Could you tell about your research, academic projects in other countries and projects in Russia? 

H.R.K.: My research focuses on international marketing and identity. I co-created three research networks. Now we have about 250 universities in each research network. I also conduct research in the field of entrepreneurship, start-ups and consumer behavior. My recent research covers the consumers’ attitude to various brands, for example brand loyalty. This is the newest trend in branding. I also visited the American Marketing Association. As a marketer, you have to visit the US, the cradle of marketing. 

 A.F.: For two years I also have been an associate member of EuroMed network co-created by Professor Kaufman. I find this is very important for a young researcher to be international, to be a member of the international network; that gives an opportunity to develop faster. By the way, the fact that Ural Federal University is a part of Euro Mediterranean Business Academy allows us to exchange international cooperation experience. 

 H.R.K.: We met Professor Belyaeva at EuroMed conference. At the moment she holds the position of the National representative of EMBRI-EuroMed in Russia. We organize international research and academic conferences every year, we are publishing books and developing joint research projects. In collaboration with GSEM UrFU, we have organized series of Summer and Winter Schools with the participation of international professors and students from many countries, who were attracted though networking associations oversees. I think we need international science, it shouldn’t be national. We need to pass knowledge from country to country. If you look closer, all the knowledge is really travelling across the borders. I think the danger is to become isolated.

You have visited many countries, met a lot of scientists and researchers from all over the world and received great experience in international scientific activity. What can you say about Russian science? 

H.R.K. Russian science is famous for its achievements in the field of fundamental and applied studies, for example, Yuri Gagarin’s flight to space. As for Economics, to my mind, it is better to focus on business and innovative management. It is also important for students. I am not only speaking about Economics; they should know market opportunities and learn how to position themselves in the market and develop business. One should develop him- or herself as an integrated personality, not only as an expert analyst. This is what I teach my students. You need creativity, marketing. You need soft business skills. I think it is very important today. 

A.F.: I agree with Professor Kaufmann. There are different approaches to business education in our countries. In Italy, we have more stable links with companies and banks. In their turn, they attract managers of the largest banks and leading companies as speakers delivering lectures and sharing knowledge for further development. In Ekaterinburg I am a lecturer of the program “International Economics and Business”, accredited by EPAS. We introduce these practice-oriented modules in the program. The students aspire to become professional managers-analysts and develop business.

How did you learn about UrFU? Do you see and difference between UrFU and other universities? What the university should focus on to develop as an international cluster? 

H.R.K.: As I've already mentioned we met with Professor Zhanna Belyaeva in “EuroMed”; this is how had learnt about UrFU and signed a cooperation agreement in 2012. It was the beginning of our joint projects and my collaboration with the university. I would recommend increasing the pace of internationalization; though you can feel the international education atmosphere, which attracts a lot of foreign students. By the way, I think, that even the weather here is something special. We speak about low temperatures, but you can feel the warmth of the Russians. They are very kind and friendly.
I think you should put an accent on the membership in the international associations and improving of research culture, for example, publications in high-ranked international scientific journals, indexed SCOPUS and Tomas Reuters. Russian takes the 51 position in the global innovation index. This is why the universities should concentrate on teaching the students entrepreneurship. No matter if they are going to work in corporation or create business, they will be able to develop corporate culture. I think it is going to be benificial.
 I would also like to note, that the fact that the Bachelor program “International Economics and Business” has the international accreditation EFMD-EPAS. I would like to congratulate the team of GSEM UrFU. It is really a great success. It proves that the university meets the high global educational standards and is capable of attracting international lecturers, researchers, students and corporate partners.

A.F.: I agree with my colleague. The main reason we are here is meeting with Zhanna Belyaeva. At least I am not very experienced in teaching abroad. I received an offer to become a postdoc researcher at UrFU thanks to my publications in indexed journals and research experience. I haven’t heard of UrFU before, but now I understand that it is a very modern university. I work in the international laboratory led by Dr. Hans Michael Wiesmeth in the research sector of Zhanna Belyaeva. I think constant development is very important, for example, the development of research can help promoting university internationally. It can also give the acamdemic memebers an opportunity to present their research results and participate in internships in Europe, the US and China. All these can increase the visibility of UrFU. The more students and employes travel, the more people will know about the university. 

