I first heard about the MBA program in my third year of university when I launched my first project – the branding agency AGRRR. Back then, I thought it would be great to gain that kind of experience. Now, I can explain that I need an MBA to strengthen my skills in financial planning and strategic management. I also want to build useful connections since I plan to continue doing business in and from Russia. But most likely, I actually formed the real reason for pursuing it back in my third year.

Choosing a school

To choose the right school, I attended two MBA program fairs and spoke with students from Harvard, Haas, INSEAD and HEC. In 2015 I went to London for a presentation at the London Business School. There were 7 people at the presentation: 5 Indians, 1 American and 1 Norwegian.

At the same time, I was learning English because I knew I needed a couple of certifications such as GMAT and TOEFL for admission. By the end of university, my English was still weak, so I had to start from scratch. I decided to begin with the TV show “The Walking Dead,” watching it in English with subtitles. Not the best choice, since most of the episodes were filled with zombie growls. After that, I switched to lessons with tutors.

The more I looked into the schools, the more I realized that the program is primarily for those building corporate careers. Even at institutions that promote entrepreneurial spirit, like Haas, after graduation, most students end up working as employees. The second thing that bothered me was the need to take a break from the projects I was working on for a year or two. At that point, I wasn’t considering part-time programs.

Getting to know Skolkovo

In February 2017 I saw an ad for the MBA at Skolkovo and decided to visit the campus. I was sure it would be my first and last visit to the school, as I was biased against MBA programs in Russia. It seemed like in Russia, everyone was just trying to make money off MBA education, no matter who they were. During the presentation at Skolkovo, I heard some important points:

1. The program lasts for 18 months, in a modular format – one module, one topic, one week per month. During this week, you live on campus, with classes running from morning until late evening. You balance the program with work, immediately applying what you’ve learned in practice;
2. There are 50 people in the class, half of them are entrepreneurs. Maybe there are a lot of entrepreneurs at Stanford or MIT, but this is not typical for European institutions. And it’s always more interesting with practitioners, people who know how to take responsibility;
3. Classes are in English and the instructors are visiting professors from Cambridge, IMD, ESADE, IESE. The way they present it is this: the format of bringing in professors from other schools allows them to invite the best experts in their fields. International practices are taught with a focus on the specifics of the Russian market. The program also includes two international modules: one in Silicon Valley and another in China.

The building where classes take place

How I applied

I decided to apply. The first step was preparing the document package: my diploma, resume, a couple of recommendations and answers to 4 questions about motivation and plans. I sent the documents on April 5th. The second step was an interview on campus, an English proficiency test and a logic test. I arrived on campus on April 18th. The interview was with Nadezhda Agapova and it lasted an hour and a half in the format of a friendly conversation. That same day I received confirmation that I passed to the next stage – an in-person interview with one of the founders of Skolkovo.

On April 25th along with 5 other potential students, I went to a meeting with Andrey Rappoport. At the stage of the interview with the founder, 30% of the students are eliminated. What I remember most from the meeting is how Andrey Rappoport explained that he and the other founders created Skolkovo because they realized the need to develop a new generation of managers in Russia if we want meaningful changes in the country. We discussed how Skolkovo pays attention to the legacy of the Russian management school of Georgy Shchedrovitsky. When I read Organizational Management Thinking, I couldn’t believe that someone in Russia could think so comprehensively and consistently about management processes, highly recommend reading it. A week later, I received word that the interview went well, and I was accepted.

Grant competition

At Skolkovo you can win a grant that covers up to 50% of the tuition fees and I decided to participate. By early June, there were 270 people applying for the MBA program. Among those who passed all the admission stages 16 projects were selected to take part in the competition.

As part of the competition, we had to present our project in a 5-minute pitch and answer questions from the jury. The jury consisted of top managers from renowned companies like MasterCard, Wimm-Bill-Dann and Rostelecom. I was the first to present, which I was glad about. Waiting for your turn while watching others present can be nervous. The projects varied: medicine, blockchain, real estate, oil development. The main prize of €30,000 went to my future classmate Samvel, who develops electric vehicle charging stations using Russian-made components. Most of the projects were strong, well-developed, with excellent presentations. It was especially satisfying to win a €15,000 grant in such a competitive field.

The first module starts in September. Let’s go.

Thanks to: Oksana Sichenikova, Maria Polikarpova, Nadezhda Agapova, Maxim Feldman, Erik Brovko, Denis Sobe-Panek, Boris Fizulov, Evgenia Gekman, Darya Kholodova, Lydia Agafonova, Grisha Maslak and Vladimir Gorovoy.