Tatiana Bobkova, IEM Graduate of 2020: "I Didn't Know Who I Wanted to Be, and Now I Organize the Moscow Mayor's Hackathon"
We spoke about her path into the profession, family gatherings, unexpected turns during the pandemic, and the most important skill that an institute provides.
— Tatyana, the first question we ask almost everyone: why did you choose IEM?
— Over time, I realized there were three reasons. First, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to be, like many high school students. But I clearly understood two things: I am not interested in chemistry, physics, or applied sciences. My strengths, however, are an analytical mind (more or less) and communication with people. And it was at IEM that I saw a combination of these things. I wanted to study not only finance, taxes, and statistics but also something creative and team-oriented.
The second reason was my dad. Since childhood, at family gatherings, I loved watching him. He always organized the entire process: he would put food on plates, clear space, and make sure everyone had everything and was comfortable. It's invisible work that guests might not notice. But every holiday, I noticed how important it was. And now I do almost the same thing, but at large events and on a different scale. Dad, by the way, still continues his invisible yet so important work.
— And what was the third reason?
— Oh, that's a separate story. I only wanted to enroll at TSU — I consider it the best university in Tomsk; my mom and older sister studied there. I didn't even look at other universities. I dreamed of economics, but the admissions committee assured me: based on my scores, I wouldn't qualify for a state-funded place in economics, so I should confidently agree to management. I listened. Then I saw that people with scores lower than mine got into economics. I was upset and went to sort it out. It turned out that I could no longer transfer: while I would write a refusal fr om management and an acceptance for economics, the second wave would begin — I risked getting in nowhere. I decided not to tempt fate, stay, and transfer later. I was upset then. And I had no idea how grateful I would be that it all happened this way.
— Do you have vivid memories of your student life?
— So many of them! And they are all connected to people. Fun classes, chats, trips out of town with classmates, the curator school, the admissions committee wh ere I worked, the tutor summer school, olympiads, forums... Every day was bright because of the people IEM brought together. Here I found friends with whom we are still inseparable. So to those who are studying or planning to enroll, I want to wish one thing: be open and kind to others. And you will definitely miss these years. I miss them very much.
— How did your life turn out after graduation?
— When I first enrolled, I knew nothing about marketing or event management. During the course of my studies, I realized that management can be very different, and marketing and HR branding caught my attention. After IEM, I was admitted to a state-funded place at the Higher School of Economics for a digital marketing program and was supposed to intern at a well-known agency specializing in building HR brands. But then the pandemic began, and the internship did not happen. I had to look for another place. That's how I came across a vacancy for an event manager at an agency for technological and innovation events. And the world of events opened up to me, wh ere I still work and truly enjoy. You know, in this field, people either leave immediately or stay forever. It's very difficult, stressful, but the most exciting work.
— Did you find success at work immediately?
— Yes, I started working with Sber and Rosselkhozbank. And almost every day brought challenges: urgently produce merchandise, find decor contractors on a limited budget, gather applications for a large event within a week. But after each event, there's such a dopamine rush! You see the happy faces of the guests and realize it was all for a reason. Now my work combines events, marketing, and technology. Everything couldn't have worked out better. Every day I want to get up and do what I love.
— What knowledge and skills from your studies help you most today?
— It's not even the applied disciplines, although they also come in handy. The most important thing is the skill of searching for information. It helps with absolutely everything: finding a venue, promotion channels, a speaker's contact. If you learn to do it quickly and correctly, you will always be one step ahead. At IEM, we were constantly given assignments like this — to find, structure, and verify information.
The second is the ability to communicate with people. Sometimes very different people. I interact with a large number of people every day. Each requires a different approach, different words, and different arguments. I consider TSU the ideal place to gain this experience: communication with classmates and teachers, participation in clubs and electives.
And the third is public speaking. Now I'm constantly on calls or in meetings to present an idea, justify a partnership package, or assign tasks to colleagues. The skill of formulating thoughts structurally, without fear and without notes, is invaluable. In IEM classes, we often gave project presentations. So use this time: don't read from a piece of paper, understand the essence — it will be easy later.
— What is your main advice for current IEM students?
— The most important thing is to maintain balance (I give this advice as a Libra). Devote time to two things. First — studies, but without extremes. Study what interests you, try to apply it in life. If something seems uninteresting, give it a chance. You never know what might be useful later. Second — life outside of studies. Don't rush home or to do homework right after classes. This is the best time to discover yourself. Be active, try different things, don't turn down new opportunities. Go to group events, sign up for extracurricular projects. Live every moment.
Interview by: Bogdan Shadrin, TSU Faculty of Journalism
- All interviews with graduates of the Institute of Economics and Management in the anniversary project marking IEM's 10th anniversary are available here.