Alumni Success Stories: Anna Mun
In October the competition results for AI solutions in HSE graduation projects have been announced: with five graduates as the winners, and three being granted laureate titles. Experts were evaluating the level and complexity of the tasks addressed, the appropriateness of the chosen tools for the set goal, the clarity and completeness of the presentation, the correctness of citations, and the ethical use of AI.
Anna Mun, graduate of the Master's program "Science, Technology and Innovation Management and Policy", became a laureate of the competition.
Why did you decide to enroll in the Master's program “Science, Technology and Innovation Management and Policy”?
I always planned an academic career. When I enrolled in a bachelor's degree, I already knew that I would go for master’s studies and PhD. As an undergraduate, I studied physics and modeled the mechanics of cancer cells behavior, and later – neurodegenerative changes in the brain. Besides working in the biophysics lab, I actively participated in student hackathons. And my interest in innovation management was born exactly while working on projects at hackathons, where we developed different web services and applications (a service for recognizing dog breeds from photos in shelters, a chatbot for monitoring the health of elderly people, and a game for learning foreign words).
While working on the abovementioned projects, I also realized that it is not enough to simply implement an idea and create a basic MVP (a prototype and presentation that could win at a hackathon, but have not yet been monetized and brought to the market). It is also important to be able to establish smooth operation of the team, build a development strategy, effectively bring the product to the market and scale the business and, most importantly, not lose motivation halfway. The master's program “Science, Technology and Innovation Management and Policy” allowed me to deepen my knowledge in this area and acquire the necessary skills to implement ambitious projects.
What was your Master’s thesis (project) about and why did you choose exactly that topic?
I wrote my Master’s thesis on “Corporate Education as a Motivator of Innovative Activities in the Company” because I was interested in studying how corporate educational programs affect the efficiency of work processes in general, as well as the innovative performance of employees and teams (their creativity, involvement, desire to learn, knowledge sharing within the team).
The knowledge and experience gained in the Master’s program significantly changed and expanded my understanding of the work process in the field of developing technological products. I realized that generating ideas and creating a prototype is only the beginning of the innovative path. For successful development of product or process innovations, it is important to understand how to improve the innovative climate at all levels - from the company as a whole to each member of a team.
During the second year of my Master’s studies, I learned that our program was one of the target programs for recruiting interns at VTB and decided to apply. As a result, I received a VTB grant and, in parallel with my studies, I took corporate courses from VTB and FutureToday for two months. The program included 8 master classes that covered topics that largely overlapped with the content of the Master’s program - data analysis, presentation skills, analytical and critical thinking, organization and teamwork. I really enjoyed the classes and was impressed by the focus on results - on developing skills in potential employees and early cultivation of an innovative culture through continuous learning and engagement. Thus my personal experience combined with curiosity pushed me to learn more about the phenomenon of corporate education both in Russia and abroad. However, I did not know how to turn this interest into a full-fledged research for my thesis. Luckily our program has an excellent specialist in the field of corporate education – Dr. Chernogortseva. She helped me to identify intersections between my interests, the relevance of the topic for research, and the availability of data.
What AI tools were used during the preparation process of your thesis?
I used very different AI-based tools, which I learned about from to the AIGeeks project offered by the HSE Academic Writing Center. AI significantly simplified the process of working with literature: I used GPT Scholar to search for and check academic sources, ASReview to filter relevant materials, and Elicit to summarize key findings. ChatGPT versions 3 and 4 helped me turn my rough drafts and thought flows into coherent texts, often acting as a critic assessing the validity of arguments and identifying weaknesses. ChatGPT also did an excellent job of structuring and correcting questionnaires that I sent to specialists and students to avoid typos and grammatical errors. I used Grammarly to work on grammar, spelling, and logical structure of the text.
These AI tools have sped up the process of searching and structuring data from literature. For example, creating mind maps using one of OpenAI’s generative transformers has significantly sped up work with data visualization – it could turn a hierarchical list (for example, a list of educational theories) into a ready-made mindmap straight away.
The large body of academic literature that ChatGPT models have been trained on allows the chat to be a qualified “advisor” for a novice researcher in dealing with the text: in matters of style, logic and consistency, spelling and grammar, as well as in the planning of a study — from introduction and methodology to conclusions. The chat can also offer a detailed and logical table of contents, which can be used as an initial plan. AI tools in general act as excellent assistants for full-fledged research, with “field” data collection, academic novelty, and knowledge creation as well as helping with checking and automating routine tasks (e.g. sorting bibliographies alphabetically and checking that everything is in the same citation format, rewriting text as a list, etc.).
Did the knowledge gained during your studies help you in your future life path?
Lectures by professors with experience in consulting and management in high-tech industries and government gave me a new perspective on science and technological entrepreneurship. In addition to the lectures, I really liked the project component of the program – it turned out to be extremely valuable for me. Without formal humanitarian or management education, I was able to delve into all aspects of the innovation process in two years of study - from an overview and, perhaps, a little philosophical analysis of prerequisites and consequences of innovation, an overview of government strategies and legislation regarding STI in Russia and the world, as well as government support tools for innovation, to studying the principles of project management at the organizational and team levels (project pitch, agile methodology, Gantt chart, innovation financing, etc.).
I would also like to mention the research work, to which a significant part of the program is devoted. As part of Master’s theses and under the supervision of professors from the HSE and other universities (SkolTech, University of Cape Town, etc.), we explored various areas in the field of STI, analyzed modern scientific literature, and used a wide range of methodologies — bibliometric and analysis, sociological methods (compiling and analyzing questionnaires, interviewing, working with focus groups, etc. in research). A big advantage is that all of these approaches are mastered within the framework of the Master's program because students come with different backgrounds. For example, though having an extensive experience working with quantitative data, I conducted my first expert interview ever while studying in this program. The courses on methodology and scientometrics by professors Ekaterina Streltsova, Valeriya Vlasova and Alena Nefedova are the fundamental basis for preparing and conducting high-quality scientific research.
What are you up to these days?
Before entering the Master's program, I studied physics as an undergraduate and also ran a small business not related to STI (science, technology and innovation). Now I am continuing my studies - I am studying Korean and preparing to enter a Master's program in a technical field close to my interests (physics). I am also engaged in entrepreneurship, and I run a small video blog about cultural and sporting events in Moscow.
The insight into supportive role of AI tools in academic research is truly inspiring. It’s remarkable how AI platforms have streamlined the literature review process, allowing for a more efficient and organized approach to gathering and synthesizing information. Anna’s experience with data visualization through generative transformers exemplifies the innovative ways these technologies can facilitate - complex tasks, making them more accessible and manageable. By leveraging these instruments, we’re not only support our own workflow but also contributing to a broader understanding of how AI can enrich the research activities.