English-Taught Master’s Programme in International Business: First Successes and Further Plans

Irina Kratko, Head of the HSE master’s programme in International Business, shared her ideas and plans related to further developing the programme.

Irina Kratko, Head of the HSE master’s programme in International Business, shared her ideas and plans related to further developing the programme.

— What are your impressions of the programme’s first year? What countries are the students coming from?

— The master’s programme in International Business is only six months old; in another six months when we have our first anniversary, we’ll be able to summarize the first serious results. But already now we can say that from the start, the programme has been an undoubted success. Initial enrolment was 21 students, and competition reached almost two applicants per place. The result that particularly meant a great deal to us was that the young people who came to our new programme believed in us, and after the first semester, they were all still satisfied with their decision and stayed in the programme.

The group of students in the master’s programme in International Business includes representatives of different countries, including students from distant foreign countries. The programme’s courses are popular among international students studying at the HSE in other English-taught programmes as well as those coming here on exchange programmes. Therefore, the geographical areas represented are diverse and a cross-cultural aspect is present — we have students from the USA, Germany, Great Britain, and South Korea. But, we also had a sad experience involving foreign students when last summer we had to turn away seven international applicants whose diplomas lacked validation. Several Russian citizens, who had degrees from international universities but had no time to validate them or simply get the original papers in time, had the same problem. I want to believe that this year the situation will change for the better. (For more information on admission requirements, please seeAdmissions for International Students.)

— How would you describe the programme’s present key advantages? Have you succeeded in implementing what you’d planned? Have you done everything right, or is there something you need to change?

— From our results and student feedback, we can assert that the programme’s key advantages are its focus on putting knowledge to practice, its multidisciplinary character, and that English is being used as the language of instruction. We are very happy that these three advantages, all incorporated in our initial plan for the programme, are equally receiving high marks.

What we set as a goal for all lecturers, when developing courses and conducting classes, is not studying theory for theory’s sake, but considering theory in relation to its application in professional practice. Sometimes even familiar theories are being revealed to students from a totally new perspective. The main rule is to study only those things which can be useful in everyday professional life. The active participation of professionals from international companies in the programme also promotes this goal.

We asked the students to choose one thing that they viewed as being their biggest takeaway since entering the programme. Some of them answered that, thanks to constant, intensive practice discussing different business-related topics in English, and reading a huge array of information in that language, they are now able to freely, without constraint and stress, hold conversations in English with any professional audience. Others said that, thanks to the programme’s diversity of disciplines, which consider an international company from inside and outside, they have come to understand, sense, and learn how to solve a wide range of problems—the kinds of problems they will face in their future international careers. Many found the ingredient that they had been lacking to meet their career goals. This means that we planned everything right, and that the programme’s mission is being implemented successfully.

— Please describe the students enrolled in your master’s programme. What are their aims? How are they getting along with each other given that most of them probably work since classes are in the evenings?

— The master’s programme in International Business is very diverse in terms of the composition of the student body, the students’ ages, and their first degrees. The group, representing different countries and Russian regions, includes linguists, economists, managers, advertising specialists, international relations experts, and an animation film director. They are all strongly motivated, dedicated, open, purposeful, and achievers; they share a mutual respect, tactfulness, and a readiness to help. I want to specifically point out the atmosphere of friendliness and trust that has been established between the students as well as between the students and the teachers. It is very important for us to maintain this atmosphere as these relationships are a specific source of pride for professors and students of The Fletcher School, our American partner. Many lecturers conducting classes in our programme notice this special atmosphere and say that it is very pleasant to work with such a group. In addition to attending the programme’s courses during the autumn semester, many students attended some all-university courses—a sign of their motivation and focus on study. And during the spring semester, most of the students, in addition to attending one compulsory elective course, also attended one that was optional—just because it interested them.

Most of the programme’s students work. We helped some of them secure employment in international companies after they were enrolled. The programme schedule keeps the students busy with study three evenings a week and all day Saturday. Since the programme is practice-oriented, the combination of study and work allows the students to better understand the material and immediately apply their newly acquired knowledge to real-world situations. In addition to that, by graduation, they will already have work experience, which will certainly be useful in their further career development.

