Meet an Innovator: Ruslan Kim

Italia Innovation Program

Hometown: Luxembourg

School: London School of Economics and Political Science

Specialty: Management

1.What got you into your academic / vocational field?

I chose to study management at LSE because the degree is quite broad and allows me to choose most of my modules. It’s the perfect mix of economics, finance, and management. Understanding economics and finance is vital to finding solutions to social injustices and phenomena like unemployment. Management, on the other hand, provides me the insight into how companies are organized. I hope to run my own business in the future and believe a degree in management would equip me with the tools to do so.

2. What’s a challenge you’ve faced?

A challenge that shaped my personal development was a summer I spent working on plantation fields in Russia. The conditions I was put in were drastically different from what I’d ever experienced before.

The first big challenge was building my own wooden shed to live in. Moreover, we had no electricity or running water. Luckily, there was the possibility of pumping clean water from a well and a river where we could bathe.

The plantation work itself was the biggest challenge. After only hours of collecting cucumbers in extreme heat, I was physically exhausted. I kept looking over at the other workers, wondering how they were able to do it every day. The realization that these temporary conditions I was living in were enduring for most people gave me a sense of humility. In turn, it’s inspired me ever since to always remain grateful and strive for improvement of other people’s lives.

3. What’s your proudest accomplishment, and why?

One of my proudest accomplishments is co-founding and helping run a nonprofit that affects the lives of many people. Its purpose is to assist people in distress, such as victims of violence, substance abuse, family crises, sick people, or any other people in need of emotional support.

Seeing partners reconcile after long periods of constant fighting, or putting a smile on a person’s face for whom chemotherapy has drained happiness, gives me a great sense of accomplishment. It’s far more gratifying to know that your resources and talents are channeled into serving others, rather than sheltering them to be consumed solely for your own needs.

4. What’s something you’ve learned (or been surprised by) this week in IIP?

I learned a lot about creative thinking, which I found very enjoyable as I never considered myself to be a particularly creative or artistic person. I was very intrigued by how the professors at the program encourage fearlessness in the face of criticism, especially when it comes to brainstorming ideas and expressing yourself. I now believe that being able free yourself of skepticism and fear of other people’s opinions is what leads to true innovation.

5. What do you hope to get out of the program?

My main goal prior to coming to the program was to have a good time and meet interesting people. I’m glad both of these objectives have already been met. I’ve found it so interesting to meet, work with, and learn from people from different countries and backgrounds. I hope the lessons on design thinking and innovation will be useful in my professional endeavors.