Summer School Doing Business in Russia Continues: Crisis as an Opportunity

13:11, July 24, 2020

Topical issues covered by visiting lecturers of the programe

Three intense lecture days have already passed for the participants of the International Summer School «Doing Business in Russia». During this time, the students were divided into five international teams, each of which has its own mentor, and begun working on their final project. The project includes development of a strategy for finding functional and potentially successful sources of funding for the organization of the Ural Music Night festival. Among the tutors there are not only experienced teachers of Ural Federal University (Yuri Devi Senior Lecturer, GSEM UrFU; Nikita Shvalev, entrepreneur, Teaching Assistant at GSEM UrFU), but also representatives of the business and PR industry (Stanislav Berezin, Commercial Director, co-founder of Fabrika Trogatelnykh Stendov; Maxim Fokeev, Expert in Organisational Development, Sheremetyevo Intl Airport; Andrey Batin, event manager, teambuilding coach).

During the summer school, participants attended several fascinating lectures, among which are the most relevant topics related to COVID-19. Emil Velinov, professor at Skoda Auto University, spoke about the ways to transform the strategy of a multinational company as a result of the impact of COVID crisis. The main thesis was the fact that the introduction of worldwide quarantine led to the accelerated development of the automation of all processes to reduce contacts among people. This puts thousands of professions at risk of extinction. The lecturer suggested the best ways to rebuild companies while maintaining decent jobs for the population. The audience also discussed the negative impact of COVID-19 on car rental companies in Russia and abroad, and tried themselves in the role of top managers of global rental companies and developed their own measures to minimize the negative impact of the pandemic.

Natalia Volchkova, professor at New Economic School, gave a lecture on export economics. Participants learnt some statistical data on the number of companies engaged in export - in all countries this figure fluctuates within 20%, as well as in the industries that occupy the largest percentage of exports in the world, that is, the computer and electronic products industry (38.3%). The speaker showed the participants the calculation of direct costs for entering a foreign market and starting export. During the discussion of the export economy, the participants identified the key problems of the low level of supplies abroad:

• Little knowledge of the foreign market;
• Difficulties in obtaining a license;
• High cost of entering the foreign market.

In addition, they identified possible ways to increase exports to Russia by 24% while solving problems with customs.

Yuri Gushchin, Director of the Department for Informatization and Communication, Government of the Sverdlovsk Region, told the participants of the summer school about the development programs of the Sverdlovsk Region. Topics such as digital public administration, information infrastructure development, information security project of the Russian Federation, the introduction of digital technologies into everyday life and human capabilities were covered. The speaker talked about the competition in which students can demonstrate their digital awareness skills and implement changes in the Smart City project. In the Sverdlovsk Region, much attention is paid to engaging senior citizens in the digitalization processes. There are projects that help people learn how to use computer equipment and modern technologies; in confirmation of the success of this project, Yuri mentioned that 98% of residents of the Sverdlovsk region who are over 14 years old are registered on the public services portal. Among other things, the topic of the impact of Covid-19 on the development of projects for the informatization of cities in the Sverdlovsk region was discussed. In conclusion, the students asked questions about business automation during a pandemic, the use of crypto currencies in business and government, and clarified information about the "smart city dweller" project.

The participants have another week ahead of them filled with useful information from experienced entrepreneurs and team project work on solving a case. All this will help them develop the skills of flexibility and adaptivity to changing external conditions and subsequently build their successful career.