The interview with participants of EMBA GMR12

"The Stockholm School of Economics provides first-class education that becomes a solid foundation for being prepared for any situation," our EMBA GMR12 students said. They share why they choose the School and their first impressions of us:

Why did you choose the Stockholm School of Economics?

Andrey Kotov: I have chosen the Stockholm School of Economics, because I liked the faculty selection. It is obviously from their CVs that they have a certain background, and it's not just theoretical, but rather practice-oriented.

For a professional, it is very important that people who teach you really have practical knowledge and come from business environment.

Andrey Vishnevsky: There are no Stockholm School of Economics alumni in my social circle. But I know some people who graduated from other MBA programs, and their feedback was actually not very positive. So I had concerns that the program would not be much different from others, would not be interested and useful.

But throughout the selection period my colleagues helped me to analyze the market of companies that provide similar services. We settled on SSE, firstly, because there were quite a lot of positive reviews. And

there were positive reviews from some rather serious people, who said the program had helped them both in the development of their business and personal development.

Secondly, this is the only European school in Russia that has all the necessary credentials to provide education officially in our country.

Maxim Ilyushin: There are three basic principles each applicant takes into consideration.
The first one is experience. The Stockholm School of Economics’ background is 110 years as of year 2020. The second is the professors’ profile. This is very important. Most of faculty here is employed by the Stockholm School of Economics. There is no lazy improvisation, no pomposity; there are no occasional, one-off visiting lecturers.

All members of faculty are Full Professors, which I consider really valuable and important.

And the third is alumni. It's worth mentioning Nobel Prize winners. And, surprisingly, in the first two modules already, when we got acquainted with the practical cases, we saw that the cases developed by Harvard Business School contain real practices described and used by the alumni of the Stockholm School of Economics.
So, using these principles as my guidelines I came to the conclusion that there was no better business school in Russia than the Stockholm School of Economics. Also, in my opinion, it's crucial for a manager to always stay in touch with their business, and it’s not possible to be absent for prolonged periods of time at a whim. Therefore, considering all of the above, choosing where to go to study wasn’t actually a quagmire.

What expectations of the program did you have? Have they been met?

Andrey Kotov: I just started the journey and I cannot tell for sure that all my hopes have come true at once. However, I can clearly say that my positive attitude to the program and respect towards the tutors is growing with each passing module. Why? Because, as you know, there are many different programs related to MBA in the country. Even in the small cities of our homeland, you can find some MBA courses.

But those people who want to get real knowledge, they are limited to a small number of business schools, in my opinion. And I have been pretty sure, from the very beginning, that the Stockholm School of Economics is really one of the best.

What was a revelation for me was how efficiently my colleagues were able to transform the foreign language teaching model and bring it closer to the Russian reality: both the quality of translation and work with materials is very high. People, who are doing it, are highly competent.

Andrey Vishnevsky: The first three modules have left only positive impressions on me. Some of the cases that we had "played" with here, I have already "played" with my colleagues at our factory. They [cases] were in great demand, and [colleagues] are already waiting for new cases, new tasks similar to those we are solving here. So for myself I can only note the positive side of training. Learning based on practical cases is, in fact, the most effective method of learning today.
My expectations have been met. I wasn't expecting any revolutionary revelations for myself. I understand that studying is hard work, it takes a very long time to achieve any tangible result.

I also understand that there is no organization, no institution that can fully reveal an issue in just 5 days. I understand that we will receive basic conceptual knowledge, as well as the basic directions in which it will be necessary to work independently.

So here I’m not disappointed in the slightest.

Maxim Ilyushin: Of course, when you go to study as an adult, then, first of all, you ask yourself: what will you get? And will you be able to really use it in practice? First, the very process of learning, built upon group learning and the constant exchange between of groups allows you to get to know everyone.

It's not just networking. It's an opportunity to discuss, but apply new knowledge to those moments that you can already implement in your own business, and hear about who has already implemented these or, implementing simultaneously with you, and what results they have achieved.

This is very important. And these discussions can take place not only here, on site, but also remotely. Because we now have joint projects with other participants, where both their businesses and my business are involved in the process. This is very important - to practice application directly.
Secondly, the thing that I would like to get is new knowledge. When at the very beginning most professors stressed that they wouldn't be telling us anything new, it made us wary and we thought: so what would we get? And when you see the new models of knowledge application that you have already had, I think that's just a revelation.

I think it's very important that what you knew can be used in a different way, and it gives results in the short term. 

And it's very important, as it gives staying power to our faith that 15 modules and 2 years will have passed, and after all this time, we will receive lasting benefit for ourselves.