A conclusion to a successful investment

On December 7, the International Institute of Management MIM-Kyiv awarded the best students and graduates during a solemn meeting of the business club in the presence of the respected guests and the members of the Supervisory Board. This event has already become a tradition for MIM-Kyiv. Another tradition is that its students win the Global Management Game, an international business simulation, and take the best places in TOP-100 list of the most effective and well-paid managers in Ukraine. The stable and high standards of the MIM do not depend on economic or political conditions. In the midst of the 2009 crisis, 22 graduates were included in the hundred “Top Managers of Ukraine,” according to Ekonomika publishing house — this year there were 19. Undoubtedly, each of them has their own formula for success. However, Iryna Tykhomyrova, the MIM-Kyiv president, is convinced that such results can be also explained by the fact that one day these people made their best investment – the one in their education. “It has been proven (Gary Becker was awarded a Nobel Prize for it in 1992) that investments in human capital have 6-7 times better returns than investments in tangible assets,” Tykhomyrova says.

“Every graduate is an important part of our history,” the MCs noted. It should be mentioned that the MIM students also give back. For example, Oleksandr Buben, the chairman of board of Prykarpattiaoblenerho, left his business just to fly for some minutes to the ceremony and then fly back to Ivano-Frankivsk. Dmytro Piltiay, MBA graduate of MIM-Kyiv in 2003, took the top place in the TOP-100 for the second year running. And today he is back among the students, now in a DBA program (Doctor of Business Administration is the world’s highest academic program for managers). “As of today I am not a business owner. Although I am well-paid, I am still hired,” Dmytro explains his return to MIM. “I am quite young and logically I question myself: what will I do in 10-15 years? I can set priorities, goals and reach them. Many opportunities will open for me once I receive the Doctor’s degree. I will be able to teach, consult and do many other things.”

Last year at the same MIM-Kyiv event The Day asked: how long should Ukraine wait for a critical mass of quality and responsible business leaders, that would be able to use their knowledge and values to change the rules of the market relations, and of social and political life in general? Last year many events took place (it was repeatedly emphasized during the solemn meeting of the business club), which directly influenced economic life in Ukraine. What do these events mean? Are we approaching civilized business standards or moving away? What changed in the life of Ukraine’s top managers over the past year? How important is business education today? We talked about all these issues with the students, graduates and MIM-Kyiv guests and we will present their answers in the next issues of The Day. Serhii Shevliakov is the president of the “Rocket” team, which took the second place in the Global Management Game this year. He is convinced that their success formula was confidence in themselves, “We just thought, analyzed and did our thing. We did not need to pursue anybody or prove that we are the best.”