With a strategic partnership with China, and trade between the two countries being over 69.5 billion dollars, the Russian market looks very promising. What’s more, Russia is closely involved with the BRI – a project to turn Asia and Europe into a single economic area. This initiative has led in the last 7 years to 168 projects in the region and investments of about 98 billion dollars. In a nutshell: There’s business in Russia.
So, if you are looking to widen your horizons and broaden your business knowledge, why not do an MBA in Russia?
1. Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO - the best place to study Business in Russia
Your goal is an ambitious Executive Master of Business Administration where you can gain valuable insight and know-how about the Eurasian business market, because you know there is a great commercial potential there that can help you get ahead of the pack as a successful entrepreneur. That’s why you should study at Moscow School of Management, SKOLKOVO.
Founded by entrepreneurs who represent Russian and international companies, and receiving students that are also entrepreneurs, Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO is here to help you understand how to react to a fast-changing environment and how to grow your business in an environment rich with possibilities.
SKOLKOVO Business School is one of the largest business schools in the former Soviet territory. Doing a Master’s there you’ll get the chance to meet some of the 150 world-class professors from different countries and learn from some of the 1300 external experts who work with the school.
You’ll have the option of selecting from 10 different types of educational programmes, including, MBA and EMBA programmes and Startup Academy (also for adults and teenagers aged 14-17). Some of the programmes are taught in Russian. However, the MBAs and EMBAs are taught in English and focus on the Russian and CIS markets, while the EMBA for Eurasia is specially designed for students from all across the globe.
You will also have access to eight research facilities that study topical issues in:
- different sectors of the economy
- emerging markets
- energy and urban sectors
- healthcare
- financial innovation
These facilities also provide consulting services, develop educational programmes, and help shape the school’s intellectual agenda as a whole.
2. Apply to a one-of-a-kind EMBA for Eurasia
A genuinely unique programme at SKOLKOVO Business School is the EMBA for Eurasia. It is a new international Executive MBA for managers intending to do business in Eurasia within the BRI framework. The programme was developed together with HKUST, Asia’s leading business school.
Studying this Master’s will qualify you for two Executive MBA diplomas: from SKOLKOVO Business School and from HKUST Business School.
EMBA Kellogg-HKUST has been ranked #1 globally 8 times in the last 10 years, a confirmation of the fact that it plays a leading role in Asia. They have also held Financial Times #1 MBA ranking for Asian schools.
What is unique about the programme is that the 19 courses are taught across 7 countries – Russia, China / Hong Kong, the United States, Israel, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, and Armenia – and will be hosted by their leading business schools.
The programme’s teaching staff is made up of world-class experts and professors from IMD, INSEAD, Cambridge University, University of Berkeley, University of St. Gallen and many others.
This means you will not only gain “cultural” knowledge about Eurasian countries and specific ways to do business there, but you will also get an understanding of the latest trends across different industries in the region. Additionally, you will develop advanced leadership skills and new ways of thinking innovatively while understanding the global trends of the 4th Industrial Revolution.
3. Study in a multicultural environment
Studying at SKOLKOVO Business School will give you an amazing opportunity to meet entrepreneurs from over the world who will be students like you. The school has already received applications from France, Turkey, Italy, China, as well as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine for the new academic year.
In general, 20% of the classes are international, most students coming from the following countries:
- CIS countries (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan)
- China
- France
- Italy
- Germany
Demographics based on 1630 programme alumni also show that out of all the graduates, 23% are women and 77% are men.
4. Your managerial experience matters at Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO
If you want to secure a place for an MBA or and EMBA at SKOLKOVO Business School, you should know that the school generally pays attention to the ranking of universities students graduated from.
A compulsory requirement is experience in managing a business or a team in a large company. For example, in order to be accepted in the Executive MBA SKOLKOVO-HKUST you should have at least six years of managerial experience.
MBA and EMBA students there already have significant experience in their industry. Applying for a programme, they want to get a systemic understanding of business, unlock their leadership potential, learn to think strategically, or reboot. If you are this type of person and you have at least 5 years of business experience, your chances of getting accepted are pretty high.
5. You might be considered for a scholarship
SKOLKOVO Business School traditionally holds a grant competition to study in an ??? programme, with participation open to young ambitious managers under 35. The grant covers part of the cost of education in one of the MBA programmes and is supported by the school’s partners - eminent Russian businessmen and major companies.
