Marx Fest 2024 sees student community discussing business and government
The Institute of Management, Economics and Finance hosted a youth ‘anti-conference’ Marx Fest 2024. Invited speakers – young politicians and entrepreneurs, active students – shared their experience at the event.
According to the organizers, the goal of the festival is to create collaborations and partnerships, discuss and share best practices, and develop joint ideas. The uniqueness of the event lies in the format: the anti-conference is held within one day in an informal atmosphere.
Nailya Bagautdinova, Director of the Institute of Management, Economics and Finance, spoke at the opening of the annual event. Instead of greetings, she and her guest – managing partner of Crowe Audex, Chairman of the Commission on Economy and Infrastructure of Citizens’ Life Activity of the Public Chamber of the Republic of Tatarstan Airat Gimadutdinov – took part in a blitz interview.
Gimadutdinov is a graduate of Kazan University, specializing in economics and finance. Answering the question about his student days, he thanked the university for shaping him both as a professional and as a person. In his opinion, today’s labor market is in demand for specialists from a variety of fields, with the speaker focusing on financial audit.
“Now there is a large-scale transformation of this market, that is, it is being purified and the prestige of audit is growing sharply. If three years ago in Russia there were 4 thousand audit firms, two years ago – 3 thousand firms, a year ago – 2 thousand, now there are 1 thousand audit firms left, and these will be really super professional. In this thousand there will still be three categories – 1,000, then 100 and about 30 leading and coolest audit firms, this is a very promising market”, said Gimadutdinov.
Ms Bagautdinova commented on the problem, “There will always be a demand for a professional – a person who understands the industry and the profession he came into. You know a great discussion of all economists – is there a need for an accountant? This discussion started in the late 80s, now it is 2024, and a good accountant has yet to be found. Do you need a good marketer? You need one! Do you need a good PR person? Need one! You need a good manager? Need one! Need a good salesman? Need one! That’s why you need a professional.”
Next, the presenter invited the speakers to share their best tips on how to get a job in a large company. Gimadutdinov answered the following, “Any employer will see whether you are aspiring or not. At this stage, the most important thing is to study well. People who are ready to give are valued. As a result, they become the most successful both for themselves and for the company”.
The director of the Institute in turn noted that it is important for a graduate to set up internal management, i.e. to be self-organized. She also added that it is not necessary to work in a large holding to find your place. Bagautdinova cited KFU, where thousands of employees work, as an example.
“In the city of Kazan, Kazan Federal University ranks second in tax payments. Therefore, the university is also a large company per se,” she explained.
In addition, the speakers shared their recommendations on choosing an internship location.
This year Marx Fest includes two thematic streams – State and Business.
On stage, the moderator of the State section, Anait Arakelyan, Chairman of the Commission on Science, Innovation and Youth Entrepreneurship of the Youth Parliament at the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan, representative of the Youth Parliament at the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, greeted the participants of the anti-conference. Here students could communicate with representatives of state institutions of the Republic of Tatarstan and successful public figures, get advice on building a career trajectory. Among the experts were Nina Shimina, Deputy of the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan, Chairman of the Youth Parliament of the Republic of Tatarstan, Shamil Yakupov, President of the Student League of the Republic of Tatarstan, Kamoliddin Bobokhonov, head of the organization Tatarstan – Territory of Opportunities, and others.
“I’ll be honest, working in youth policy is not for everyone. There are certain routine tasks and difficulties, it is a kind of service – there is service in the army, and there is state service. I want to convey the idea that it is necessary to understand what kind of work you like more. If life has thrown you into a small corner, you should try to improve it to the maximum,” said the President of the Student League.
Valuable business practices were shared by the speakers of the Business stream. They were Kazan entrepreneurs – Azat Nazmutdinov, founder of the Kystybiy restaurant chain, Timerkhan Ziyatdinov, creator of the Alga brand, Ruslan Alshin, manager of the Baklazhan anti-cafe chain in Kazan, and other invited guests.
The event resulted in the launch of the IMEF Community – an ecosystem of interaction between alumni and students of the Institute.