MIM-Kyiv and Carnegie Mellon University: 15 Years of Effective Partnership

MIM-Kyiv partnership with Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University (USA) started about 15 years ago with the aim to develop MBA program in Ukraine and to train Ukrainian professors for that purpose. Those were complex issues for MIM-Kyiv. The professors of Ukrainian higher education institutions had a vague idea of what MBA program is like and the teaching methods were supposed to be dramatically different from the ones they were used to.

Carnegie Mellon University made a considerable contribution into international education of MIM-Kyiv’s faculty. At first partnership was limited to providing special training for the faculty, “transplantation” of certain courses into MIM’s curriculums as well as innovative active teaching methods (business simulations) and entrepreneurship. At that time the cooperation was funded through donor assistance of European and American organizations that sponsor international education projects.

Unlike most of those projects, sponsored trainings by Carnegie Mellon University developed into mutually beneficial and expanding partnership. And currently the partnership encompasses the study tours of MIM-Kyiv MBA programs participants to the Tepper School of Business ar Carnegie Mellon University, joint courses and development of the innovative education technologies.

Carnegie Mellon University (founded in 1900) and its Tepper School of Business is ranked among top 20 universities in the US. It is known for its cutting edge ITs and pioneering in business and economic modeling methods and teaching methods. The University hosted these researches since 1958 and the most prominent scholars, Nobel Prize winner have been working there since. To enhance these activities the Centre for Interactive Simulations was established. David Lamont, MIM-Kyiv permanent visiting faculty and Co-director of Innovative Education Technologies Center at MIM-Kyiv is the Director for Centre for Interactive Simulations.

Computer simulation courses are of special value for its participants from Japan, USA, Ukraine and other countries. The simulations enable them to act in the virtual global market place and apply absolutely different approaches and methods peculiar to their cultures and business environments. And that is crucial under as globalization processes and internationalization of business gain momentum.

MIM-Kyiv IT experts joined the project also because our country demonstrates expanding of the IT industry at a fast rate. As a result of a team-work, some versions of business simulations oriented not only at the international market, but at Ukraine as well were developed.

During the last study trip President MIM-Kyiv Prof.Iryna Tykhomyrova had a nember of meetings with the Tepper School of Business top executives and professors. She stressed mutual interest in further development of the partnership. One of them is constant development of the study trips for MIM-Kyiv MBA participants as well as for our corporate clients. We plan to continue with joint courses development, faculty exchanges, and key faculty master classes. International business simulation courses will continue. Currently, representatives of 11 universities from 8 countries take part in them: Japan, Ukraine, Chile, Argentina, USA, Russia, China and others.

Partnership with Tepper School of Business is an important factor in internationalization of MBA program at MIM-Kyiv.