From 2014 to 2018, over 3,000 applications were submitted for the SKOLKOVO MBA grant programme, out of which 76 students were selected to receive education grants, and the total funding exceeded 1,500,000 EUR, which is an unprecedented amount among Russian private business schools.
The success of the ??? grant programme led to the opening of a similar programme for the newcomer EMBA for Eurasia. The school is launching a financial boost programme with a 20,000 USD incentive to be awarded to the winner in each of the following five categories:
- Leaders from Non-Profit Organizations Award
- Women Leadership Award
- Global Citizen Award
- The Belt and Road Initiative Award
- Disruptive Innovation Award
Keep in mind that MBA grants are awarded after a public defence of the project before a committee, while EMBA for Eurasia grant winners are chosen by the admission boards from the two schools.
Applications are accepted until the 26th of September.
6. Experience intensive classes and unique campus life
During the EMBA for Eurasia, the curriculum is structured in modules, so hours of studies vary. During modules, you’ll have at least 8 hours of studies a day, with learning hours sometimes reaching 50 per week. All cases and examples studied in class are either specifically tailored for or adapted to one of the three programme’s focuses: Eurasia, innovation, or leadership. Thus, even theoretical aspects of the education are practically oriented.
The school also provides the 250 comfortable rooms equipped with everything necessary for work and rest in one of the two hotels in its territory, Pamir or Tyan-Shan. The campus has several cafés and restaurants, a sports complex with a swimming pool and a games room, a SPA centre and a library. The area near the school’s campus features a large landscaped park and one of Russia’s best golf clubs.
7. Enjoy affordable city life
First of all, a great advantage you’ll get is that breakfasts and lunches are included in the cost of the programme. And, during dinner time, you can save on cafés and restaurants by ordering food from a variety of meal delivery services in Moscow, e.g. Chefmarket, Partiya Edi, Elementaree, and getting ready-to-cook products accompanied by quick and easy-to-cook recipes. This is convenient when you don’t have time to cook a decent dinner and you don’t want to always dine out.
If you want to eat out, many cafés in Moscow (usually of the culinary shop type) sell their products at discounted prices in the evening (from 20 to 50 %). They include, among others, Bratya Karavaevi, Obed bufet, Grably, Readymade, Brusnika.
For public transport, the best solution is to buy a Troika card and top it up for the next month. For 2000 roubles, you’ll be able to take an unlimited number of rides on the subway, bus, tram, trolleybus, and the new high-speed MCC suburban train. Uber also operates in Moscow, as well as its competitors, Gett and Yandex.Taxi.
8. Follow in the footsteps of successful alumni
Graduates are usually the best indicator of a school’s success. SKOLKOVO Business School graduates prove this on a daily basis not only through their outstanding business achievements but also through the enthusiasm with which they inspire ever more young entrepreneurs to trust their education to SKOLKOVO Business School.
Data about alumni shows that 59% of the graduates have created new workplaces, 46% of the graduates estimate their personal income has gone up since graduation.
Here are some of their success stories to inspire you:
- Elena Shifrina, founder of the “BioFoodLab. Take a Bite.” The company was named “Startup of the Year” in 2013, according to the Russian version of Forbes magazine. Now Take a Bite has entered the international market with BioFoodLab products being available in countries like Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Latvia, Estonia, Moldavia, Georgia. The British magazine Your Fitness has chosen Bite as the best snack under the Runner Up category.
- Markus Alves, Vice President, Revenue Management and Training Business of the Asia Pacific region of Kraft Heinz. Marcus has been delivering sustainable business results for more than 15 years in blue-chip FMCG companies such as AB-InBev, Kimberly-Clark and PepsiCo. He has a solid acumen of business practices in emerging markets such as Brazil, Central & Eastern Europe, China, Pakistan, Egypt, and Southeast Asia, and developed markets such as Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, and the USA.
- Anastasia Tatulova, founder of the AnderSon family café chain. This chain now comprises of dozens of outlets. The total revenue, according to Forbes Woman, makes up over 1.5 billion roubles. Every month, the AnderSon café’s manufacturing facilities produce over 115,000 deserts of 50 types.
All we can say is that studying at Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO is a recipe for success. Doing a Master’s there will take you that extra mile from a good entrepreneur to a great one!