On September 29, 2021, 33 students from Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Latvia started their education at the MBA program "Challenges of the digital world" of the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg University (GSOM SPbU).

One of the program students, Vice President for Economics and Finance of JSC "Shubarkol Komir" (Kazakhstan) Arman Sabiganov, explains his choice of this particular program: "The topic — Challenges of the digital world — is in my KPI system as the head of the economics and finance unit. My first educational agree was in IT. The second was in economics. Now I want to make a maximum contribution to the development of digitalization, robotization, and the automation of processes in my unit and, in general, all the company's operations within the framework of production and economic activities. A systematic approach, a benchmark, books - all this will increase my professional level and contribute to the company's development.

The average age of the group members is 35.3 years. Their average management experience is 7.5 years. They are mainly owners and top managers of large businesses and represent the mining and processing industries, industry in general, IT, consulting and other fields.

The duration of the MBA program "Challenges of the Digital World" is one year and three months. It consists of 12 main modules and offers interactive classes in the classroom, elective courses, online lectures by leading GSOM SPbU teachers, as well as training and business simulations. It will include a visiting module at the Sberbank Corporate University. A final certification project is required for the completion of the course.