On May 31, the second meeting of the Council of the Additional Educational Program of professional retraining "Master of Business Administration" took place at the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg University (GSOM SPbU) this academic year.

Andrey Zyatchin, Academic Director of MBA and EMBA programs, Associate Professor at Department of Operations Management at GSOM SPbU, and Anna Kuchina, Director of MBA and Executive Education Programs Office, presented the substantive changes in the Executive MBA program, as well as a report on enrollment results: the annual growth rate of the program's trainees over the last three years was 15%.

The participants of the meeting summarized the results of the CAEP activities in 2022-2024: 10 face-to-face and online meetings were held in the course of two years, during which the key directions of the Executive MBA program development were elaborated. The Council approved the introduction of new courses into the curriculum, including Entrepreneurship, Company Risk Management, Legal Risks of an Executive, Introduction to Business Process Management, and others.

With the support of the Council, agreements have been reached to conduct field modules of the program in Armenia and Uzbekistan, and negotiations are underway with universities in China, South Korea, Morocco, and South Africa. Special attention of the meeting participants was paid to the discussion of such directions as Internationalization and Teacher Development.

“The work on updating and development of the Executive MBA program, including internationalization of training, brings positive results not only for the program itself but also for the whole Business School. This year we signed an agreement with Harbin Institute of Technology,” said Anna Kuchina, Director of MBA and Executive Education Programs Office. The new joint program of additional professional education of the GSOM SPbU, the School of Management of Harbin Institute of Technology, and the REC Export School will allow students to understand the subtleties of doing business with Chinese partners. The idea for this program was born in the course of the Council's discussions. We initiated cooperation with universities in the People's Republic of China and other promising academic partners in Asia and Africa.”

The GSOM SPbU Executive MBA Program Board includes representatives of such organizations as Aggreko Eurasia, VTB, Eurostancom, Oriental Logistics, Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in China, Leningrad Region Entrepreneurship and Industry Support Fund, UnionPay, Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government, and Sberbank International.

Educational program councils provide regular communication between business, government, and public organizations and the Business School. They help to identify labor market needs and adjust educational tracks so that GSOM SPbU graduates have the skills and competencies in demand.

Managers and experts from companies and organizations are not only members of the CAEP working groups but also give guest lectures and participate in the work of the State Attestation Commissions and are employer representatives for graduates and students of GSOM SPbU.

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