Mumbai, Nov. 6: She is among the many Bollywood stars who have turned sports entrepreneur, but Preity Zinta means business: she is arming herself with knowledge gained from the hallowed portals of Harvard University.

Preity, the bubbly actress who co-owns the Indian Premier League team Kings XI Punjab, is heading for Harvard Business School for a week-long course on negotiations and deal making, skills she wants to hone for widening her base as a sports businesswoman.

“She will be at Harvard doing a one-week course between January 24–29, 2010, on negotiating and deal making,” confirmed a close aide of the actress. “Preity has paid a fee of $10,000 to attend the course and will live and eat on the campus with other students,” the aide added.

The actress has been spending a lot of time with her brother’s family in the US after her split with Ness Wadia, the Bombay Dyeing scion and her IPL business partner.

The intensive executive education programme is expected to equip the star with knowledge on the multiple dimensions of high-stakes negotiations. It involves learning through hands-on simulations as well as lectures, case studies and group discussions to help her cut the best deals.

All this is expected to aid Preity’s new business venture.

“As an extension of her interest in the sports business, Preity will launch an all- international girls’ basketball team called Dream Girls. The team will comprise female international film stars, sports personalities, models and socialites. She will captain the team herself and will get her girls trained by NBA professionals,” said the source.

The team will play with professional basketball teams around the world.

The star, who has developed a business model to monetise the project, will use television extensively for the new venture and the Harvard course is expected to help her run it.

There are many among Bollywood’s GenX, especially star sons and daughters, who went to study abroad: some persevered to get their degree while others opted out. But Preity has taken the lead in doing a business course, that too from the most august of institutions where, among others, Amartya Sen has been a teacher.

There is also the ubiquitous television reality show as a side dish to all this.

Preity, 34, will soon host and produce her own television show based on cricket called Behind the Seams which will feature Kings XI Punjab.

The actress is the latest among ageing stars who are opting for TV as they make way for Youngistan on the silver screen.