Serhiy Glazyev is the director of Terra Lingua Centre, a Kyiv-based company that is also represented in Australia, which operates in the sphere of educational services. At Terra Lingua Centre, which represents 21 major international language centers and educational institutions, Glazyev manages the company’s Educational Network Ukraine project. In this interview with the Post, Glazyev said that MBA programs in Ukraine have already passed the initial stages of their formation and are set to branch out into different areas of specialization in business administration.
KP: Could you please describe your company and what it does?
SG: Educational Network Ukraine is an online educational project launched in 1998 by the Terra Lingua Centre consulting agency. The project deals with education both in Ukraine and abroad. The project’s main aim is to provide fresh and comprehensive information about education in Ukraine to all interested private individuals and businesses, promote and enhance of the prestige of Ukrainian education abroad, and provide aid to Ukrainian educational institutions in the area of informatization.
Terra Lingua Centre has provided educational consulting since 1995. The main activity of the company is the online recruitment of students to study abroad.
The company is one of the co-founders of the Ukrainian Association for International Education established under the patronage of the British Council.
KP: Has the demand for Ukrainian MBA specialists been on the rise lately, and if so, why?
SG: The programs of Ukrainian business schools are built based on Western standards. But, as the representatives of these schools admit, these programs are primarily targeted at Ukrainian realities. The demand for such programs is growing because of the rising number of solvent managers who would like to enhance their professional level.
The demand for MBA specialists in Ukraine is primarily being formed thanks to foreign and multinational companies. Ukrainian companies are still not ready for MBAs. For the most part, local [Ukrainian] companies keep sticking to the old and tested principle, believing that the more work experience a specialist has, the better.
Many Ukrainian students prefer getting a Ukrainian MBA, because they equate an MBA to a second higher education while recognizing that an MBA provides training that is a bit deeper. Many prefer getting an MBA in Ukraine rather than in the West because they do not want to risk changing their careers too suddenly by going to study abroad.
Expenses are also a serious consideration. A Ukrainian MBA is much cheaper and you do not need to live abroad, which itself implies considerable spending. The other advantage of a Ukrainian MBA education is that Ukrainian MBA programs are easier to enter compared to Western programs.
Thus, the demand for Ukrainian MBA programs is growing. Moreover, this demand requires constant renewal [of MBA programs] because, taking into account local realities, it [MBAs] is no longer viewed as something special. Ukrainian managers are partial to specialized programs that allow filling in gaps in certain areas. The typical image of the Ukrainian business school student is the following: a successful manager with an income of $1,000 to $2,500 per month, two to five years of work experience, and a good command of English.
KP: What is the main motivation for Ukrainian managers to obtain a Ukrainian MBA?
SG: The main reason is to obtain knowledge, as well as the hope of receiving more income. Of course, a Ukrainian MBA still has a long way to go to become as prestigious as those of Western business schools, but even possessing a local [Ukrainian] MBA could play a role when the employer considers raising the salary for a specialist.
KP: After graduation, are Ukrainian MBA graduates more likely to work in Ukraine, or abroad?
SG: I can say that the diplomas of Ukrainian MBA schools will be in greatest demand by Western companies operating in Ukraine.
KP: How different are MBA programs in Ukraine from those offered in the West?
SG: The major difference between the Western market of business education and Ukraine’s is connected with the expected results from studying in a business school.
A graduate of Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), or the London Business School can be sure that his yearly income will increase two or threefold after graduation.
A graduate of a Ukrainian business school can more likely count on optimizing his business and bringing it to Western standards to eventually increase profits, though not normally as quickly as a Western MBA graduate would.
KP: How different are tuition fees?
SG: On average, tuition in Ukrainian business schools costs $10,000 to $15,000 per 18–20 months [of an MBA program].
In the US and the Western Europe, tuition in MBA schools rated in the first 100 (according to ratings conducted by the Financial Times, Business Week and the Economist), the cost is five to six times higher.
KP: Can you provide a short forecast as to how MBA programs in Ukraine will develop in the nearest several years?
SG: We can say that the creation stage of Ukrainian business education has passed. For this stage, the following features were typical: organization of sort-term seminars and trainings; the desire of Ukrainian students to quickly and instantly obtain all the [necessary] knowledge; the introduction of the first long-term programs with the aid of foreign colleagues, and sometimes having to use low-quality translations of Western textbooks.
Now we are on the verge of the formation stage that will involve the emergence of new methodical approaches, literature and trainers who will not limit themselves with Western experience only, but will take into account the specifics of the Ukrainian market, as well as their own consultancy experience. One of the most important steps in this direction is the foundation of the Ukrainian Association for Management Development and Business Education, which has hosted 52 schools.
Under favorable conditions, the coming years will see more defined specialization of business schools in Ukraine. They will occupy narrower niches, which should upgrade the level of services provided.
