No. 3, 2009

LUKOIL backs staff trained to work on the international level

The processes of globalization are naturally leading Russia's oil and gas companies to integrate with the global economic system. To successfully operate in other countries, their workers must be familiar with local customs and social mores, while those in positions that require them to meet with local businessmen and administrators at the negotiating table need special knowledge about the local ways of doing business. For LUKOIL, one venue for training such people is now the Diplomatic Academy of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation.

Forge of diplomatic personnel

The RF Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Academy can trace its history to 1934, when the Institute for the Training of Diplomatic and Consular Workers, transformed in 1939 into the Diplomatic College, was set up under the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs. In 1974, the Diplomatic College became the USSR Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Academy by government decree.

Today, the Diplomatic Academy is one of the world's largest and most respected centers for the training of professional diplomatic personnel and experts in the field of international relations.

"Diplomats working at diplomatic representations in Moscow study at the Academy and then, as a rule, get top posts in their own foreign ministries. There are a great many cases where high-ranking diplomats and politicians defended their dissertations at the Academy. Among them are, for example, former South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung and the Chairman of Kazakhstan's Parliament, former Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev," said Diplomatic Academy Dean Alexander Panov.

The Academy's teaching staff consists of highly qualified professors and instructors. Among the Academy's 170 lecturers, there are 39 doctors of science and professors, 55 candidates of science and associate professors, and 48 research fellows. Forty-six of the Academy's staff hold diplomatic rank, of whom 14 are Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and 11 are Honored Workers of Science. Leading personnel from the RF Foreign Ministry often speak at the Academy, as do well-known political figures and high-ranking representatives of foreign countries.

The Academy has all of the research, technical, and information resources it requires. These include computer classes, satellite television, a reading room, and a library whose collection contains more than 400,000 works of literature in science and the humanities, printed in 70 languages.

"The Academy maintains ties with more than 80 specialized academic institutions and research centers in all parts of the world. There are similar academies in many countries. Many of these, especially in the CIS countries, resemble our Academy and were organized along the same lines," explained Dean Panov.

Theory and practice

The Diplomatic Academy takes a somewhat pedantic approach to studies, since it trains experts who have to understand global economics, politics, and different religions and ethnic psychologies. They must have a firm grasp of world culture, be masters of rhetoric, and know how to logically structure their thoughts. Students at the Academy work together in small groups, and classes are taught almost one-on-one. The list of disciplines includes the study of esthetic perceptions and ballroom dancing. All the same, special attention is given to foreign languages. They are, after all, the one tool without which it would be extraordinarily difficult to carry out assignments overseas.

For those who don't want to become diplomats, but still wish to acquire one skill or another for working abroad, a variety of mini-courses are taught. Many large Russian companies besides LUKOIL are happy to take advantage of these offerings: Russian Railways, Aeroflot, and Rosoboronexport, to name a few.

One of the most effective ways of teaching is to hold simulations. For example, students are divided into groups representing the nations of the Caspian region in negotiations. Within a specified time limit, they must formulate and uphold their countries' interests using the knowledge they possess, and display character and mental agility.

According to Yury Pakhomov, former RF Consul General in Milan and current head of the Academy's mini-courses, students sometimes want to be given a list of standard solutions to all of life's problems. "But it always turns out that life is richer than this and presents you with unexpected situations. Training for many different situations cures one of oversimplification, and allows you to make the best possible decision when you're running out of time. People generally don't want to think about the worst possible turn of events, but they should be ready for it," he said.

Oil companies and diplomats

Instructors at the Academy have met with LUKOIL staff many times: they have delivered lectures on correct protocol etiquette, described the situation in the Caucasus, and talked about the G8 problems. A series of seminars on different countries - Colombia, Venezuela, Cote d'Ivoire, and Saudi Arabia - was held for staff at LUKOIL-Overseas Holding.

An agreement on cooperation between the RF Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Academy and LUKOIL on the subject of training and raising the qualifications of the corporation's staff in matters of international communication was signed on January 11, 2008.

January 2009 saw the opening of the Diplomatic Academy's Center for Professional Retraining, consisting of several state-of-the-art auditoriums, outfitted with the latest in high-tech equipment with financial assistance from LUKOIL. The new center contains a 40-seat conference hall, a 24 seat multimedia classroom, a 30-seat Internet classroom, a 10-seat classroom for the training of synchronous interpreters, and four language laboratories. At the opening of the center, Ravil Maganov, First Executive Vice-President of LUKOIL, rated the Academy's level of professionalism highly: "The experience that has been accumulated within these walls over the decades is now being generously transmitted to our workers as well, at conferences and seminars. This knowledge gives us great competitive advantages," he noted.

So long as the Company continues to develop markets and oil fields overseas, its mutually beneficial cooperation with the Diplomatic Academy will continue. Personnel familiar with complex international relations will always be in demand.