Testimonials

SPbPU Summer School of Russian Studies happened to be exactly the one that I was looking for! I wanted to boost my Russian language skills and at the same time discover St. Petersburg. So I decided to join 2 modules: I combined a week of General Russian with 3 weeks of Russian Language for Business Communication. In fact I enjoyed both of them, and I think they were equally useful for me. “Speak as a Professional” provided me with specific knowledge, specific terminology and expressions from professional speech. On the other hand, the General Russian course was just as important because if a person wants to speak a language properly, he or she has to be fluent in different fields. For me as a translator this Summer School was an extremely valuable experience, I think the skills I obtained will be useful for my job. What is most important, all my efforts paid off: in the end of the module I successfully passed the TORFL II Exam, so I am happy and extremely grateful to SPbPU for such a high quality of programs!

Recently I finished the Summer School at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. Here I had a course “Applied Tools of the Project Development” under the conduction of Professors Olga Kolosova, Gennady Kovalenko and Olga Sosidko. I chose this course because its content is tightly related with my topic of Master’s thesis and I wanted to learn more about project risks and how to manage them. During the course Professors introduced us with risks, gave the main idea of risk management and practical skills on a few computer programs commonly used for project risks. Moreover, we had interesting excursions to the local companies, such as “Elma” and “St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry”, where we knew about project realization based on real examples of Heads of organizations. It was very useful knowledge and the best way to study the subjects on course. In addition, every day I had improved my English communication skills and gained a lot of new friends from all over the world. That’s really cool!J

The last but not the least, the cultural program and events that we had within this Summer School was great and full of fun in one of the most beautiful city of the world – St. Petersburg. Despite its unpredictable weather with quite often drizzles, we enjoyed the fascinating city architecture, historical buildings, museums, especially the world’s famous Hermitage, a lot of theatres, and cathedrals and were totally amazed by the bridges’ drawing while our late walks at white nights.

At the end, I would like to say for future students, who are planning to take part at the next Summer School at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University that “it is a unique opportunity to broaden your vision, enrich your culture, grow professionally and obtain all these unforgettable new experiences in a wonderful city called St. Petersburg”.

Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University Summer School gave me one of the best summer holidays I have ever had! From learning Russian, to improving myself on my field; from new friendships, to adventures in a new country and culture, with one word, it was "amazing!" I am still in touch with the people I get to know there and I can assure, for those who are considering to join, even 1 month will not be enough!

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.

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!