Two Brands, Two Countries and Two Diplomas

— Dr. Maltseva, the HSE IIAB was created only half a year ago. What educational programmes does it focus on? What are its institutional partners ?

Irina Maltseva

— Our institute was created to implement joint international continuing education programmes – both long-term (up to year-long), as well as short-term, including various training programmes, seminars and consultation for Russian and international business. Today our key programme is the Masters in European Business, which we are launching together with the ESCP Europe business school. ESCP Europe has its headquarters in Paris, with campuses in London, Berlin, Madrid and Turin. The school also has strategic partners in Mexico, India and Thailand, and now this partner network also includes Russia.

We started our cooperation with ESCP Europe in 2005, when together with Azer Efendiev, we launched the Master Grande Ecole double-degree programme at the Faculty of Management – this programme, as well as many other courses which were launched at the Faculty, has been successfully working since then. Speaking about the Paris Chamber of Commerce (CCIP), one of the founders of the ESCP Europe, we have been cooperating since 2000, when we launched the Center for preparation for CCIP French for professional purposes Certificate test. This center has also been successfully working as part of the HSE French Language Department.

— What is specific about the Master in European Business programme which is starting at your institute?

— For Russia this programme is unique: there are no similar one-year programmes in our country. The idea is that students spend two semesters in two different countries: for example, the first semester in Moscow, and the second one in one of the West European capitals. This is a fully applied programme, including a compulsory (three months minimum) internship in a company. Getting experience of studying and working in an international team, in a multicultural environment, getting to know various methods of management and the specifics of project implementation in various countries – all these things are essential for those who seek careers in international and European business. Our programme provides such an opportunity – each of the campuses has a wide network of contacts and partnerships with the largest international companies and banks. In addition, it is also a chance to get good language training: the entire programme is taught in English.

— Who are the target audience of the Master in European Business programme? What are the criteria for the applicants ?

— The applicants for the programme are required to have some form of higher education and between 1 and  3 years’ work experience. We invite sociologists, economists, lawyers and representatives of other human sciences, as well as students and graduates of departments of mathematics and technology. As to the age limit, an applicant should be under 35 (while the average age of the European participants is about 25).

By the way, since the programme is international, as well as Russians going to European campuses for the second semester, we also host European students here. This step is very important for us: we shall have to comply with certain standards. On the other hand, this is one more practical step on the way towards HSE integration into  the international educational environment and the internationalization of our programmes.  

— What are the advantages of this year-long continuing education programme as opposed to the traditional master’s double-degree programmes?

— The HSE actually has some master’s programmes which allow the students to spend the second year of education in partner universities, including those in France. But here we are speaking about academic programmes which require no work experience and which have a rather academic focus. MEB students are already actively and successfully working and would like to have an improved career growth without leaving their business environment for a long time. In addition, not everyone is ready to leave their friends and family for a year. Our programme allows a student to leave for a foreign campus only for one semester, and this semester is rather short: from March till June. And the three months of internship can be spent not only in the country of your visit, but in any European enterprise, including companies located in Russia. So, the timeframe of the programme and the system of internship are both flexible.

Another advantage of the Master in European Business programme is its price. Its character is certainly closer to that of the MBA rather than that of a master’s course. ESCP Europe took first place in the Financial Times ranking among those schools implementing such programmes. Its price – EUR17500 for the whole cycle – is rather competitive if compared to MBA programmes, moreover when we consider that we are speaking about two degrees. In addition to that, it can be paid in two tranches. And this programme offers much to its graduates: this degree allows them to work in any large international company in any country of the world.

— What courses does this programme include? Who are the lecturers?

— The basic courses of the programme are managerial, but they are supplemented with courses in economics, corporate finance, accounting, basic mathematics and information science, as well as foreign languages (both English and Russian as a second language). During the Moscow semester, the courses will be read by lecturers from the HSE faculties of management and economics. The academic supervisor of the programme is Nikolay Filinov, Dean of the Faculty of Management. This is a kind of a franchise: the French side gave us a list of courses, their summaries and lists of references. This means that the contents of the courses are defined and totally agreed with ESCP Europe, but since our lecturers are creative people, they will choose the methods of teaching and cases in their own style.

During the application process for the programme, the students choose the campus where they would like to spend the second semester of education. And while in the London campus of the ESCP they study only in English, in other European campuses the students can study  in English and in French, German or Spanish. Furthermore, for example, in Berlin in addition to the HSE and ESCP Europe degrees the students can also try to get a diploma from the Berlin School of Economics where the campus is located. This means that potentially our students can try and get not two, but three degrees at the same time.

— What are the terms and procedures for applying to the programme? What is the selection process like?

— Admission to the programme consists of two stages. The first of them will last until July 2^nd and includes applications and their consideration. Here I would like to remind you that since the programme is taught in English, the applicants will need to provide TOEFL or IELTS certificates. If an applicant has not passed such a test, he will have an opportunity to pass them during the second stage. It is also necessary to provide your results for GMAT, GRE or Tage Mage. As an alternative, you can pass an online SHL test based at our Institute, where you can get immediate results. Generally, don’t be scared if you don’t have some of the certificates: you will have an opportunity to pass all the tests at IIAB.

The second stage is the interview which is conducted by Russian experts from the HSE, as well as the French administrators of the programme, who will come to Moscow specially for the interviews. The dates of interviews are already known: June 23^rd, June 29^th and July 5^th. Those students who are graduating in 2012 can also apply for the programme, even if they don’t have their official degree papers yet: these can be provided later.

Detailed information on the application process can be found on ourInstitute’s website.

— Is the IIAB planning to launch any other educational programmes in the near future?

— The Center for cooperation with France and French-speaking countries (French Center) which I also head, has developed a wide network of institutional partnerships over many years of its work, which means that of course the IIAB will expand its programmes. We have already signed certain agreements with some international partners. Of course, we are planning some joint projects with the ESCP Europe in other areas. But we are not planning to limit ourselves only to Europe.

Oleg Seregin, HSE News Service