Practical Training

This project is practice-oriented and is structured as a simulation of a management consulting project on business internationalization. It integrates previously acquired multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills in international strategic management, financial management, international marketing and project management etc. This course is implemented with the support of the project seminar "Business Internationalization", where students systematize the knowledge gained in other courses.

In addition, this project provides fundamentals of the management consulting project organization in the field of international management, approach to delivery, core consulting tools and methodologies practiced in small project groups. The work is split into stages where students are required to apply such methodologies solving a particular business sub-task. Upon completion of each stage the groups present their intermediate results/receive feedback before proceeding to the next stage. The final deliverables of the integrated project are presented at the end.

Dates of control points

• Signing assignment to student - January 15

• Submission of interim version - February 15

• Submission of final text/report - March 15

Evaluation and reporting

Final grades will reflect group report preparation and a final oral defense assessed on:

• Knowledge of key concepts/theories applied to business internationalization;
• Organization/logical sequence of presentation and supporting data;
• Originality of the project;
• Design of presentation;
• Presentation skills;
• Teamwork;
• Response to questions

Meeting with GSB Career Centre

Internship Process Presentation

Telegram-channel

Work Experience Internship (hereinafter - internship) is an integral part of the educational process. It is an independent work of a Master's student under the guidance of a teacher and a specialist of organization - the base of internship. Internship for the 2nd year students of Master degree programme at Higher School of Business is spent according to the working curricula and schedules of educational process with the purpose of gaining by students of skills of professional work, deepening and strengthening of knowledge got during theoretical teaching.

Internship is calculated by duration for 9 weeks.

Internship is an integral part of the educational program of master's training and is mandatory for implementation.

Internships can be stationary or field-based, carried out under contracts with legal entities or at HSE.

It is not allowed to pass practice in IE (individual entrepreneurs), in own company or in the company of a relative (heirs of the first and second order). The organization, where the student is interning, should meet the following requirements:

• number of employees of the organization - not less than 50 people, the limit value of income for the previous calendar year - from 100 million rubles, or, if this criterion is not met - the organization is part of an international / Russian network of firms;
• the period of existence of the business - not less than 3 years.

In case the organization does not correspond to these criteria, the student must obtain a written approval of the Academic advisor with the justification of the possibility of carrying out the professional practice in the organization.

Dates of control points

• By December 1, 2025: fill out the form regarding the contract conclusion/search for internship from the Career Center

• By December 27, 2025: fill out and sign the Individual Assignment with the company supervisor and HSE supervisor (Master’s Thesis supervisor) and upload it to Smart LMS

• January 12, 2026 – March 13, 2026: internship period

• By March 20, 2026 inclusive: upload to Smart LMS signed internship report documents

Reporting and Evaluation

The student draws up an individual task, which specifies the purpose, tasks, content and planned results of the practice with the possibility of adjustments during the internship and upload it to Smart LMS by December 27, 2025. The PTE Assignment Template Form is provided.

Upon completion, the student must upload to Smart LMS by March 20, 2026 inclusive:

1. an internship report signed by the student and their supervisor; the structure and content of the report must meet the requirements specified in the Practice Program (in terms of structure and content);
   Structure of the practice report

   Structure parts	Comments
   Title page	Appendix 2 to the Practice Program
   Table of contents	Appendix 2 to the Practice Program
   Introduction	Purpose and objectives of the internship
   Main part	Includes description of the company, main tasks and main results of the internship
   Conclusion	Proposals, learning outcomes
   References	Bibliographic description of literature and sources (optional).
   Appendix	The materials for the theoretical and practical (experimental, project) parts of the report that are not included in the main text.

2. a review of supervisor from the internship site.
   A review sample form from the organization

If any of above-mentioned requirements is not satisfied in due time, the master's work in internship will be evaluated as unsatisfactory.

The internship results are evaluated by the supervisor on a 10-point scale.

The methodological guidelines for preparing the Master’s Thesis (Final Qualification Work, FQW) are outlined in the Rules for the Preparation of Course and Final Qualification Works for bachelor’s and master’s students at the Graduate School of Business, approved by the Academic Council of the Graduate School of Business, Protocol No. 11 dated November 23, 2022.
Rules for Course and Final Qualification Works at the GSB

GSB Presentation template RU

GSB Presentation template ENG

The Final Qualification Work is a mandatory part of the educational programme and a form of scientific-research or project work of the student. The defense of the thesis is an obligatory part of the Final State Certification. The Final Qualification Work is completed in the form of a Master’s Thesis.

Master's Thesis must demonstrate the necessary professional qualification of graduates in the field of research, management, entrepreneurial and/or consulting activities. Master's Thesis must be written on the basis of thoroughly researched scientific, educational or professional literature on the problem under study. The Thesis must be distinguished by a critical approach to the study of literary sources. The material drawn from literary sources must be redesigned, organically linked to the topic chosen by the student.

The main formats of a graduate thesis are:

• Research format - research carried out in order to obtain new knowledge about the structure, properties and patterns of functioning of the studied object (phenomenon).
• Applied format - identification and analysis of applied problems, as a result of which a solution/product that has an applied nature is proposed.

The Final Qualification Work is performed individually.

Selection of Thesis Topics:

Before submitting an application, the thesis topic must be coordinated with the thesis supervisor via email or other communication methods. Topics are chosen using the SmartPro 3.0 system: https://smartpro.hse.ru/.

There are two options for submitting applications:

• Choose a topic from the list approved by the academic supervisor and send the application to the thesis supervisor.

• Submit an initiative application by preliminarily developing your own topic with the supervisor, then submitting the application with all required fields completed.

Instructions for students - SmartPro 3.0

Additional Instructions for SmartPro 3.0

Note that each supervisor may approve only a limited number of applications. Information on the maximum number of applications per supervisor and the number of already submitted applications is available next to their details.

Students who do not choose a thesis topic and supervisor by the deadline will be assigned both within 10 working days after the deadline. The academic supervisor selects an available topic and supervisor from previously agreed options and proposals. If no topics are available with a specific supervisor, the academic supervisor selects and agrees on a topic/supervisor with the department head involved in the program.

Deadlines:

Changing topic or supervisor:

• Change of thesis supervisor is possible no later than 2 months before the thesis upload deadline; until March 14, 2026.

• Change of thesis topic is possible no later than 1 month before the thesis upload deadline; until April 14, 2026.

The change process goes through the SmartPro 3.0 system and uses the same application procedure as the original choice.

Uploading Master’s Thesis to the Antiplagiarism system:

The final thesis version must be uploaded by May 14, 2026, by 18:00. The file must be in electronic format (*.doc, *.rtf, *.txt, or PDF saved from a text editor) and unscanned. After upload, the thesis undergoes plagiarism control.

Attention: In case of proven plagiarism, the student may face disciplinary actions as per the Procedure for Taking Disciplinary Actions Against HSE University Students, Student Internal Regulations at HSE.

The final thesis submission is only via the electronic system in the student’s LMS account. Paper copies are not accepted.