'The Experience Economy': Everything You Need to Know About HSE Perm's New Master's Programme

In 2019 admission to HSE Perm's new Master's programme 'Experience Economy: Museum, Event, Tourism Management' will begin. Read on to learn more about the programme, the admissions process, and post-graduation employment opportunities.

What is the 'Experience Economy' all about?

The experience economy is a significant modern development in the international economy that is growing rapidly in various areas of business. First and foremost, the experience economy concerns industries that provide not only services, but activities or experiences that elicit emotional responses and create memories for consumers. The experience economy is most strongly connected with museum, tourist, and event spheres, so HSE Perm's new program focuses on these areas.

The main goal of the programme is to prepare versatile specialists who won’t just be 'service providers' in tourism, culture or event management, but rather 'experience directors'. These are people who are able to work professionally in areas related to the creation of a product. They are able to create emotional involvement and to use modern interactive, multimedia and research tools to achieve these goals.

Julia Tavrizyan

Director of the Perm Art Gallery

Until just recently the economy of culture was understood only as the provision of financial and economic activities of cultural institutions. Now we talk about the experience economy—but in order for an experience to be created, certain mechanisms need to be used. We hope that thanks to our cooperation we will understand how these mechanisms work. Today we are seeing big changes in attitudes about how museums should work. It used to be that, in the relationship between the museum and the visitor, the museum and its tour guides stood on higher ground. Now we seek a new kind of relationship—a dialogue between equals.

Curriculum Overview

Below are the most important training courses that are included in the programme, divided them into several blocks for your convenience:

Management

It is not accidental that the programme 'Experience Economy' belongs to a broader field of 'Management Studies'. It is very important that our graduates be able to develop processes, manage teams and projects, create new businesses in this area. Therefore, a large block of disciplines falls specifically within the purview of management:

• organization theory,
• strategies in museum, event and tourism management,
• tour operator activity,
• event management,
• art management,
• management of tourist and cultural projects,
• logistics in tourism activities.

Economics and Marketing

Management disciplines are 'supplemented' with economic ones. This block includes:

• marketing,
• theory, history and innovation in the experience economy,
• economy of cultural,
• experience industry marketing,
• consumer behavior in cultural tourism.

Research projects

A research seminar is one of the main components of the programme. Seminars last two years and include not only the preparation of a master's thesis, but also a large number of research projects, special courses, and master classes. They are designed to teach students how to collect, systematize and analyze information, present research results, develop cultural and event projects, and also to create museum concepts.

History and culture

This block provides students with a foundation in the historical and cultural dimensions of operating in the experience economy. Specialists will be able to organize cultural projects, work with cultural heritage, and build intercultural communication. The courses are:

• history of the world culture,
• history of the culture of Russia and Ural,
• historical and cultural heritage: problems of preservation and presentation.

Digital and multimedia technologies

Most disciplines of the programme involve working with new technologies. A research seminar therefore covers areas such as data processing and digitization, visualization, mapping, analysis, and working with data. Moreover, the course 'Digital and Multimedia Technologies in Museums and Historical, Cultural, and Event Tourism' is integrated into this system, which generalizes and strengthens the educational digital component of the program.

MAGOLEGO and online courses

First-year students can design their own educational trajectory thanks to the educational platform MAGOLEGO, some courses of which are taught in English. In addition, some courses are conducted online.

Who do we encourage to apply?

The 'Experience Economy' programme will be useful to anyone who seeks professional development in the sphere of culture, tourism, event organization, and media.

First of all, people who are already engaged in this field can study here if they want to strengthen their skills and get a system education in management and economics. We welcome employees of public, private and corporate museums, theaters, travel companies, event-agencies, and departments of culture. From the very first days you will be able to put your newly acquired knowledge into practice and solve work tasks during the academic process. Furthermore, exploring practical problems of the profession in your master's thesis will allow you to take a fresh look at the familiar processes within the company, 'reconfigure', and 'rebuild' the product that you are offering.

Secondly, the 'Experience Economy' programme can become a professional start for those who aspire to have a career in this field. It will be a bit easier for specialist in management, economics, history, culturology, geography, art history, and museum business to study, but it only means that the rest of students will have to learn a little bit more. Admission is not contingent on having a background in the field.

How to apply?

In the 2019/2020 academic year, there are 20 state-financed places and 5 self-financed places for Russian citizens. Also we have 3 self-financed places for international students.

There are two criteria according to which applicants are evaluated: the results of the Olympiad and the results of the portfolio competition. Click here to read about the admissions process.

Job opportunities

Graduates of the programme will have a lot of employment opportunities in the field of experience economy. During their studies, students will create projects on real event, museum and tourist cases. This means that students will interact with future employers during their learning process.

At the moment, the programme already has a lot of partners: local museums, travel companies, organizing committees of different festivals. Moreover, we are planning to cooperate with major museums and travel companies from other regions.

Career opportunities for graduates of the 'Experience Economy' programme:

• state, departmental, corporate and private museums,
• museum, exhibition and cultural centers,
• art galleries,
• travel companies,
• event industry companies ,
• cultural heritage authorities,
• state and municipal authorities,
• foreign and leading Russian research universities,
• organizations of the non-profit sector,
• theaters,
• publishing houses,
• websites,
• charitable foundations,
• art funds,
• enterprises of cultural and creative industries,
• mass media.

What else do you need to know about the programme?

Studying at the Higher School of Economics offers many advantages. These are academic mobility (the opportunity to take part of courses at another HSE campus or at a foreign universities), the strong faculty and scholarships for the best students. Click here to read more about this on the programme page (in Russian).

If you have any questions related to entering or studying in the 'Experience Economy' programme, you can contact the head of the programme, Ekaterina Shestakova, via email: ENSHestakova@hse.ru

Head of the Master's Program «Experience Economy»

The idea of this master's programme arose over the course of our joint projects with museums. We realized that there is a need for professionals in the sphere of the experience economy who have managerial expertise. But we decided not to limit ourselves only to the sphere of museums. Domestic tourism and event tourism are actively developing in Russia. At the same time, we do not examine the experience economy on solely a local level. It is about the world experience. Our programme is strictly practice oriented. Our lecturers are leading experts in their field who are actively working in the field of tourism, in museums or at festivals. Subjects, speakers, practices are so interesting that some of the teachers wanted to attend lectures of their colleagues themselves.

Suggested reading for those who wish to learn more about the programme and about the experience economy in general

Robert D. Reid, David C. Bojanic 'Hospitality Marketing Management'