International students developed projects of sustainable business development of the Urals

13:00, November 21, 2019

The 11th International Autumn School «Sustainable Business Development: Smart Future for All» has finished at GSEM

In 2019, 60 people of 17 nationalities from 12 countries took part in the School. For the first time the programme was divided into 2 tracks. For 1,5 weeks foreign participants from the largest universities in Europe and Asia, alongside GSEM BA International Economics and Business students practiced business development in accordance with the 17 UN goals during interactive lectures and corporate visits to the largest international and Russian companies of the region. Representatives of corporate partners praised the training level of the participants in the Autumn School.

The participants visited a copper-smelting plant «Karabashmed» of the «Russian Copper Company», where they were able to develop their own environmental and technological modernisation programmes of the enterprise and the town. At the «Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development» participants designed new digital financial products, at «Danone» they got acquainted with production optimisation processes and the company's sustainable development programme, at Coca-Cola and at Unilever they practiced methods of processing plastic and introducing the principles of specific sustainable development goals. Moreover, for the first time as part of the membership of the Graduate School of Economics and Management in PRME (Principles of Responsible Management Education), the participants practiced in the WikiRate system, which allows for evaluating statistical data on companies' achievement of sustainable development indicators.

An intensive content session «Business Strategies and Sustainable Development» led by GSEM Academic Director Zhanna Belyaeva and a project session from the GSEM Director of International Affairs Offce Ekaterina Demchenko and GSEM Senior Lecturer Yury Davy allowed students to set the scope for their projects. The VicePresident of the Mannheim University of Applied Science (Germany) Dolores Sanchez Bengoa told the participants about effective business communications; Professor Emeritus of the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne Wladimir Andreff gave some insights on how investments in the sports economy make the world a better place; Deputy Dean of the Department of Economics and Business of the University of Rijeka Saša Žiković  conducted a training on calculating the carbon footprint of households; the Department Director of KEDGE Business School (France) Dorra Yahiaoui developed soft competencies of the participants to increase demand in the global labor market; and GSEM senior researcher Alberto Ferraris (Italy) gave a lecture on open innovation in international business. 

Dr. Ferraris shared his impressions:

«Every year is going better and better than the previous one because the number of students and the partners is increasing. This year my lectures are focused more on innovation processes and I try to explain innovation influence on sustainability. This issue is quite important for both researchers and managers».

This year, the International Autumn School participants also took part in the plenary panel «Development of human capital: the role of universities and business schools in shaping a smart environment», which took place at the XIV International Conference "Russian Regions in the Focus of Changes" at the residence of the Governor of the Sverdlovsk Region. The icing on the cake of the programme was the open master class EQ Based Leadership by the most renowned business coach in Russia Radislav Gandapas.

Zhanna Belyaeva, the academic director of the Autumn School, notes:

«The school is called upon to expand the socially responsible role of companies in the region in achieving sustainable development of global business. The smart role of the university is to create an environment for practical application of tools for socially responsible behaviour of business, the state and all stakeholders. It is pleasant to realize that hundreds of students from all over the world have already become ambassadors of the responsible culture and business of the Urals over the years of the school. In 2020, a new International Autumn School «Sustainable Business Development» is planned to coincide with the 85th anniversary of the Graduate School of Economics and Management and the 100th anniversary of the Ural Federal University».

Eight teams of foreign participants and International Economics and Business students successfully presented their projects on sustainable transformation of Ural companies. The professional jury included corporate partners: Maria Grigoryeva, project manager for the organization and development of partnership programs at UBRD, Daria Kolmogorova, regional leader in sustainable development and interaction with local communities Coca-Cola HBC Russia in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East regions, professors and tutors of the school from Russia, Italy, France, Croatia, Ghana and Uganda. Participants presented their vision of companies through the goals of sustainable development, mentioned the creative proposals for the development of their activities, presented a business model and a communication plan of the main stakeholders. The corporate and academic jury noted the high level of the projects and announced the names of the winners - team led by the debuting tutor, Yana Lopatkova.

All participants of the School got UrFU certificates with 5 ECTS, lots of new useful knowledge and unforgettable experience that they are going to take along with them to Italy, Germany, Croatia, Spain, Portugal, France, Norway, the Netherlands, India, China and the Czech Republic.