OREANDA-NEWS. The Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO gathered the Alumni of all programmes and all years at the first in its history SKOLKOVO Alumni Convention to recall the “student past”, analyse the present and look into the future. The Convention programme was designed for three days and included a lot of educational and fun activities.

On Friday, June 20, the event started in the Speakers Night format, with International Paper acting as the general partner of the meeting. The Alumni and the school's guests gathered together to listen to the lecture The Russian Economy in the Era of Global Challenges by Alexei Kudrin, the legendary Russian statesman, Dean of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Department, St. Petersburg State University, and the founder of the Committee for Civil Initiatives. In his address to the large audience (the Congress Hall was barely able to accommodate all those wishing to meet the expert), Kudrin stressed that the history was being created right in front of our eyes, as we had entered the serious stage of the global economic crisis that could hardly be matched even with the Great Depression. He noted that in the current environment, the key objectives for the country were to increase production rates through manufacturing more goods of better quality and prices than imported ones could provide, and human capital development for improving the workforce quality.

Responding to multiple questions from the audience, Kudrin commented on the recent initiatives of the Ministry of Finance, the National Wealth Fund being unsealed, the prospects of tax holidays for individual entrepreneurs, the implications of Ukraine's signing the economic part of the Association Agreement with the EU, and more. After the lecture, Kudrin did a signing session for Evgenia Pismennaya's book The Kudrin System, which was available for purchase on campus.

"We are delighted to be supporting Speakers Nights, a unique series of events that will give the SKOLKOVO students a fantastic opportunity to listen and learn from some of Russia's most notable business leaders." - Ksenia Sosnina, President of International Paper Russia

Saturday morning started with the traditional SKOLKOVO Mile, which had over 50 participants from amongst the Alumni and the school staff, including Dean Andrei Sharonov. The first 30 runners were presented with shoes for fast running by Adidas, the partner of the race. The winner was awarded with a designer GPS watch.

Having caught their breath, the Alumni, joined by experts, invited guests and partners, opened the foresight session called Map of the Future for SKOLKOVO Alumni. The session proved to be the conceptual core of the Alumni Convention. Its results will be presented in the form of consolidated map, reflecting the development of the most promising projects in key sectors, both in the long term of 20 years and in the short term of the next year.

The Alumni, divided into groups by industry, discussed the latest trends under the guidance of experts. PWC acted as the strategic partner of the foresight. Its managing director David Gray gave a presentation of Megatrends research and introduced 5 key trends of the future, which, according to the company's experts, determine the development of global industries through 2025. German Klimenko, CEO and owner of Liveinternet, discussed possible strategies for the media development, and Igor Nikitin, general producer of The Robot Ball show, spoke about robotics and 3D-printers. Konstantin Basmanov, senior vice president of PSB, talked on the future of financial institutions and business support services. Separate panels were devoted to urban development, philanthropy and education. Anatoly Smorgonskiy, CEO of Skartel (Yota brand), hosted a massive panel dedicated to IT.

It is expected that the Alumni will be developing business projects in the discussed sectors throughout the year and present the fruits of this large-scale work to the SKOLKOVO International Advisory Board headed by the Chairman Dmitry Medvedev.

Saturday evening ended with the Alumni Gala ball, packed with artistic premieres. The school's Congress Hall hosted the musical debut of Russkiy Pioner magazine, which presented its new format called "Pioneer Singing." It was a concert and a conversation at the same time: the guests not only enjoyed the musical talent of magazine columnists Andrei Makarevich and Diana Arbenina, but also asked them various questions between songs.

The concert started with a musical surprise from the Alumni who had successfully implemented their first crowd funding project - “The White Grand Piano" - and gave their alma mater a vintage white Becker grand piano manufactured in early XX century. Dean Andrei Sharonov and some Alumni demonstrated its amazing sound by playing a few classics.

The first SKOLKOVO Alumni Awards ceremony was also held at the ball. This award provides the Alumni with the means to recognize their fellow graduates for the most outstanding achievements in the field of business and entrepreneurship. The prize for the brightest career rise was won by Vyacheslav Dukhin, CEO of Channel 360 (former Podmoskovie). Besides the award in the form of custom engraved crystal apple, the symbol of SKOLKOVO business school, Vyacheslav got a subscription to Forbes magazine directly from Regina von Flemming, CEO of Axel Springer Russia.

Guzel Gubeydullina, the founder of Finparty.ru business portal, was named Entrepreneur of the Year. Vladimir Pies, president of the Centre for Industrial Design and Innovation "Astra Rossa", became Speaker of the Year. MILI.ru, quick service microfinance, won in Business Team of the Year category. The most intriguing nomination, School Legend, was awarded to Sergei Koltovich, the first president of the SKOLKOVO Alumni Association. The Alumni's idea of this nomination implies that the winner gets their award for the overall effort invested in the creation and development of the SKOLKOVO Alumni community.

The ball ended with the traditional charity auction, the lots for which were provided by the founding partners of the business school. The auction collected 75,000 euros to be spent on educational grants for the most promising and ambitious students of the updated SKOLKOVO MBA programme, which will be launched this autumn, as well as for the Alumni community development.

On Sunday, June 22, the holiday continued in the form of outdoor Family Day at Royal Yacht Club, where the first SKOLKOVO Cup regatta took place for the first time ever. The event was put together by the SKOLKOVO Sailing Team that had gained a triumphant victory at the international sailing competition Global MBA Trophy. The regatta united students and graduates of various programmes, as well as partners and friends of the school, in their effort to set sportive, professional and personal records. Ten teams led by professional skippers competed in the waters of Moscow on sports boats named after the founding partners of the school.

The regatta featured fleet racing, one of the most spectacular forms of sailing competition in closed waters. To prepare participants for the competition and to let them feel they were real sailors, special master classes by professional captains, who also were successful managers and businessmen, were provided on land.

The programme for the day included multiple entertainment activities for both adults and younger boaters - games, workshops, presentations and much more.