— How exactly does The Fletcher School of International Affairs at Tufts University, USA, participate in teaching the students in Moscow?

— The Fletcher School has provided Moscow students with an opportunity to come to Tufts University as part of an exchange programme during the autumn semester of the second year of study. The first student exchange will take place this autumn. We have agreed on all the formal terms and are starting the very important stage of trialing the exchange procedure and solving many minor everyday problems related to sending our students to The Fletcher School.

The Fletcher School lecturers, together with the HSE lecturers, have developed the courses for the master’s programme. Today we have several joint courses which are successfully being taught as part of the programme. The Fletcher School kindly provided us with syllabi and educational materials for many disciplines, which are now being used successfully by our teachers. We are also planning distance lectures. Some leading professors of The Fletcher School have agreed to carry out intensive lecture courses in specific disciplines. Since their schedule doesn’t allow them to spend an entire semester or even a module in Moscow, we are considering the possibility of short-term visits during the period from mid-May to the end of June.

— How do you interact with your business partners? And particularly, how are the practical courses organized? Are you planning to attract new business partners? Please tell us more about the scholarships given by your business partners. How can students obtain them?

— Today the master’s programme in International Business has two official sponsors, Unilever and the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia. We also have other business partners, such as E.ON Ruhrgas and Michelin companies. This academic year, business representatives have already conducted a series of master’s programme classes and separate lectures and workshops, for which the students received certificates upon completion. And classes conducted by top executives of international companies are ongoing.

We are planning to increase considerably the number of business partners involved in the programme and to expand the format of their participation. Currently we are holding negotiations with Renault, McKinsey & Co, Diageo, ABC, and other international companies interested in collaborating with the programme. We hope that we’ll be able to attract these and many other companies.

Effective cooperation between the programme and its business partners is being tested as part of the course in International Business Consulting which began in the spring semester. Student teams have taken on the role of consultants and have started to implement real business projects commissioned by international companies. This academic year we selected the first four applications for student consulting projects. The lecture and teaching part of this course as well as the educational and support materials were developed jointly by the HSE and The Fletcher School’s lecturers. HSE lecturers supervise and support students in implementing the projects. Each team also has a representative from the client company, who has signed a non-disclosure agreement with each student and regularly meets with the team to discuss the progress of the project.

We consider it one of our big achievements that almost one out of every three students of the first enrolment in the master’s programme in International Business received a scholarship from this academic year’s official sponsors. The scholarships were awarded on a competitive basis by independent commissions consisting of the representatives of the companies, the main criteria for selection being the students’ portfolios. According to the commissions’ members, they selected motivated students who showed interest in the sponsor companies’ work, and whom they could see as their future interns or employees. We are planning not only to continue but also to expand the practice of having programme sponsors award scholarships to our students.

— Will there be any innovations in the programme this year?

— We believe further major developments and innovations in the master’s programme in International Business will be related to launching double-degree programmes. In its new agreement with the HSE, signed recently in addition to the framework agreement, The Fletcher School expressed its willingness not only to expand and deepen cooperation as part of the master’s programme but also to begin a dialogue about creating a double-degree programme, something never before discussed. This is a great honour for us and an acknowledgment of the good results achieved by our very young programme. We plan to start working on this with our colleagues from The Fletcher School in the near future.

In addition, last November two more American universities, the University of South Carolina and Indiana University, contacted us with offers to create double-degree programmes in International Business. Both of these universities, as well as The Fletcher School, are known for their strong MIB (Master of International Business) programmes and hold top positions in global rankings. We conducted preliminary negotiations and consultations with them, and negotiations are now underway between the HSE and these two universities to legally formalize our International Business programme partnerships. After that, we’ll begin discussing the details of our cooperation and start bringing our curriculums into alignment in accordance with the requirements of the double-degree programmes.

Some European universities have also approached us about similar initiatives. For example, this past February we held an introductory meeting with the representatives of University College London whose students expressed interest in receiving a degree from our programme. So, the strategic line of development for the master’s programme in International Business is strengthening its international character and providing an opportunity for students not only to study or have an internship abroad but also to get two degrees simultaneously, a degree from the HSE and one from a partner university.

Anna Chernyakhovskaya, specially for the HSE News Service