H.R.K.: I believe, that we have a lot in common with Russian economic science. You should conduct more scientific studies and develop research culture, especially on the student level. I collaborate with the International Laboratory of GSEM in the field of global social responsibility in order to make a valuable contribution to research activity of the university in comparison with the official national statistics, for example. 

A.F.: Perhaps, the best way to do it will be organization of certain interntaional schools with participation of the researchers from abroad. It will develop international cooperation. Here in GSEM I enjoy meeting people from the countries of the Western Europe and CIS. 

H.R.K.: The global joint projects are also important. UrFU takes part in BRICS studies through implementation of BRICS Network University. I think , it is a great research. It was a great step to combine the interests of such European countries as Germany and Italy, countries, which conduct many global researches. It will be beneficial for the development of international research of GSEM and UrFU in general.
Ural Federal University is a strong brand. The university enrolls 40 000 students, offers 370 educational programs of Bachelor, Master and Post-graduate levels. The university also collaborates with Nobel laureates, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany and Frank-Walter Steinmeier. I think university brand should continue developing, so the employees are proud to be a part of this university. It is a good mix of traditional approach, international research and integration of  educational organizations. 

A.F.: This issue is similar to the one we have in University of Turin. It is a big university with strong reputation; there are a lot of students. Few years ago we focused on internationalization. We started to invest resources to reach the international level and promote the university brand abroad. University of Turin is also a state university like UrFU. But there is also a famous Polytechnic University of Turin. This is a totally different university, so we should promote our university.

Is there any difference between Russian students and students from other countries? What were surprising or inspiring for you? 

A.F.: First of all I would like to share my impressions about the Autumn School of Graduate School of Economics and Management and Institute of Radioelectronics and Information Technologies. The students of the Autumn School came from 10 different countries, so they all were very different. For example, German students are very active and do not afraid to communicate with strangers. Russian students are very hardworking, but they are not that active in communication. I see the same situation in large Italian universities. However, Italian students are more creative and socially oriented. Russian students are not ready to defend their point of view. I think introduction to different cultures will solve this problem. It is very important to support international cooperation. 

H.R.K.: I teach many students both Russian and international students. Today it is very hard for students to concentrate; they get distracted by various gadgets and social networks. I speak about all students in general. Russian students are open to new  ideas; they are honest and evoke trust. They are very soft and pleasant. I noticed that they are shy to speak English. You can attract more resources to Ekaterinburg, if people speak English. It is a fact that only left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for logic and mathematical skills; the right one works with creative thinking and innovations. I believe one should develop the right-brain skills for more creative development of business and search for new practical opportunities.

What can you say about the GSEM International Autumn School? Do you find such format of studying attractive? What benefits does it give to the students?

H.R.K.: I like the idea very much; everything is very professionally organized. If you look at the brochure, you’ll see that the education is focused on business-cases solving. Students are given the possibility to participate in workshops and lectures of the largest companies, which makes it possible for them to use their knowledge in practice. We can clearly see the substantial role of our corporate partners in it. And it’s also a lot of fun! Speaking about everyday life, we recently saw a great ballet. In other words, the university life is a combination of culture, business, politics and knowledge!

A.F.: I think this format provides a lot of value for the students in the context of multicultural development. It requires, for example, overcoming the multicultural barrier already at the university stage, because students and teachers approach this problem from different angles. We try to teach economics and business in a more comprehensible and interesting way. Students can use these opportunities. I think it’s important to start the interaction at the level of theoretical training and group work in such fields as sustainable development, social responsibility and business communication; theory and practice of “smart” cities. Students from 10 countries can become the first initiators and innovators of “smart” cities creation. So I believe that such format of the Autumn School is really promising and effective; the students can meet new friends, learn more about the University and Russian culture, as well as receive an official certificate from UrFU.

