Programme Overview

Our Master’s students learn course materials, as well as carry out research and project work. As stipulated in the curricula of our three partner universities, this must be done within a single international group where the common language is English (the language of international business communication, which is not the first language of any of the participants). Therefore, undergraduates can upgrade their skills in professional oral and written communication in English, such as presentations, negotiations, development of business plans and projects.

From the beginning of the joint section of the programme, Russian students, alongside their classmates from Austria and Italy, are divided into international subgroups in which they receive practical skills for working on an international team along with intercultural reflection of group interactions. Furthermore, they can work on case studies that consider the specifics of doing business in Russia and the EU, as well as participate in the real business projects of Russian and European companies.

Working in international subgroups facilitates the mutual learning of students, especially in the framework of the project seminar (a trimester in Italy). Master students who have been trained in similar economic and managerial disciplines in different educational systems, can forward their knowledge and skills to foreign peers in these subgroups. Furthermore, enhancement of one's own competencies, as well as the development of another's competencies, occurs through reflection and group selection of best practices.

The programme is expressively practice-oriented. Each party of the joint programme ensures the immersion of students into real business environments. The educational process is accompanied by close cooperation with international and national companies, local experts and business practitioners.

In this context, learning the language of one of the host countries gains particular importance. HSE students have a choice among Russian, German or Italian. Language classes run from October to June. Thus, acquiring a second foreign language is accompanied by linguistic and cultural skills gained in a natural environment (in Russia, Austria or Italy, respectively). In addition, students can communicate with native speakers of the target languages during the whole international year.

The Italian part of the programme foresees project seminars where students can develop projects for Italian companies. Previous projects carried out in cooperation with these internationally active companies include: analyzing European market trends; studying consumer demand in the food and beverage industry; developing logistics strategies, as well as market entry strategies, for Russia and Austria; developing financial instruments for the Russian market; and analyzing the prefabricated home market in four respective countries.

In Russia, projects will be co-supervised by companies interested in entering the local market.

The respective educational environment of each part of the programme overseen by our three partner universities is authentic. For instance, the archetypes of business culture in Eastern and Western Europe (e.g., Russia, Austria and Italy) are presented in a natural environment, through direct communication with teachers, tutors, and business actors from these regions.

Also, particular importance is given to the direct involvement of foreign professors. For instance, half of the instruction is carried out by foreign instructors (from Johannes Kepler University, Austria, and the University of Bergamo, Italy). Furthermore, the teaching staff from all three universities selected for the programme are well versed in global best practices, thereby ensuring the proper delivery of both the theoretical and practical components of the curriculum.