All about NLMK Corporate University

NLMK Corporate University was established in 2016. Since our inception, 225 Learning Solutions have been developed, including more 150 e-Courses; 3,807 trainings sessions have been held, 380 internal trainers and 9,869 leaders and specialists have been prepared. As of September 2021, the total accrued number of learning activities in the Corporate University stands at 48,204.

But does anyone know what corporate education is and how it is arranged in our company? We prepared the most frequently asked questions and answers to them in one article on this page.

What is the NLMK Corporate University?

The NLMK Corporate University is the nucleus of our company’s internal training. Its main purpose is to create an accessible self-learning system within the NLMK ecosystem, in which the company’s leaders become business coaches for their colleagues, and real stories fr om the experiences of NLMK become case studies in their training courses.

The Learning Solutions of the Corporate University explain what our company is, what place it has in the global industrial and manufacturing sector, what our approach is and how we have achieved our competitive advantages; how we manage our staff, finances and projects and how we implement a culture of safety.

What else was the University created for?

• To preserve knowledge of and to disseminate best practices.
• To develop an environment of facilitative leadership.
• To create a unified context and management system in NLMK Group.
• To improve the competence of our current leaders and our talent pool.

What is an Internal Trainer?

An Internal Trainer is an experienced employee of NLMK Group, who shares the Company’s vision and who is attracted to training other employees through the Corporate University’s Learning Solutions.

Internal Trainer Candidates undergo their own programme for internal trainers, wh ere they study how to competently present the material, how to speak in a way that will hold the students’ interest and truly help them understand the course material. After this, the prospective trainer studies the Learning Solutions courses in detail and only then, under supervision by experts in the Corporate University, does he or she undertake his or her first session as a Trainer.

Each internal training course takes three to five days to complete. First, the Learning Solutions developers introduce future trainers to the content of the given course and then dedicate two days to the actual training programme. After this, each trainer is given special programmes for additional development. For example, one trainer may need to improve his communication skills; another may need assistance with group dynamic management. Now our Corporate University has a wide range of programmes to develop trainer skills.

What Learning Solutions does the Corporate University have?

At the moment, Learning Solutions Portfolio includes the following Learning Areas:

• Strategy and Value Management
• Operational Efficiency and Safety
• Leadership and Teamwork
• Project Management
• Leadership Development Programmes
• Internal Trainers Development
• Learning Solutions for the NLMK Ecosystem

NLMK Corporate University Learning Solutions present the synthesis of knowledge and best practices of NLMK Group.

Leadership Development Programmes represent a new direction for the Corporate University’s Learning Solutions Portfolio in 2020. A leadership development programme is an educational product designed to develop knowledge, skills, abilities and in fact the mindset of the target audience at a particular management level (as a rule, for the talent pool) to more effectively achieve business objectives. In 2020-2021, Corporate University implemented three Leadership Development Programmes:

1) Dream 100 Executive Development Programme Developed in 2020 together with INSEAD Business School, this program aims to train top management with developed management competencies, who are able to implement the Company’s ambitious strategy within the changing environment.

2) «Level Up» Talent Pool Development Programme Since 2018 in NLMK and since 2020 in NLMK Corporate University. The programme is designed for the transfer to the next management level with the extended responsibilities and the scale of challenges.

3) The Foremen School Programme Developed in 2020. This programme is designed to develop management competencies of the succession pool for foreman positions. The purpose of the programme is to increase efficiency when solving work tasks, to develop personnel management and processing skills in any given area, and how to interact within one’s own department and with other departments.

How are the Corporate University Learning Solutions created?

During the creation of each Learning Solutions the experts of Corporate University aim to provide a customized approach to its content. It is presented in a combination of various forms of study (face-to-face, remote, electronic) and in the adaptation of the content for each management level.

Our first Learning Solutions were created with corporate sources only: the team gathered the company’s corporate experience and created a brand-new learning culture. However, today, external experts are also involved in the creation of our Learning Solutions. Every day, the experts of Corporate University study the best global practices and adjust them to the demands of NLMK leaders.

During the creation of Learning Solutions, Corporate University wishes that all the participants receive the maximal practical utility while learning. This goal is achieved through:

• Teamwork of the participants during the learning process, a friendly environment, communication and introductions to colleagues.
• The disposition of the trainer, who shares his personal experience in order to connect with the students.
• Involvement in the situation in detailed simulations: developmental tasks and projects.
• Regular feedback fr om the team, one’s colleagues, his manager, and the trainer.
• Knowledge assessment before and after training, as well as the use of the newly-acquired knowledge in practice after training.

Does NLMK Corporate University only develop Learning Solutions?

No. Beside the development of Learning Solutions for managers, the Corporate University team constantly updates its library of management literature, helps to hold conferences and strategic sessions, develops internal trainers, and makes its Learning Solutions accessible in digital formats.

Additionally, great effort is invested in developing internal trainers so that they are competent to correctly present the material in the existing learning courses and convey this accumulated knowledge in a relevant form.

Wh ere is the campus of NLMK Corporate University located?

Today Learning Solutions of Corporate University are conducted in various locations of the NLMK Group, our plan is that soon our Comprehensive Leadership Programmes and learning courses will be held in the building owned by NLMK Corporate University.

It is situated on the site of the former Metallurgical Community Center in Lipetsk. It is the modern multifunctional center that has no rivals in the region. An innovative education environment is created in this building: a transformable conference hall with a 500 seat capacity, state-of-the-art technological innovations which have no rival in the region; two spaces to hold design thinking sessions; and exhibition space.

However, NLMK Corporate University is not just a point on the map; it is an environment to develop and realize the potential in any place where the leader is, and where there is access to the learning resources of the Corporate University.

Who works on the Corporate University team?

The staff of Corporate University includes over 50 people. Most of the team are internal trainers — the leaders of NLMK (380 at the time of this interview) — and subject matter experts — the experts from our operating divisions.

Who is the creative force and founder of the Corporate University?

The idea to create our own Corporate University in NLMK belongs to Oleg Bagrin, a member of the NLMK Board of Directors and our Strategic Planning Committee. In 2015, being the Company’s President, Oleg Bagrin offered a new educational concept for the company based on its own internal resources, which would allow to formalize and distribute unique knowledge throughout the NLMK Group.

Who is the leader of Corporate University?

The head of Corporate University is Valentina Satarova. She joined the Company in July 2016. Before this she worked in corporate education both in corporations and as an external educational provider for 26 years.

Valentina Satarova is a Candidate of Psychological Sciences (Rus. «Kandidat Nauk»); she graduated from Leningrad State University and there, in 1999, she defended her thesis. Valentina has been managing education in the bank sector in the Russian Societe Generale group for the last 12 years.

In 2011 she finished her MBA course in Strategic Management in Moscow International Higher Business School MIRBIS (Institute) / London Metropolitan University. In 2009 she received education in Erickson Coaching International in Vancouver, Canada, and now has international ICF certification in Individual and Group Coaching.

What is Corporate University working at in 2021?

This year the Corporate University has several objectives:

• CREATION OF NEW LEARNING SOLUTIONS, with the focus on personalization and global trends in learning and development; design of Learning Solutions for the development of needed future competencies, design thinking, effective communication, and tools for remote work with one’s team.
• MARKETPLACE DEVELOPMENT — A platform for all participants, which allows individual selection and enrollment in our Learning Solutions.
• DIGITALIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF A VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT for personal education management and 24/7 accessibility.
• LAUNCH OF CORPORATE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS, a specially equipped innovative center, which will extend the possibilities for cooperation as well as for joint use by all the Company’s employees.