HEC Paris to highlight Middle East presence at Roland Garros

The HEC Paris pavilion will feature Arabian carpets, fabrics, flavours and photographs of Qatar on those three days.

“HEC Paris is extremely pleased to be at Roland Garros,” said Prof Bernard Ramanantsoa, dean of HEC Paris. “As one of just four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the well-attended, high-profile sporting event - which is watched by millions of fans across the globe - will surely raise awareness about our strong links with the Middle East through HEC Paris in Qatar.”

“We are proud to have a strong presence in the Middle East and, in particular, in a fast-growing environment like Qatar. Our partnership with Qatar Foundation offers unmatched opportunities for the regional business world as well as for HEC Paris as an institution. Thus, as partners of one of the most anticipated and competitive major tennis tournaments, I am confident that our Qatar-themed pavilion will be a major attraction at Roland Garros,” Prof Ramanantsoa said.

Roland Garros, a noted French aviator, had studied in HEC Paris. Having joined the French army at the outbreak of World War I, he was shot down and killed a month before it ended, just a day before his 30th birthday in 1918. In the 1920s, a tennis centre that he attended regularly while he was studying in Paris was named after the aviator – Stade de Roland Garros – which is home to the French Open.

HEC Paris, a leading academic institution in Europe and worldwide that offers a complete range of education programmes for students and executives, joined Qatar Foundation in June 2010 and established HEC Paris in Qatar to bring world-class executive education programmes and research activity to Doha and the region.

The programmes and research activities of HEC Paris in Qatar are intended to build corporate competitiveness within the global economy and are fully aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030 to support the transformation of the country into an advanced, competitive and knowledge-based economy.