On April 4, a Round table meeting was held between the Acting Rector of RANEPA Alexey Komissarov and a delegation from Iran headed by the General Director of the Ilia Hi-Tech Company, Mrs. Narges Ashrafi. Ilia Hi-Tech Company is the largest Iranian holding company whose activities cover such areas as design and construction, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, production of polymers and petrochemical products, as well as, in the field of interests of the company, the creation and development of educational projects and programs.
The delegation came to the Academy at the invitation of the Center for International MBA Programs of the FSN (Kingston/RANEPA Brand). The main goal is to establish and develop a strategic partnership with the Presidential Academy in order to launch joint business education programs for entrepreneurs and managers of Iranian companies.
The delegation includes Mr. Sayadi, former Ambassador Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Russia, founder of Iran's first innovative start–ups in the field of information technology, Mr. Nemati - Director of Strategic Development of Ilia Group, founder of commercial companies in the field of trade, real estate, creative industries, Mr. Mataji - business-Consultant and advisor to the General Director of Ilia Group.
On the part of the Academy, the meeting was attended by: Alexander Chichin - Dean of the FSN, Margarita Perepelitsa – Director of the Center for International MBA Programs of the FSN, Veronika Peshkova – graduate of the Kingston MBA, Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations for Industrial Development of UNIDO, Elena Smirnova – graduate of the Kingston MBA for Entrepreneurs, Director of Export Support of the LPC (Russian Export Center Group), Valery Slyusarenko – Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, specialist in the construction of infrastructure Projects, Vladislav Vostrikov – a graduate of the International English-speaking Master's Degree in Project Management, a successful entrepreneur, etc.
Welcoming the members of the Iranian delegation, Alexey Komissarov said that ... the Academy is open and very interested in new Partnerships and projects, especially with a country like Iran, which is among the countries with the most dynamically developing relations with Russia in the economy, culture, and education.
In her response, Ms. Narges Ashrafi noted that both she and the members of the delegation were very impressed by the real potential, resources and educational programs that are being implemented at RANEPA, as well as by the close-knit alumni community, which covers all the leading companies and development institutions of the country.
Mr. Sayadi, the former Iranian ambassador to the Russian Federation, addressed the audience with great interest that in his country, which was able to defeat ISIS (an organization banned on the territory of the Russian Federation) and has been successfully developing for 40 years, despite the most severe sanctions of the United States and the West, a big problem is the lack of professional, well- educated managers and entrepreneurs. And this is exactly what the Presidential Academy in general and, in particular, the Center for International MBA Programs of the FSN with its unique international experience can help.
During the discussion, the ideas of launching special programs within the framework of MBA modules for groups of Iranian entrepreneurs and managers, as well as the promotion of the Pan-Asian MBA program of the Center for International MBA Programs in Iran were discussed.
Of particular interest was the speech of Alexander Chichin and his story about the serious project work of undergraduate and graduate students of the FSN in the regions of the country and abroad. Ms. Ashrafi was inspired by this experience and invited him, together with Margarita Perepelitsa, to come to Iran and meet at the Ministry of Education to agree on the training of young people from Iran in all the FSN programs. According to Nargiz, Russia is one of the most innovative countries in the world, and the exchange of experience between entrepreneurs in the learning process could fill the gap in information about the peculiarities of the business environment between the countries.
5 апреля делегация встретилась со слушателями программы ЕМВА «Стратегический менеджмент» на Пречистенке, среди них больше половины – победители и финалисты конкурса «Лидеры России».
It is no exaggeration to say that the appearance of the delegation and the presentation of its members and their status aroused great interest in the audience. There was not enough time to answer all the questions of the listeners. And they touched upon very substantive and promising areas related to the Iranian economy, plans for business development with Russia, etc.
For example: Which industries in the country's economy are developing most successfully? How did the country, being under the most severe sanctions, manage to achieve success in innovation and modern technologies? Is it possible to come out through the Iranian delegation with proposals for business development in Iran, etc.
During the meeting and discussion, Mr. Nemati managed to meet with the MBA student Daniel Rivas Perez, the Operational Director of the Volga Abrasive Plant, and exchange information about the possibilities of exporting the Plant's products to Iran.
And another EMBA student, Nukhaev Marat, professor of the Department of Equipment Development for the Oil and Gas Industry, immediately agreed with Mrs. Ashrafi that they would help him and his colleagues with a visa to attend a special international oil and gas exhibition in Tehran and a meeting at the Ilia Hi-Tech Company.
The meeting ended with an unexpected practical effect, Mr. Sayadi, the former Iranian ambassador to Russia, invited all listeners who have an interest in cooperation with Iranian companies from different industries to write their ideas and suggestions and send them to him for study and evaluation.
On April 6, at the invitation of Elena Smirnova, a graduate of Kingston MBA, the delegation went to a meeting at the Russian Export Center, where it met with a representative of the company in Iran to discuss the activation of activities with the participation of the already Ilia Group. At the meeting, Ms. Ashrafi noted that the structure of trade relations between Russia and Iran is represented today mainly by the woodworking industry and petrochemicals, while the potential for increasing trade turnover is much larger. Thanks to the efforts of Ilia Group, Iran's exports to countries such as Canada, Pakistan, Qatar have increased, while the company has an official accreditation of the Government of Iran, which allows it to assist Iranian companies in entering new markets, among which Russian occupies a special place.
Among the main problems that Ms. Ashrafi and her colleagues propose to solve with the support of the REC are logistics and financial instruments. It is proposed to pay special attention to the practice of barter transactions and the launch of new products that have not previously been exported from Russia to Iran, and vice versa.
The beginning of cooperation has been laid, many agreements have been reached in a few days, and most importantly, to immediately start preparing Educational projects with RANEPA.
A new story is already being written.
Author of the article:
Margarita Perepelitsa,
Director of the Center for International MBA Programs of the FSN RANEPA
Margarita Perepelitsa,
Director of the Center for International MBA Programs of the FSN RANEPA
