When Alexandr Repnikov wrote a guide to saving money as part of his MBA dissertation, he probably wasn’t expecting what happened next. Here’s how his work ended up being published as a book – and helped him make a positive impact in the world in his own small way.
“An MBA is something you go for when you want to reboot your life,” says Alexandr Repnikov, a graduate of the Geneva Business School MBA. In his case, he wasn’t wrong.
Other than the practical business skills you learn in an MBA program, they’re also a one-off opportunity to have new experiences and meet people you would otherwise never meet. You never know when one of those people could change the direction of your career, or even your life. And ultimately, life is all about opportunity.
“Geneva Business School gives you that opportunity,” Alexandr continues. “You just need to plan accordingly – what you need, what you want to achieve.” (00:36)
Yet, Alexandr’s MBA experience at Geneva Business School wasn’t necessarily based on a desire to learn the business fundamentals. As a field operations manager for a large oilfield service company, he arrived at Geneva Business School already well-equipped with knowledge of the main MBA topics. For him, the opportunity to connect with new people and expand his network was more valuable for him.
“In my case, I believe it was different because I came with plenty of questions on my topic and I was forcing the people and the lecturers to answer the questions I had!“ he laughs. (01:14)
For his final dissertation, Alexandr decided he would write a guide to saving and investing money. The motivation was borne from a desire to address the lack of financial literacy he believes exists in his native Kazakhstan – which contrasted with what he saw during his time studying in the United States.
“If you look at the more developed countries in Europe and North America, finance is being studied by people of all different occupations. I did courses in the USA on filling in tax forms, so people get to know about finance,” he says. (03:03)
“So in Europe and the USA, financial literacy is high. Kazakhstan is a little different. We try to make people professional in a certain area, but we’re lagging behind on finances,” he adds. (03:40)
Alexandr’s dissertation would soon leave the realm of an academic paper and become a fully-fledged published piece of work. How he got to that point came down to the personal connections he was making on the program.
During the Geneva Business School MBA, Alexandr studied a module all about private equity, which was one of his favorite modules in the entire program. As it turned out, the professor of that course would end up being a big influence on his dissertation – and subsequently his book.
“The professor of a private equity course on the program became my tutor on my dissertation, so he helped me a lot during it,” he explains. “The dissertation ended up being the baseline for my book. It was in English, so I had to translate it into Russian and update it a little bit. But it’s still more or less the backbone of my book.” (01:36)
Savings and Investments, Alexandr’s published work, is a kind of instruction manual designed to teach people how to invest and save money. It covers everything from personal finance to building an investment portfolio, all using real-world examples that readers can relate to. You might say it’s Alexandr’s own attempt to start addressing the lack of financial literacy in his native country.
Publishing a book probably isn’t the first benefit that comes to mind when you think of an MBA. But when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Surely one of the greatest benefits of expanding your knowledge is being able to share that knowledge with other people?
In Alexandr’s case, he used an MBA to not only advance his career but make a positive impact in the world in his own small way. And there can’t be many things more valuable than that in life.
