Testimonials

IM was a course that I was looking long time to learn, and I did it in Russia. I really enjoyed the classes, not only the one that I focused at the beginning... I enjoyed all of them, particularly the class of Russian Civilization and its Architecture, where after a few trips to Saint Petersburg, I could understand the meaning and have more information about some buildings that I saw daily before.

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!

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!

Summer School of Russian Studies in SPbPU was one of the best decisions I made this summer! Having the opportunity to visit Russia allowed me to learn the Russian language, culture and history.

I came away with a much greater appreciation for a country that doesn’t get much publicity. In particular, SPbPU was a great host university. From arranging to receive us from the airport to ensuring we are settled into our accommodation, SPbPU made us feel very welcome in a very foreign land. The White Nights programme was planned really well, as we had a very experienced language tutor in class, as well as a very knowledgeable guide who accompanied us for all the ‘field trips’.

We were treated to visits to places such as the Hermitage, Peterhof Palace, and they even arranged for us to see the opening of the iconic drawbridges at night! Lastly, for such a complete experience in St Petersburg, SPbPU ensured that it was all kept really affordable, especially so when compared to other summer study programmes elsewhere. Would definitely recommend this programme to others!

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.