Economists and Managers Will Always be in Demand

 

Every applicant to university faces difficult and important questions: what professions will be in demand in the future? What skills will help me realize my potential? How can I combine happiness and professional relevance to society? We decided to discuss these topics with professor Irina Savelyeva, director of the SUSU Higher School of Economics and Management.

New old school

Adapting to a new reality, modern universities have a task before them – implement academic programs that will help them train specialists who are in demand.

The School of Economics and Management, on the one hand, is a very young division at SUSU. On the other hand, it has half a century of experience, the strongest scientific schools, and a serious reputation on the Russian academic market. How is this possible? We’ll tell you in detail.

Today there are 10 institutes in SUSU, and the Higher School of Economics and Management is one of them. Within the 5-100 Program, four of the university’s economic faculties combined under the iconic, well known abbreviation HSEM. This includes the elite academic zone and the School of Business, which offers prestigious MBA programs and continuing education for company managers. The previously separate Departments of Economics, Management, Logistics, and Marketing, which existed in every faculty, merged into integrated clusters specializing in manufacturing sectors. And although this union was only created in September of the previous year, HSEM still has reasons to be proud.

The Higher School of Economics and Management is a brand that everyone knows. Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and now Chelyabinsk each have their own legendary HSEM. Our school is positioning itself as a leader in economics and management education in the South Ural region.

One of the oldest departments, the Department of Industrial Economics, which now exists in the HSEM, was created in 1951. Impressive experience allows for the school to claim the title of leader in economics and management in the region.

“Today, the SUSU Department of Bookkeeping, Analysis, and Auditing is the only department in a list of experts invited to form new, professional standards in bookkeeping in Russia,” says the HSEM director, doctor of economic sciences, professor Irina Savelyeva,Two of our leading researchers are actively participating in the discussion of standards and their proposals form the basis of the future of Russian accounting. This was made possible by the fact that we were able to bring all the leading specialists together in a single school. The next step was to group the departments by industry.”

The HSEM includes faculties that are maximally adapted to the needs of the market economy: Industrial Economics and Project Management; Economics of Labor and Human Resources; Economics and Management in Construction and Land Management Businesses; Economics and Management in Services, Recreation, and Tourism. Separately there are the financial departments: Finances, Money Circulation, and Credit; Bookkeeping, Analysis and Auditing; and the prospective area departments: Innovation Management in Businesses; Information Technologies in Economics; Economic Safety. The first two years, students study together and “percolate” in the scientific atmosphere, speak with professors and colleagues. Afterwards, when everyone has gotten a feel for their area, they are separated.

The myth of an excess of economists and managers

“You can often hear this phrase, ‘There are too many economics and managers.’ This is absolutely not true,” Irina Savelyeva is sure, “No matter what company you look at – big or small, governmental or private – everywhere and always they need qualified managers and economics. And a lot of them. We are training specialists who are in-demand: experts in financial management, human resource management, informational systems management, experts in governmental and municipal management, in innovative project and economic safety evaluation, marketing, and tourism. It is another thing all together that we need qualified, professional economists and managements with knowledge of modern aspects of the economy. SUSU is creating the conditions that will ensure the demand for our graduates in the Russian and international labor market.”

The strategic goal of the Higher School of Economics and Management is to form a unique, practically-oriented scientific and educational environment which allows them to train world-class leaders able to create and develop an effective business in the global, innovative economy.

The HSEM’s goal is achieved thanks to systematic requirements to the quality of academic programs, development of creative thinking among students, the formation of the skills of working effectively in economics and management. But the most valuable is a practically-oriented approach. Here, specialized professionals are “carved out” who answer the specific needs of employers.

The school is creating close relationships with hundreds of leading companies in the region, Russia, and the world. Every department has long-term contracts to hold internship in prospective companies. For example, elite education zone students are overseeing auditors at Avuar GK and Sberbank. Both organizations are ready to bring in graduates into employment immediately after graduation.

“We understand that elite students are a special category,” continues Irina Savelyeva,Employers should stand in a line and say: we want you to come work with us. What do we need for this? We need for our students to know theory, master comprehensive skills, and a have broad perspective. This is why we have attached specific organizations to our elite student groups in economics, management, and economic safety. Elite students will not only receive knowledge in the classroom, but also in companies, all the way through to their last course of study. And then, all 25 people from each group, if they wish, can be hired at that company. Today we see that the “hunt” for our graduates begins from the third year of study, and this confirms that we chose the correct path of development.”

Besides specialized knowledge, students of the elite education zones study foreign language in depth, which allows them to enter the international labor market, receiving a second degree as a translator without wasted time. Many win grants, study in China and Holland in exchange programs, and after graduating from the HSEM they are employed abroad.

HSEM and the whole university is included in the system of modern educational practices: it has a master’s program in English, international professors from five countries teach here, where the education cycles are integrated into the learning process and allow our students to master knowledge at an international level.

One indicator of the high level of knowledge which the HSEM brings to the region is the MBA Center, where students can obtain a business education in the “Master of Business Administration” program, which includes a British component – receiving a professional degree from the School of Business from the Open University of Great Britain in management. Without leaving Chelyabinsk, future economists and managers can receive the professional knowledge the modern businessman needs, taking international standards into account.

Economic Games

Around 7.5 thousand students study in the Higher School of Economics and Management. Each year there are more and more people who wish to join them. Students are inspired by both the prospects of gaining a quality higher education and guaranteed employment and the years of interesting, rich student life.

“Even schoolchildren know about the advantages of studying in our departments,” says Irina Savelyeva,We work with young people, beginning in eighth grade. In the school for young economists, our teachers offer training for older Chelyabinsk students. The prospect in the new future is the creation of educational centers in academic institutions in every region. The Department of Economics, Manufacturing, and Project Management is holding the 8th All-Russian Championship in Project Management for older students. This year, teams from 93 Chelyabinsk Region schools gathered and both cities and towns participated. Now, students participated in the initiative to complete a business exchange in a summer camp to hone their skills in the independent creation of innovative industries. In conclusion, I want to advise applicants to choose the ‘new reality’ and the university that will help them manage their present activities in the era of change, and this is a guarantee that you will create a solid foundation for your own successful future, including your career, dynamic advancement, and the discovery of your professional potential. All of this is possible with the help of the SUSU Higher School of Economics and Management.”

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