Research & Expertise

In September, the Higher School of Economics Graduate School of Business hosted interactive master classes for more than 500 first-year students with one of Russia’s leading sustainability experts. ESG expert Svetlana Ivchenko introduced students of the flagship undergraduate programs Business Administration and Marketing and Market Analytics not only to practices and strategies of sustainable development management in major Russian metallurgical companies, but also to her personal experience of professional transformation as a top manager grounded in values. The master classes were held as part of the career guidance seminar “The Profession of a Manager in the Modern World”, organized by one of its instructors — Associate Professor Ekaterina Ivanova of the Department of Strategic and International Management, who familiarized students with the theory and practice of ethics, responsibility, and sustainability in contemporary business.

The HSE Graduate School of Business library has curated and presented a unique collection of business books.

An international team of experts has received the award for the Best Professional Development Workshop (PDW) from the Management Education and Development (MED) Division at the 85th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM 2025). The team was led by Ekaterina Ivanova, Associate Professor at HSE Graduate School of Business; Isabel Rimanoczy, founder of the UN Global Compact PRME Working Group on Sustainability Mindset; and Divya Singhal, Professor at the Goa Institute of Management. The event took place from July 25 to 29 in Copenhagen, the first European capital in the Academy’s history to host the conference outside the American continent.

Valery Katkalo, Director of the HSE Graduate School of Business, on the development of corporate universities, their role in business transformation, and the future of corporate education in Russia.

The presentation of the annual study “Corporate Universities of Russia — 2025” took place as part of the 4th Forum of Corporate Learning Leaders of Russia. The event was held in Nizhny Novgorod and brought together more than 130 participants from 60 companies.

Valery Katkalo, Director of the HSE Graduate School of Business took part in the Human Centricity Awards 2025 ceremony organized by RBC Petersburg.

On June 28, one of Russia’s largest investment conferences — Smart Lab Summer 2025 — took place in St. Petersburg. The event brought together more than 2,000 participants, including private investors, traders, analysts, company representatives, and financial institutions. The conference once again confirmed its status as a premier platform for professional networking, experience sharing, and discussing current market trends.

The HSE Graduate School of Business, in collaboration with industry experts, continues its work on a project dedicated to the Russian digital financial assets (DFA) market.

Ekaterina Gavenko, a PhD student at the HSE Graduate School of Business, took part in the VII BRICS Youth Energy Summit, where participants discussed key challenges in sustainable development and the energy transition. At the summit, Ekaterina shared the Russian experience in hydropower, engaged in international discussions with experts from India, the UAE, and Brazil, and presented the results of her own research carried out under the guidance of GSB faculty. In this interview, she speaks about her journey from master’s to PhD studies, the importance of an expert academic environment, the support she received from faculty members, and offers advice to students looking to engage with the international research community.

Russia has launched the development of a Business Tourism Infrastructure Index, which will include unified performance metrics for regions and hospitality facilities.