Despite the coronavirus restrictions, I decided to attend Kingston Summer School in September 2021 and did not regret it at all. Kingston upon Thames is a calm and extraordinarily beautiful area located in south-west London. Here you will find picturesque nature and architecture preserved from ancient times. All 30 minutes by train, and you are in the center of London - at London Waterloo Railway station. Kingston Business School is located in a forest and park area, and my way from the hotel to the campus ran daily through the English forest, where you can easily meet not only squirrels, but also deer. The modules held at Kingston Business School were distinguished by a friendly atmosphere of cooperation and live communication. Interesting lectures, experience working in groups with students from all over the world, the opportunity to communicate with teachers also outside the university, walking around London with visiting museums as part of the educational process – all this left the most wonderful and unforgettable memories. I had a great and useful time coming home with new ideas.
Nikolay Obraztsov, (MBA batch 2020), Entrepreneur, owner and manager www.apk.ru
From September 6 to 17, the long-awaited trip of graduates of the MBA 2021 program to the full-time summer module at Kingston University took place. The guys optimistically overcame all the difficulties and limitations associated with Covid-19, were happy to attend 2 full-time courses - Corporate Finance and Innovation Finance at Kingston University, an event of the Association of graduates of Kingston University MBA programs and got acquainted with the sights of London. According to the guys, the experience gained and the acquired knowledge (skills) became the highlight of completing the MBA 2021 training program and proved that everything is possible during Covid-19!
Victoria Parasotskaya, MBA Graduate with Distinction 2021
Studying in the UK was initially an important advantage of enrolling in the Kingston MBA program. I enrolled in 2020, and then it seemed that I was even lucky: the pandemic would definitely end in a year, everyone would get vaccinated, the borders would open. Whatever it is! By the summer of 2021, the situation, of course, stabilized, but it did not take the form I had hoped for at all: along with the mandatory "self-isolation" (in the United Kingdom, they also came up with special soft terms that do not change the essence) for visitors from Russia, I needed to switch off from Moscow life for a whole month. However, the university really did a lot to make the trip happen, and I decided that it was unwise to wait for the end of the pandemic. After all, making decisions in conditions of lack of information is exactly what they teach in the program, so I didn't hesitate for a long time. Everything went surprisingly calmly — during the pandemic, I settled in a guest house near Kingston and was received as a dear guest and my landlords treated my situation with all understanding and surrounded me with incredible care, which will long remain one of the most pleasant memories of the year. And when the 2 weeks ended, I got exactly what I wanted in full — studying as a full-fledged student at a British university with the opportunity to communicate closely with teachers and students from all over the world. If I found myself in this situation again, I would do exactly the same.
Yuri Marin, MBA Stage 2 (Batch 2020)
Egor Orel, Executive Director of GLK Robotics LLC
I thought about studying for the MBA program after the competition "Leaders of Russia". My academic background lies entirely in the technical field, so the main goal here is to gain strong fundamental knowledge in the management of business processes and teams, as well as to work side by side with talented and successful students and teachers. During the Big Data module, Denis Kasimov, CEO of Factory5, gave an evening lecture. The meeting was devoted to the application of big data analysis in real industry. It turned out to be a frank conversation about the possibilities and limitations of using end-to-end technologies in practice. There is a lot of talk about Big Data and Artificial Intelligence technologies, but not everyone can get to the bottom of it, remaining at the level of everyday discussion. Eureka! It turns out that it is possible! In Factory5, people monetize the pure engineering knowledge that they give at the university! If such approaches to solving life problems were told in the first year of a technical university, most of my classmates would associate a career with an engineering specialty! And managers will need this knowledge when making decisions about hiring employees and business development. It was very helpful!