At the invitation of the GR-Club of the Financial University, Kesarev Partner Pavel Melnikov conducted a master class titled "Introduction to GR in 90 minutes" for the students.

During the lecture, Pavel presented his view on:

• why government relations practice is essential for large companies at national and international levels to decrease risk in doing business;

• how GR practitioners save money for their companies by GR tools such as issues monitoring, mapping existing stakeholders and building relations with them to advance the company's agenda and prevent negative scenarios.

Following the lecture, Pavel provided students with an opportunity to practice the daily work of a GR specialist by drafting the structure of a letter from a CEO of a global IT company to the senior government stakeholder with a request for a meeting at the St Petersburg Economic Forum. Students, split into teams, provided their views of such a letter and received a thorough reply from Mr. Melnikov to their suggestions.

At the end of the meeting, Pavel advised all students, as future GR practitioners, to doubt any information they receive in order to build a comprehensive critical understanding of their own.

Kesarev continues to develop relations with key universities in the countries in which it operates to share knowledge and expertise in building relations with stakeholders and understanding the regulatory environment.