On July 9, 2020, experts from the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg State University (GSOM SPbU) took part in a Coca-Cola event in Russia and discussed sustainable development as a new factor in competitiveness today. The problem of sustainable development in recent years has not disappeared from the focus of attention of business and education. Scientific forums and discussions are dedicated to it, and companies organize conferences and business discussions to discuss responsible consumption, ecosystem conservation, economic development and quality education with experts.

Elizaveta A. Troyanova, Director of the Career Center of GSOM SPbU, moderated the session "The Education and Development of Youth: Supporting Youth in the Labor Market, Developing Their Potential". As part of the discussion, the experts discussed what skills remain the most relevant and in demand for employers, how to create conditions for the development of innovative and entrepreneurial activity of young people, what are the scenarios for the development of online tools in education and what new opportunities online education provides for young people.

“Within GSOM, my colleagues and I are focused on making our young graduates feel comfortable in the labor market. However, the super-speed of changes in labor market conditions and the competencies required make young alumni quite vulnerable. Here, teaching the necessary competencies for a new generation comes to the fore: the skills of self-study, continuous improvement and the ability to quickly adapt to changing realities. Moreover, there is a need for serious work by specialists concerning to the younger generation, on the self-determination and awareness of schoolchildren and students in choosing their professional path,” noted Elizaveta A. Troyanova.

Leonid Vasiliev, Director of GSOM MBA and Executive Education programs, also took part in the discussion, talking about scenarios for the development of online tools in education and new opportunities for online learning for the younger generation.

“The difficult epidemiological situation has certainly pushed the development of online technologies in the education of young people. GSOM was able to cope with new challenges in a short time and over the past months has accumulated a lot of successful experience that has enriched the development strategy of the School, defining a new focus – online programs for aspiring leaders. Our assessments allow us to speak about both the positive aspects of the development of online technologies in education, as well as some negative aspects. However, the analysis shows that online learning is most effective for an audience of young people between the ages of 20 and 27. Realizing that this is a period of self-determination, we can confidently speak of the enormous potential of online education as a tool to support young people in the labor market, ” said Leonid Vasiliev.

The speaker also mentioned the joint project of GSOM SPbU and Coca-Cola in Russia – the educational platform “Youth Empowered”. The goal of the project is to help young people in all regions of Russia develop communication and entrepreneurial skills, taking into account the individual characteristics and goals of each participant. The launch is planned before the end of 2020.

The discussion was attended by representatives of business, educational institutions, government agencies and youth associations, who in their speeches noted the possibilities of assisting young people in orientin themselves on the labor market and creating conditions for their successful self-realization.