At Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg University (GSOM), students, in addition to passing exams and tests, prepare consulting business projects for companies as part of the course final assignments. This educational format helps students to plunge into the world of business and try to solve the specific tasks of the partner company.

 

One example of this format is the consulting projects of students of the CEMS MIM program for P&G. For three months, students collected information, prepared analytics and problem solving under the mentorship of Dmitry Kucherov, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior and Personnel Management.

 

P&G in Eastern Europe was represented by Zarina Khayrullina, HR Partner of the Marketing Department, Valeria Koshkareva, Talent Attraction Manager, and Anna Morozova, Senior Talent Development Manager, HR Partner of the Finance Department.

 

CEMS students were divided into two teams, each of which prepared a consulting project on the topic “Implementing a P&G Alumni Development Program”, analyzing the usefulness and feasibility of having such a program in the context of the company's “Growth from within” talent development strategy. “One of the most valuable skills is the ability to work in team and this is what business projects helps to develop. My experience of working on the business project was really amazing as it helped me to broaden my knowledge and work together with amazing and talented students. My team consisted of well-organized and hard-working CEMSies and we`ve managed to learn many things not only out of the project but also from each other,” said Margarita Bondar, CEMS MCF, participant in the course.

 

Despite the fact that the projects were implemented as educational, after the stabilization of the pandemic situation in the world, P&G will begin to discuss options for introducing ideas developed by students. The company plans to present some proposals to its management at the global level.

 

“P&G employees are happy to share their expertise with enthusiastic, inquisitive, and diligent   GSOM students. We are sincerely grateful to the School staff for the integration opportunities in the educational process that exist today, making it even more practice-oriented. Our fruitful cooperation has an important social mission — preparing alumnus for the real world of business and the requirements of the modern global labor market. And we are certainly pleased to support GSOM in the implementation of this mission, both through topical business tasks for student consulting, and through other joint projects,” —  shared her impressions Zarina Khayrullina.

 

Procter & Gamble is a longtime partner of GSOM SPbU. The first in the history of Russian education Advisory Board of the Graduate School of Management was established in 1993, for 10 years it was headed by J. I. Pepper, CEO of Procter & Gamble. In 2018, at the 25th anniversary of GSOM SPbU, the company presented the School with a coworking zone at the Student Club. Students have a place for comfortable work in groups, equipped with new computers and comfortable furniture.