In late February, Saint Petersburg’s magnificent streets, colourful facades, and its cultural as well as its (particularly lively, I must say) nightlife are shrouded in wintry magic, and the Nordic vibes of the city are so cosy that they give you the feeling you’ve just stepped into a different dimension of the existence. That alone is so overwhelmingly beautiful that you’d think that this city just can’t offer much more than that.

Well, you’d be wrong, as I discovered while attending the Winter School in Russian language and Culture organised by Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University – one of the city’s oldest and most prestigious academic centres.

I enrolled out of curiosity. I wanted to brush up on my Russian and didn’t really expect much of the program, but, turns out, I was surprised right from the start. One of the best things about this experience was the highly professional staff – the teachers are well-trained, widely read, energetic and ready to answer any question you might come up with, whether it is about the Russian Dative, Dostoyevsky or the history of the city. For someone interested in art and history, the afternoon sessions will be delightful. The teachers are knowledgeable and eloquent, and the program coordinator makes sure you have everything you need to enjoy the time you’re spending there. It was, overall, an unforgettable experience, which successfully combined studying, sightseeing, and having fun!

Thank you all for working so hard and making it possible!

My time at Polytechnic University of Saint Petersburg was an all-out amazing experience. From start to finish I was surrounded by wonderful people. Upon arrival at the airport I had all the help I could ask for by one of the students of the university. This led to an immediate feeling of ease. From the first day of the course up until the last our class was taken good care off. The start in the impressive main building was organized in great fashion, and after the introduction we had a little general information which all proved to be very useful. To end the day there was a little pub quiz which led to a lot of people being able to come together and form friendships. The teacher was an expert in her course and made the lessons very easy to pick up on. The cultural program was interesting as well, the ability to visit the Hermitage with its seemingly endless works of art and the astonishing Winter Palace. The lovely people who organized everything for us even ended up joining my group of friends for a birthday dinner/drink. After that we even went out for dinner multiple times during our stay and this sort of feeling that you’re more a group of friends than students/organizers made my stay and that of my fellow students unforgettable. All in all I can not recommend people enough to take the chance to attend a summer or winter school event and have the opportunity to meet the most amazing people from the school itself and your fellow students who attend the courses.

The summer school was an excellent experience and I am very grateful that Polytech gave me the opportunity to experience Russia firsthand and make my dream of learning Russian possible on a scholarship. I made so many close friends there and got to visit so many different cultural sites that I would not have visited otherwise. The most amazing thing that I witnessed there was the White nights. A great thank you to everyone who made the summer school possible and for providing me with a perspective of Russia that I would not have gotten otherwise.

I have participated in the module “Global Entrepreneurship”. Teachers really motivated us to work on our own project. During this project we learned how design thinking works and we got inspired on how to develop entrepreneurial thinking. Our team had people from France, Russia, Italy, China and Germany. So we got a great experience of working in international team and learned to see where we have our strengths and how we can support each other to get better. So it was a great adventure for me! Also Saint-Petersburg is a very beautiful city and the campus has the great location with all the parks around which makes it a perfect place to work and study. Thank you very much to all who have organized this course!

The summer school was highly enjoyable. I met some wonderful people and became acquainted with the incredible city of St. Petersburg. I very much valued the experience of being immersed in the Russian culture as well as talking with people from all over the world. I remain in awe of the city's history, design and philosophy and remember my time at the summer school fondly.