Sinerghia Institute of Economics and Finance

Age: 22

History: The Sinerghia Institute of Economics and Finance is a private higher education establishment, set up in 1988. Strategic partners include Moscow University of Industry and Finance and Durham Business School. The institute delivers undergraduate, postgraduate (MBA programmes and other Masters) and executive courses.

Address: In a separate building in Moscow, near the centres of business and government.

Ambience: Very well-regarded, with more than 20,500 successful alumni. According to the Institute, their key values are “dynamism, pragmatism, openness and independence”.

Vital statistics: Sinerghia offers an MBA accredited by Russia's higher education authority and was the first in the country to be accredited by AMBA. There are around 240 students on the Russian mode, 50 students on the English mode, and there's a 9 per cent foreign element including students from Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, India, China and Taiwan. The MBA course may be studied part-time or on a modular basis. There are around 320 students studying part-time over two years, 105 on a modular basis (also over two years), and 85 on the distance learning MBA, which involves attendance at the institute in Moscow twice a year. There are also usually 25 students studying corporate MBA programmes.

Added value: A rigorous MBA programme closely tied to real business with the emphasis on soft skills development.

Easy to get into? MBA students should have a good university degree or equivalent professional qualification, plus a minimum of three years' work experience, preferably at management level.

Glittering alumni: MBA participants hail from companies such as Exxon Mobil, Siemens, Mitsubishi, Martini, HP, Oriflame, Philips and many others.

International connections: Good links with UK business schools in Durham, Liverpool, Cranfield and Newcastle; also ESC Rennes School of Business, France; Polimoda Institute, Italy; Augsburg college, USA.

Research: Marketing, finance, human resources, and cross-cultural management are all covered.

Student profile: The average age of students on the MBA is 35, with 13 years of work experience. The male to female ratio is 65:35.

Cost: Last year, the MBA was €13,000.

Return on investment: Improved knowledge of management and marketing and thus career development, increased opportunities and salary.

Who's the boss? Professor Mikhail Ioffe is dean. Doctor of Economics, Professor of Russian Economic Academy named after G.V.Plekhanov, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.

Prospectus: +7 (495) 236 4284; www.sinerghia.ru; info@sinerghia.ru