Testimonials

Magnus de Witt

I followed the summer school "OPEN YOUR MIND TO RUSSIA" in 2013, it was a well organized mix of lectures and social program. The social program shows us the most important and famous historical and cultural heritage like Peterhof and the Hermitage, but also the life in St. Petersburg nowadays. The lectures gave me a good overview about the history and culture of Russia. Moreover I got a good impression of the develop of the Russian economy. The knowledge which I gain during this two week program was very helpful for my further studying, especially for my class in "International Business and Cultural Diversity". I really like to get in contact with people from other countries therefore it was a great opportunity and I could extend my international network.

Magnus de Witt, Fontys University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands (Summer School 2013, module “Open Your Mind to Russia”)
Kantola Tuomas Mikael

There isn't nuclear engineering in bachelor level in Finland, and as I was aiming to work in nuclear industry, Nuclear Engineering Summer School in Saint Petersburg was easy choice for me. In lectures I got lots of theoretical knowledge about nuclear physics and reactors to support my practical knowledge. Lectures weren’t too formal and they had a great atmosphere, it was easy to ask more from professors and they were willing to answer. Volunteers from university also did great job guiding and helping us, who mostly didn’t know the Russian language. Our group with multiple nationalities had great time sightseeing Saint Petersburg together. I made new friends and almost learned Cyrillic letters too!

Kantola Tuomas Mikael, South-Eastern Finland University Of Applied Sciences, Finland (Summer School 2017, module “Nuclear Engineering”)
Ofelia Rivero

Awesome time with awesome people. After spending just one night at home, those three weeks in the city of Saint Petersburg seemed as a dream. From the first moment the team which organized the event made me feel more than welcome. I arrived to the city at midnight. Even in that situation someone come to the airport to receive me with a smile. I learn so much. Not only in class but also thanks to my mates of adventure. All of us came from different countries and have different culture. The variability of thoughts enriched myself. At class we really had a wonderful atmosphere and classes were interactive and interesting. What I enjoyed the most from the program were the complementary activities. I would really recommend this experience to everybody. Thank you all for the great time I had!

Ofelia Rivero, Polytechnical University of Madrid, Spain (International Polytechnic Summer School 2014, module “Civil Engineering and Design”)
Giulia Roncalli

My teacher told us about the Summer School of Russian Studies at SPbPU describing it as an outstanding experience. Frankly, I decided to take part in it out of curiosity. And then I really liked it! Russian language classes were very important for me to improve my speaking skills, also they helped me feel your language better. Apart from the Russian language course I have taken an elective Russian Business Culture course which I truly enjoyed too! I think, the module is very well organized, we had many lessons and field trips, we learnt a lot, but we also had the time to walk around the city, explore it and see lots of beautiful spots. Architecture of St. Petersburg is so inspiring! I would like to work with Russian language, probably to connect my future career with some international company, or to work in a Consulate, that is why I plan not to stop on what I achieved but to move further.

Giulia Roncalli, Ca’Foscari University of Venice, Italy (Summer School 2017, module “Focus on Russia”)
Sebastian Bialek

First of all, I like Russian language, it is very melodic for me, that is why I came here. Secondly, I am studying Power Engineering, and a huge part of the Polish energy industry is connected with Russia. So I am sure that in future I’ll use my Russian language skills effectively. For me the most interesting part of the program was the Speaking club, because there we were talking only in Russian. Since my level is not very high yet, it was quite challenging for me not to switch to English and to speak Russian as much as possible. We discussed different topics and it was indeed very practical, I enjoyed my time in St.Petersburg a lot!

Sebastian Bialek, Silesian University of Technology, Poland (Summer School 2017, module “Exploring the Russian Heritage”)