HSE St Petersburg Department of Finance Hosts International Summer School for VNU-UEB Students

From July 27 to August 7, HSE University – St Petersburg hosted the international summer programme New Economic Drivers for Company for students of the VNU University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU-UEB). The academic programme was developed and delivered by faculty members of the Department of Finance at the School of Economics and Management.

Over the course of two weeks, participants explored contemporary approaches to corporate financial management, ranging from financial health assessment and investment decisions to business valuation, M&A transactions, and data-driven financial risk management. The programme was designed to combine the theoretical foundations of corporate finance with applied challenges faced by companies and financial professionals.

Classes were taught by Department of Finance faculty members Iiya Churakova, Elena Yaskevich, Boris Lodiagin, Vladislav Afanasiev, and Viktor Krakovich. Individual modules covered financial analysis and corporate resilience, corporate finance and investment decisions, business valuation, M&A financing and deal structuring, as well as modern approaches to data-driven financial risk management.

Direct interaction with the students was an important part of the Summer School. During the classes, participants worked on practical financial tasks, discussed real-life business situations, and compared approaches used by companies and financial markets in different countries. As the programme was delivered in English, the classroom discussions naturally took on an international perspective and allowed the participants to consider the financial tools and concepts covered in the course within a broader context.

On behalf of the Department of Finance, Boris Lodiagin and Olga Alekseeva coordinated the academic component of the programme and maintained communication with colleagues from VNU-UEB. The cooperation between the two universities has developed over several initiatives: Department of Finance faculty members had previously held joint academic events for VNU-UEB students and staff, while the Summer School provided an opportunity to continue this cooperation in an in-person format in St Petersburg.

The HSE St Petersburg international team also played a major role in delivering the programme. Nadezhda Osipova and other colleagues from the International Education Centre of the International Office coordinated the organisational aspects of the Summer School, supported the international students throughout their stay, and helped address the many practical matters associated with the programme. The Department of Finance team is particularly grateful to their colleagues for their support in preparing the programme, their attentive assistance to the participants, and for creating a welcoming environment throughout the Summer School.

Following the programme, colleagues from VNU-UEB highlighted the academic content of the Summer School, its organisation, and the warm welcome the students received in St Petersburg. In addition to exploring modern approaches to corporate finance, the participants gained experience studying in an international environment and had an opportunity to discover the academic and cultural life of St Petersburg.

The Department of Finance plans to continue developing the programme in the coming years. The Summer School curriculum is updated annually to reflect new challenges and developments in corporate finance, financial technologies, and risk management. The HSE St Petersburg team hopes to welcome VNU-UEB students to future editions of the programme and to further develop cooperation with the partner university through educational and academic initiatives.

Boris Lodiagin, Lecturer at the Department of Finance, HSE University – St Petersburg

“We were very pleased to welcome VNU-UEB students to St Petersburg. For us, this was not only a continuation of our established cooperation with our colleagues in Vietnam, but also an opportunity to meet the students in person, work with them in the classroom, discuss financial and business challenges, and get to know one another better. The group showed a genuine interest in the programme, and it was a real pleasure to work with them. We hope that this visit will become another step in strengthening the partnership between our universities. We would be very glad to continue and deepen our cooperation with VNU-UEB, both through future Summer Schools and through other joint educational and academic projects”.