaboration often extends beyond the program, fostering lasting networks. Real-world cases immerse learners in real-world business challenges, allowing them to apply the Harvard Case Method in a practical, real-world way.
HBS Online also helped launch the Live Online Classroom (LOC), designed to recreate the look and feel of the HBS classroom. LOC has now become a school-wide synchronous learning platform, managed by HBS IT and used school-wide by multiple departments.
What challenges did you encounter when creating and developing HBS Online, and how did you overcome them?
Technology was our first big obstacle. At the time, there wasn’t a platform that could handle the kind of inductive, case-based learning that Harvard Business School is known for, so we had to build it ourselves. It took a lot of trial and error, some pretty intense engineering, and a few key partnerships to make it work.
Then there was the challenge of scaling. It wasn’t just about having a platform that could handle thousands of learners; we also needed a way to reach them. We had to build our marketing from the ground up to get the word out about HBS Online, and it’s been quite a journey. Over time, our platform and operations have become more complex.
We now operate several offerings, including our long-term courses, the Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business, the Certificate of School Management and Leadership (in collaboration with the Harvard Graduate School of Education), and the Harvard Business Analytics. Program (in collaboration with the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences).
How does HBS Online adapt its offerings to meet the needs of a diverse and global audience?
One thing that has been crucial for us is staying true to our case-based learning approach, but we also ensure that our content speaks to a wide range of experiences. The faculty who create our courses include cases from different industries, various regions around the world, and all organizational levels, from CEOs to front-line managers. This way, learners from diverse backgrounds can see themselves and their challenges reflected in what they study.
Currently, all of our content is in English, but technology is opening up possibilities that weren’t feasible just a few years ago, and it’s exciting to think about ways we can expand our reach and better serve a global audience by translating HBS courses online.
How does HBS Online stay ahead in online education and what new developments can learners expect?
Our mission has always been to stay true to HBS’s values by delivering programs that resonate with the right audiences, using a real-world case-based learning approach. But as the online landscape evolves, we adapt too.
An important milestone for us is the transition to the new university-wide Learning Experience Platform (LXP). This new platform is more modern, flexible and dynamic. The LXP will also allow learners to access courses at Harvard schools. Plus, it’s mobile-first, which greatly improves accessibility and flexibility.
We are also exploring AI to make learning more personalized. Imagine tools that help professionals identify exactly what they need to address specific leadership or management challenges: it could truly transform the way learners interact with our content.
Beyond content, we work closely with Executive Education and Harvard Business Publishing to develop programs specifically designed for different audiences. It’s still early, but there is great potential for growth and we can’t wait to see where it takes us.
We have significantly expanded – and aim to continue to expand – our scholarship offerings to make HBS Online accessible to learners from diverse backgrounds. Supporting access to quality education is a priority for us, and scholarships are a key part of this commitment.
Is there anything else you would like to mention?
None of this would be possible without our incredible team. They are innovative, dedicated and highly collaborative. Each new program involves cross-functional collaboration between faculty, content and creative, product management, marketing, sales, technology, program services and business operations. This teamwork is the driving force behind our success over the years.
We have people coming together to solve problems in a way that’s inspiring to watch, especially when we’re launching something new. Each team member brings expertise, from engineers creating a seamless platform experience, to marketing strategists reaching a global audience, to content developers creating impactful learning experiences. We’re lucky to have such a talented group, and that’s one of the reasons we’ve come this far.