Summer School “Drivers of Corporate Economic Development”: An Intensive Programme in Applied Finance for Students from Five Countries

In July–August 2025, the Department of Finance at HSE University – Saint Petersburg held the Summer School “Drivers of Corporate Economic Development”, which brought together students and recent graduates in economics, international relations, marketing, business administration, and management from Russia, Armenia, India, China, and Indonesia.

In July–August 2025, the Department of Finance at HSE University – Saint Petersburg held the Summer School “Drivers of Corporate Economic Development”, which brought together students and recent graduates in economics, international relations, marketing, business administration, and management from Russia, Armenia, India, China, and Indonesia.

The programme focused on the practical study of applied finance and was delivered entirely in English. The academic modules covered a wide range of key topics:

• Financial analysis
• Corporate finance
• International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
• Business valuation
• Risk assessment
• Quantitative finance and Python for finance
• Business simulation game

Each day of the school combined theoretical foundations with practical assignments based on real-world data, allowing participants to develop hands-on skills and apply modern financial tools in realistic scenarios.

One of the highlights of the programme was the "Accounting and Reporting" session within the "Sustainable Finance" track, taught by Elena Yaskevich, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Finance:

Elena Yaskevich

Senior Lecturer, Department of Finance

A summer school day "Accounting and finance" as part of the "Sustainable finance" track was intense, quick and interesting. A small international group of students managed a pass from the basic double entry principle up to the calculation of financial statements in the form of the Balance sheet and Income statement. During the hot summer days we made a hard work and dedicated some time to develop new useful financial knowledge. Understanding of the basic accounting and reporting is a good start for the further studies in finance, for the analysis of a financial position, for development of the own business.

Victor Krakovich

Associate Professor, Department of Finance

As always, I was glad to work at the summer school. It is good to see that the number of students has increased this year. Geographical coverage has also increased.

We repeated the theoretical foundations of portfolio theory, and in the practical part, using Python, we downloaded stock quotes and conducted a small analysis. This knowledge will be useful both for academic activities at the university and for a future career in business.

The final part of the programme was devoted to a team-based investment case study using real data, where participants applied the skills and analytical approaches they had gained throughout the school. The diversity of academic and professional backgrounds led to a variety of solutions – from project-level efficiency assessments to strategic corporate analysis in an international context.

The Summer School provided a platform for international and interdisciplinary exchange, practical skill development, and engagement with the academic environment of HSE University – Saint Petersburg. The organisers plan to continue the programme in the future, expanding both its scope and international reach.