Internship will help you with future career
Second year student of the MA Programme "Business and Politics in Modern Asia" Chaplina Elena about her internship in the Imperial Porcelain
Manufactory (IPM)
Elena Chaplina is 2nd year student of the MA Programme “Business and Politics in Modern Asia”. She passed 2 months internship at the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory (IPM), which is one of the oldest Russian enterprises, founded in 1744 by Elizabeth Petrovna in Saint-Petersburg. The IMP is specialized on producing bone and hard porcelain, mostly in premium sector.
Elena, how did you find your internship?
Annually HSE Career Center and our Academic Director Prof. Veselova Liudmila finds places for our internship and makes contracts with new companies. At the beginning of this studying year Prof. Veselova told us about the potential companies for internship and I got interested in the IPM. Having read about them and visited the IPM shops, I fell in love with their products and the idea of the so-called “fragile diplomacy”, since porcelain is still used as gifts even on the political level. I also took it as the case-study for my MA thesis where I am doing SWOT-analysis of the IPM's strategy for entering the China's porcelain market.
Can you describe your role and responsibilities during your internship аt Imperial Porcelain Manufactory?
I worked as the assistant of the Head of Export Department and my key responsibilities included managing the Alibaba account of the IPM and sourcing in South-East Asia and Middle East. Rather than that, I also had some small tasks connected with structuring of the IPM overseas shops, preparing catalogues for Arabic or Indian clients and communication with clients. I even took part into preparation for the IPM’s business mission in Saudi Arabia.
How did you integrate what you learned at HSE in your internship?
I would say that I have applied both hard and soft skills obtained at the HSE. For instance, within our course we discussed particularities of South Asian countries, practiced to negotiate and write business emails. Moreover, I took an elective course about Islam countries - all these helped me to have all my wits about given tasks. On top of that, at the HSE we are taught to search information in various sources and this skill is invaluable at all jobs, I believe.
Which skills did you develop through work?
One of the main skills acquired is managing Alibaba. I learnt how to set catalogues there and, what is more, I visited some online webinars from Alibaba managers on how to develop Alibaba accounts. It was my first experience of office work. I used to have some part-time jobs but all of them were online and I never understood what office work really feels like.
What is the most difficult thing about working with Asian countries?
We always discussed during classes that representatives of Asian culture do not say “no” directly, and that is what I also had to face with. I would say that it may be a serious barrier in understanding each other, but fortunately I was prepared for it.
How did your experience at the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory compare to your expectations going into the internship?
From the very beginning I was excited to gain experience of working in a big company, but I think I got something even more. For instance, I had an excursion around the workshop where I could see how actually small porcelain pieces of art are created; at the first week of my internship, I also visited the exhibition of Tatyana Chapurgina, one of the leading IPM artists - I was surprised to see that even clothes may be made from porcelain. Moreover, within these two months of my internship there were several foreign delegations and it was fabulous to witness all the preparation processes.
Besides, I was lucky to have a great and friendly team of colleagues who were always ready to help me, answer my questions. And as a bonus now I have two small cute gifts from the IPM - beautiful brand postcard and flash card, they both look just marvelous!
How did your internship at the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory influence your career plans and goals for the future?
Currently I would like to proceed with science and apply for PhD and thus not determined about the place of my future job, but due to the internship I realized two essential issues: firstly, how to conduct research in business sphere - all my previous experience was connected only with political sciences and linguistics; and secondly, if I go to work into commercial area, I would like to work with premium sectors. I have had experience of working in metallurgy and food industry, but I did not feel a complete satisfaction. Here I was engaged not only into business, but also art, beauty and luxury.
Why do you think the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory is attractive for students as a place for internships?
First of all, it is a very good place for those who want to work in commercial sphere and gain practical knowledge. As I said, here my colleagues gave me numerous valuable pieces of advice and even explained me why and how they do something. What is more, my team had also a rich working background and told me many interesting facts about other industries, marketing and export.
Secondly, it is an excellent opportunity to get the experience of working in a big company with a well-known brand, feel the atmosphere there and watch the processes from inside.
Thirdly, once again, it is a unique opportunity to deal with luxury goods, brand products and premium market sector.
Can you please give some advice to students who are just starting to look for an internship. What should you pay attention to when choosing a company?
I think it depends on the initial goal and preferences of a student. For example, when I worked in small companies, I felt as Jack-of-all-trades because despite your position, you had to deal with a lot of irrelevant tasks. It is a usual situation in small companies and it might be useful for beginners to get a lot of new skills and try their hand at different directions. In big companies, on the contrary, your position and circle of responsibilities are very clear and you are focused on one direction. It may be beneficial for those who want not just gain new knowledge, but also immerse into their field of activity and become more qualified. Anyway, in my opinion, the IPM is a great choice for those who want to get a real experience and knowledge. Now the enterprise is entering markets of India, Turkiye, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Vietnam and I am sure there will be even more interesting projects for future practitioners!