H.R.K.: It’s very good for the students. It is essential to make friends and build professional networks for the future as early as possible. The students themselves are already an international network of the future. It’s amazing when you have friends at every level. For me, it’s the most interesting part of life.

A.F.: This is good for the future generations. Thus, the Erasmus program will allow the youth to travel and make new acquaintances around the world. We are just discussing the possibilities for collaboration between Russian and Italian students under the Erasmus academic mobility program.

H.R.K.: I think everyone has noticed the tough situation in the world. We are facing today a lot of economic and political issues. Everything should start at universities. We must say to the world: “We are one”. A unity of teachers and students. This will bring changes for the better and create peace around the whole world.

The “International Economics and Business” educational program has been accredited by the prestigious European Program Accreditation System (EPAS). Was it something that affected your decision to start cooperating with the program? How important is it to have such accreditation?

H.R.K.: It is a big step. The EPAS accreditation was given to a greatly developed program, and the next step might be the accreditation of the GSEM itself. It is, in a way, a brand that demonstrates your quality level and provides additional value for the students. The brand attracts more students, who are aware of the quality of the program.

A.F.: I think it is very important to have an accreditation. This gives you an advantage when cooperating with other countries.

H.R.K.: Trust me, it’s incredible teamwork. By the way, it’s a great opportunity; if you want to change something in the university’s structure – start preparing for such program accreditation. This will help improve the quality of education, attract corporate partners and boost international collaboration.

Let us talk a bit about Russia. What, in your opinion, are the differences between regular citizens of Russia (not form your professional circle) and European/American people?

A.F.: People are very good here in Russia, but very few people in the streets speak English. As an Italian, I had a real cultural shock because of this. When I was young, I got to study Russian history and was very much impressed by it. I like studying your history and your culture.

After I finished university, I travelled a lot around Europe, and now I am here in Russia. A big surprise for me was the weather. When a friend of mine from Italy asked me, “How are you?” I said “It’s minus 25. I’m fine.”

H.R.K.: I teach in many Eastern-European countries. As I said, I’ve been to Hungary, Lithuania and Poland, and I found that many people in the Eastern Europe have the “everything is possible” attitude. You know, their life is not perfect in the context of the economic rebound, which affects the personalities sometimes. But everything is possible. You can feel the incentive for change.
When it comes to the Russian people, I really feel like home here. Although my area of research concerns people who are involved in business, I’ve always thought that the most important thing is to stay human. This is what I feel here in Russia. Although people outside the university do not speak English, they talk to you with their eyes and smiles. A German exchange student told me: “You know, I didn’t know that Russians like making jokes so much. I thought they were much more reserved”. In Russia, I can feel the Russian soul and understand the Russian humor. I think, I’ve started to understand you better now.

And what about the city we’re in? Do you like Ekaterinburg? How do you feel here?

A.F.: I like this city. I think it looks really international with all those skyscrapers. The parks, old and new houses, restaurants – I like everything. I hope Russia will overcome the economic and political recession and continue the economic growth again, becoming more attractive for tourists. Tourism is very important for the economy as it stimulates development. As for culture, a lot of things are similar in many countries, but some of them are unique, such as opera and ballet. I think it’s important. I don’t know how transport communication is organized between Ekaterinburg and the Asian region (China), but the communication between Ekaterinburg and Europe should be improved; there need to be more direct flights. Today, for example, the only way to fly to Europe is through Moscow.

H.R.K.: I think that the city has room to improve. We can see the whole set of improvements in the big number of residential buildings and a very comfortable airport. Also, the EXPO Center in Ekaterinburg is a great opportunity to attract new investors and develop entrepreneurship. Ekaterinburg could become a fair city and have the international reputation as certain regions of Germany. It is a very culturally-developed city. Children attend all kinds of cultural events and theatres – it’s wonderful. In Germany it’s different, of course. Some of our students have visited the Opera and Ballet Theatre for the first time. I was amazed by the depth of Russian culture. It’s an amazing city.

(с) Mediana