Testimonials
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!
The whole program exceeded my initial expectations. The courses I followed were well structured and the teachers well prepared. I feel like I gained much knowledge and will certainly help my curriculum and my university studies. Saint Petersburg has amazed me in terms of its greatness: the historical buildings are richly decorated and full of history. I have nothing but dear memories from this experience and I hope I’ll be able to go back to Saint Petersburg soon!
The reasons that underpinned my decision to take part in the summer school were the international outlook of the program, the involvement of leading professors in the educational process, the visit to industrial facilities and the chance to be exposed to the Russian culture in a vibrant city as Saint-Petersburg. I am delighted that all professors, as I expected, were very knowledgeable, open-minded and positively-oriented, and also very eager to transfer their knowledge in a non-traditional (more interactive) way. Furthermore, the visit of some large electricity generation (Rosenergoatom, the branch of Leningradskaya NPP) and turbine manufacturing (REP Holding) sites was undoubtedly a cornerstone in terms of providing additional added value to the program. In addition, for the positive outcome of the school contributed the big variety of cultural activities organized during the stay. For instance, the excursions to the world-renowned The State Hermitage Museum and Peterhof Palace, and the boat trip along the Neva river were absolutely marvelous. Last but not least, all program coordinators were extremely supportive and always ready to help throughout the entire program, which has made the stay even more delightful. So this is my impression of the summer school in a nutshell. Hopefully, it will suit your needs. Please let me know if there is anything else that I have forgotten. Also, I believe that this type of international programmes are not only about acquiring new knowledge, experiencing the life in a new country with a different culture, but also about establishing new professional contacts. Hence, I am hoping that we will manage to keep our contacts successfully in the future as well. Since I don't have all the contacts of your university colleagues who have been involved in the summer school (and I don't want to miss anyone), please say hello to them from me. Lastly, I wish you a great success to all your current and future endeavours.
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!
The integration of cultural and academic activities were very fitting for the "Open your mind to Russia" course. The elements of Russian language, history, and business culture come alive in the contexts that St. Petersburg and it surroundings provide. My views of Russia and its values have changed as much as could be expected from a three-week program, due to the flexibility of the programme both in and outside the classroom. Exceeding the formalities of the programme, the uniquely internation composition of the student population, spanning east and west, offers a remarkable environment reflecting the international position of Russia.