‘Management in Emerging Markets: Trends and Strategies’: Version 2013

Eleven master’s programme students from Russia and other countries, such as the USA, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, participated in the international HSE summer school ‘Management in Emerging Markets: Trends and Strategies’. The organizer of the school, Professor Irina Volkova of the HSE Department of General and Strategic Management, defined the school’s mission as follows:

— We strive to provide students with the opportunity to gain basic experience in the management of companies that are prominent in the Russian market, and to demonstrate to them the importance of cross-cultural, inter-ethnic communication.

The students communicated with businesspeople and were able to get an inside look at the process of decision making and business modeling. They also discussed the companies’ competitive advantages. The school’s students became acquainted with the activities of companies such as Sovkombank, Jaguar, Intertech Accenture, and others.
 

School participants shared their impressions of the school:

Anna Arisova (the HSE, Russia):

— For me, this summer school turned out to be a school of life that taught me not to fear difficulties and to find a way out of any situation. The intensive schedule, English-only communication, and team debates also helped me. For me, the school certificate I received is a symbol of quality–not only of the knowledge I gained but also the life skills. Communicating with Americans helped me to learn a great deal about foreign methods of solving cases, the information search process, making presentations, and also about their actual problems, lifestyle, and traditions. I’d like to add that I felt absolutely comfortable communicating with all the students due to the high level of trust among us, regardless of nationality, gender, age, and social class.

Stefan Michalski (The University of Richmond, USA):

— It’s my first time in Russia. What did I expect? I guess, I expected the people and businesses I came across to be very unusual, but it turned out that our countries had a lot in common. Our teachers explained to us in a clear and understandable way the mechanisms of the developing Russian market. They motivated students and gave them interesting cases. All the students were friendly. I’ve gotten many interesting and innovative ideas from them. They just opened up Russia to me!

Dustin Fosness (The University of Richmond, USA):

— The summer school is a good starting point, even for establishing your own business in Russia. But I was more interested in the development of this country’s infrastructure and the management of its markets. That’s why I listened to the HSE’s top professors and experts carefully and tried to understand the changing trends and to establish a parallel with US business processes. It was simple and easy to exchange opinions with the other students. We had a lot of fun and shared some good laughs.