Profession

The new economic reality is influenced by multiple factors: the development of globalisation and localisation processes, the introduction of digital technologies, protectionist policies implemented by some countries, trade wars, economic sanctions, the COVID-19 pandemic, which contributes significantly to the growing uncertainty in the global economy. The picture of global trade and foreign direct investment is undergoing radical changes as a result of the restructuring of global value chains. Under these circumstances, the profession of manager in the field of international business is becoming one of the most sought-after and reputable on the labour market.
A new phase of globalisation is expected to come, driven by digital technologies that will fundamentally change ideas and approaches to the placement of production forces in the world, seriously reshape existing value chains and change the model and strategy of business development. All this is impossible without specialists possessing the theory and practice of company management in the conditions of their operation abroad using various international commercial activities and organisational forms of conducting international business: export, import, technology exchange, licensing, franchising, making foreign direct investments, creating joint ventures, branches and subsidiaries abroad.
The programme is intended for young people whose professional ambitions are connected with company management in all its manifestations, for those who would like to make a career in an international corporation, dealing with production, commercial, financial, marketing, personnel issues of organization and management of international business.
Related information:
— there are currently around 100,000 major international corporations with more than 860,000 overseas subsidiaries in the world;
— the scale of companies is impressive: the turnover of the largest corporations in the world sometimes exceeds the GDP of many nations; these companies have a significant impact on the development of the global economy;
— each of the world's 100 largest corporations has an average of 549 subsidiaries in 56 countries, including 68 offshore companies and 19 holding companies;
— The digital economy is changing the transnationalization strategies of companies: companies often do not need large numbers of staff and assets to penetrate foreign markets, digital technologies allow them to operate globally and in foreign markets with little or no physical presence; some types of companies, such as wholesale and retail suppliers and vendors, may disappear as a result of the development of digital platforms.

Educational Process

The main goal of educational process is to form a set of knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for a modern specialist in international business management.
The development of this master’s degree educational programme was determined by the need for synergy between the competencies of a manager and an international economist with the purpose to train specialists who can work in international companies and research structures.
The curriculum provides an opportunity to gain not only theoretical knowledge, but also to acquire practical skills required for successful work in both Russian and international companies. During the process of education, a full range of courses are taught, which allows students, pursuing master’s degrees to become highly qualified specialists in the field of international management. Along with general economic and management subjects, students study advanced management technologies in the framework of such courses as “Theory of Management Organization”, “Modern Strategic Analysis”, “Management of an International Company”, “Management of International Commercial Operations”, “Global Economic Space of Modern Management”, “International Management in the Digital Economy”, “Business Communications in International Management”, “International Logistics and Supply Chain Management”. In addition, master classes of leading experts in the field of international management are regularly organized as part of the educational process. Having successfully mastered the International Management educational program, graduates will be able to:
— design corporate, business and functional strategies for the development of companies operating in international markets;
— manage divisions of companies of different forms of ownership, operating mainly in the international business space;
— design organizational management structures of international companies;
— master the international commercial operations management practices and methods and the ability to justify the choice of particular key and supporting operations in the real conditions of international business;
— develop and justify solutions for companies entering foreign markets;
— organize creative teams to solve organizational and managerial tasks and manage them.
The programme has been developed considering the recommendations of top managers of Russian and foreign companies; it assumes the possibility of continuing studies at postgraduate and MBA programs at Russian and foreign universities.
Within the framework of the program, students master the skills of both group and individual work, develop leadership qualities and the ability to work in a team during the analysis of problem situations and real business cases in the education process. A large number of creative individual and group projects are provided for each course with an emphasis on practical application.
The international composition of study groups allows students to gain unique experience of communication with representatives of different cultures, improve their language and communication competence in intercultural teams, and build their own network of professional international contacts at the university.
All lecturers involved in the educational process have academic degrees and titles and practical experience in the field of international business.

Practice

Practice-oriented approach to education is one of the most important values of the International Management Programme. Managerial competencies cannot be developed by studying only theory, therefore, conducting internships at for-profit and non-profit organisations is an integral part of the educational process. The main internship hosts are large international and national companies from various fields and industries, which are interested in recruiting graduates.
Students of the Master’s programme “International Management” undertake internships in major Russian and international companies: “Siemens”, “Hirsch International”, “LG Electronics”; consulting firms: PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC); financial institutions: Sberbank of Russia, Federal Treasury of Russia, JSC CB Citibank, JSC Center Moscow Finance, Alfa Bank, JSC Bank of Moscow, Bank Zenit; departments of the faculty and structural units of the university; public organisations; state institutions: State Duma of Russia, embassies of foreign countries.
The Master’s programme includes research and pre-graduation internships for students. It provides for inclusive training and development of professional skills within the framework of “student mobility periods”: internships, round tables, trainings, participation in conferences, forums, competitions and contests. Opportunities are provided to participate in student exchange programmes and obtain double diplomas as part of interaction with domestic and foreign partner universities.
In order to get acquainted with the peculiarities of the foreign management environment, it is possible to undergo professional internships abroad. The partners of the programme for this purpose are the universities of Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain, China and South Korea.

Career

Graduates of the programme are primarily oriented towards working in companies operating in international markets, making direct foreign investments, having representative offices, branches, subsidiaries and joint ventures abroad. These can be organisations of any legal form (commercial, non-commercial, state), carrying out international commercial and non-commercial operations, which need full-time employees, professionally versed in the laws and trends of development of the world economy, fluent in basic foreign languages, capable of maintaining effective relationships in a cross-cultural environment.
Graduates of the Master’s programme work in various fields of international business, foreign economic activity, foreign trade, as heads of departments of international companies, foreign branches, teams of employees, projects and networks, as well as in the following positions: manager of international projects, head of export department, head of import procurement, etc.
In more than 20 years of existence, the Graduate Management Department has trained more than 1,900 professionals who carry out their activities in 80 countries worldwide.
Examples of successful careers of our graduates:
1. D. Akhanov (1999) — Managing Director — Director for interaction with companies of the USA and Canada, LLC MC RUSNANO.
2. E. Bagautdinova (2003) — video journalist of the news channel Russia Today.
3. Berzelio Rofino Gomes (2008) — financial expert at the Ministry of Finance of Guinea-Bissau.
4. B.S. Shamileva (2009) — Deputy Head of the Department for Monitoring and Methodology of Budgeting Process in the Ministry of Finance of the Chechen Republic.
5. A. Kirilenko (2010) — Deputy Director of the Marketing Department of LLC “Publishing House Retail Finance”, magazine The Retail Finance.
6. T.N. Zemskova (2016) — Head of Consumer Research and Demand Side Management at Nonprofit Partnership ECR Russia.