The technological development of the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg State University (GSOM SPbU) became a key topic of discussion of the Strategy Commission of the Advisory Board. The meeting was held on February 17 and it was devoted to the introduction of new values, the formation of a schedule for the accreditation commissions AACSB, EQUIS, CEMS and the work of the Commission itself in 2021.

   

The development of the digital educational environment is one of the main directions of the GSOM SPbU strategy until 2025. The Business School plans both to introduce an online component into educational programs and to create a full-fledged digital platform for learning and communication integrated with St. Petersburg University, business partners and government.

    

Learning management and student digital footprint

The Learning Management System and Learning Record Store will become the core of the educational environment. "Learning management systems and student digital footprint fixation are designed to accumulate digital educational tracks for listeners and students, as well as to offer them relevant courses. The target architecture also provides platforms for creating simulations — VR, AR, business games. Another element of the system is intended for work with big data as part of Master programs at GSOM SPbU", — said Alexey Chubar, member of the Project Office for Strategy of GSOM SPbU.

   

The digital educational environment of GSOM SPbU will be implemented with a wide use of cloud technologies: up to 75% of applications will be hosted in the cloud platformx of Rostelecom, Mail.ru and other providers.

  

The infrastructural part includes, among other things, the creation of "smart classrooms" — digital spaces, where an environment for a hybrid learning scenario will be formed, allowing students and teachers to participate in classes both face-to-face and remotely. The implementation of “smart classrooms” will require updating the teaching methodology and introducing new approaches to pedagogical design in the Business School.

   

Olga Dergunova, Deputy President and Chairman of the Management Board of VTB Bank, Director of GSOM SPbU, said: “Until April 1, on the basis of the Mikhailovskaya Dacha campus, we want to launch the first “smart classroom” and conduct the first pilot lessons with an updated pedagogical design. It is very important for us that the expert trustees also appreciate its convenience and functionality. Our goal is to create a unified technological platform that will unite the Business School with practitioners — representatives of companies. Such technological and methodological experience can become a model for other educational institutions”.

 

Consultations and pilots

Alexey Chubar stressed the importance of partnerships with members of the Advisory Board for the implementation of the concept of a digital educational environment at GSOM SPbU, in particular, with Mail.ru, MegaFon, Rostelecom, IBM and VTB.

 

			“In my opinion, it is worth highlighting the trend for the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning more. It's not just data that matters to us, but also the models, algorithms and insights we get from them. Also there is now an important technological trend towards combining digital and physical experience, and many experts recommend developing products based on the digital first concept." Maxim Grigoriev, executive partner of Gartner
			“There's also such a thing as user experience that matters. We must, among other things, study the path that the student takes, the difficulties that he or she faces. Using big data, you can explore how convenient and efficient the learning process is. In this case, additional product competencies are required in order to build a full-fledged work on the product, so that in the end users would recommend the Business School, because it is convenient and comfortable to study there." Yuna Dubova, Director of Talent and Leadership Development, Tele2

     

Accreditations

An important issue on the agenda is accreditations. There are four of them in the plans of GSOM SPbU for 2021. These are international EQUIS and AACSB, as well as an audit of the CEMS program and state accreditation as part of St. Petersburg University. All of them are needed to improve the quality of education and the reputation of the Business School in the international arena.

  

The AACSB commission is expected to visit GSOM SPbU in June 2021 to assess how the association's recommendations are being implemented and impact on the educational process, and how professors meet accreditation standards.

“It is important for us to obtain institutional AACSB accreditation, although we understand that this can be difficult. The standards for this accreditation are more quantitative than others. For example, on the indicators of scientific activity and data on professors,” said Konstantin Krotov, Head of School, GSOM SPbU.

Another challenge will be the re-accreditation of EQUIS in September; this year GSOM SPbU expects to receive a 5-year accreditation.

  

Each commission will communicate, including with corporate partners. International accreditations EQUIS and AACSB are an important criterion for participation in the Financial Times and The Economist rankings.

  

GSOM SPbU Value

Key values ​​of GSOM SPbU are formulated. They are aligned with the Mission, Vision and Strategy of the Business School. The values ​​have already passed the discussion of the Academic Council and are presented to the Student Council of GSOM SPbU.

  

GSOM SPbU values:

• Continuous development
• Customer focus
• Openness and multiculturalism
• A team of like-minded people
• Responsible Leadership
• Professionalism

  

It is interesting that the students of the Business School identified as the most fundamental values ​​such as "Continuous development", "Openness and multiculturalism" and "Responsible Leadership", while noting that such a value as "Continuous development" is already inherent in corporate culture of GSOM SPbU.

“The values ​​of the Business School are the basic principles on which interaction with the Advisory Board members, partner companies, students and employees should be built. After their formation, the values ​​will become the basis, the foundation of every aspect of the life of the Business School. As Peter Drucker said, values ​​are more important than goals,” said Maria Afonina, Representative of the Project Office.

  

The next stage is to work with the meanings of values ​​and their implementation in the daily activities of employees and students of the Business School. It is they, together with representatives of the Advisory Board members of GSOM SPbU, who will take part in the process of clarifying the meanings, choosing tools for operationalizing and promoting values.

   

Schedule of the work of the GSOM SPbU Strategy Commission in 2021

Discussing the schedule for 2021, Olga Dergunova. Deputy President and Chairman of VTB Bank Management Board informed the audience that a general meeting of the Advisory Board is scheduled for June:

  

“Until June 2021, we want to discuss and fix the main steps, priorities and resources that are needed to implement the Strategy-2025 at monthly meetings of the Commission”.

  

The next meeting of the Strategy Commission is scheduled for March 24, 2021. It will be devoted to the development strategy of the GSOM SPbU team, the international strategy of GSOM SPbU and the preparation of the campus for the settlement of students in the Bachelor dormitories on September 1, 2021.