GSOM Project office and The Strategy Commission under the Advisory Board are working on updating the School Development Strategy. There were a number of strategic sessions at the end of February with the participation of Bachelor and Master students, as well as students of MBA and Executive MBA programs. 

 

 

The GSOM Project office, the Strategy Commission under the Advisory Board and BCG consultants told the meeting participants about the results of the work done. Since January 2020, the current status of GSOM, the situation on the Russian labor market, global trends in education were analyzed, and based on this, a vision was formulated for the prospects for further development of the business school.

 

“We are facing the challenges of a new world: lifelong learning, digital transformation, changing the classical skills, exponential growth of speeds, new requests of the economic and the need to build a socially responsible business based on the principles of sustainable development. Our task is to jointly answer the question of what business education should be so that GSOM students can maximize their potential and be sought-after specialists today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, ” said VTB Bank Deputy President and Chairman (PAO), Director of GSOM SPbU Olga Dergunova, addressing to students. 

 

The result of group work with students was a series of initiatives in three main areas: the procedure for admission to GSOM SPbU, the educational process and the employment of alumni.

 

Students expressed interest in improving the procedure for selecting applicants for master's programs and proposed in addition to traditional entrance tests, to evaluate applicants by motivation letter or by solving creative tasks and cases.

 

Initiatives to update the educational process were aimed at increasing integration into real business practice  — by increasing the number of faculty with industrial expertise and involving potential employers in the development of programs. Students proposed to transfer some of the theoretical courses to the online format, and when choosing additional disciplines, provide greater freedom, including due to more flexible access to courses from related areas. Students of the MBA and EMBA programs proposed the development of supportive education programs that would allow them to obtain relevant knowledge after completion of basic training.

 

Students suggested changing the approach to organizing internships: increasing their duration due to a flexible schedule and strengthening the practical component, due to immersion in real business processes of companies. These changes may contribute to the successful employment of alumni.

 

Many initiatives of students concerned the use of their own potential for the mutual support and development of GSOM. They suggested:

• attract students and alumni to change existing and develop new training courses at GSOM;
• create an opportunity for students to regularly work on consulting projects for partner companies of the School;
• develop initiatives of the Talent Up! mentors club, combining Bachelor, Master, MBA and EMBA students to transfer experience in successful career building and personal development;
• Strengthen work with the GSOM Family Community.

 

These and other suggested initiatives will complement in the range of projects and areas identified as priorities for the development of the School. The team working on updating the GSOM development strategy thanks the students for their active participation in strategic sessions and for the contribution that they make to shaping the vision of the future of GSOM SPbU.