“PetrSU provides systemic and deep knowledge”

S.V. Andriainen, a graduate of the Institute of History, Political and Social Sciences of PetrSU, Associate Professor of the Department of International Relations, Mediology, Political Science and History of the St. Petersburg State University of Economics, became the winner of the All-Russian competition of innovative educational technologies “Best young teacher 2021” in the nomination “Best young associate professor “in the field of” Humanities “.
Stanislav Valterovich shared his memories of his studies and student life at PetrSU:

When I finished school, it was obvious that PetrSU is the strongest university in Petrozavodsk and Karelia. Therefore, the choice was clear – only PetrSU. In addition, the image of PetrSU should not be underestimated. I was finishing school in a small industrial city in the North, and when I arrived in Petrozavodsk, I saw the main building on Lenin Avenue, all this Stalinist scale and fundamentality – it also made a great impression on me. It was clear that only very smart and important people could study and work in such a serious building. I wanted to get to them.

Since childhood, I was a boy who was passionately fond of history, so I entered the specialty “History”, the history faculty of PetrSU (now – the Institute of History, Political and Social Sciences). Not once since then have I regretted my “historical” choice.

The Institute of History, Political and Social Sciences of PetrSU has a rich history, traditions, they taught there seriously, according to a well-established program. A good balance between classroom theory and practice is essential. That was exactly how it was at PetrSU.

The Institute of History, Political and Social Sciences of PetrSU is also an excellent selection of staff. I still remember with gratitude my teachers. I will not name all of them, otherwise I will forget someone and thereby offend. But when I had already left to study for graduate school in St. Petersburg, I always proudly answered the question: “Where and with whom did you study?” The answer was simple: “Department of History of PetrSU, scientific advisor Ivan Vladimirovich Savitsky!” But I remember everyone. Many thanks to Vera Ivanovna Perova: I am still proud of the “five”, which she gave me for the test on the history of Ancient Greece. Of the 60 people who wrote this test, I was the only one who passed it 5/4. I am proud of this result no less than the competitions and exams in the magistracy – Vera Ivanovna made such an impression on us. It was just like getting an order. Thanks to everyone: Sergey Gennadievich Verigin, Tatiana Nikolaevna Zhukovskaya, Alexander Vasilyevich Antoshchenko, Svetlana Nikolaevna Filimonchik – the list goes on for a long time. I was very upset when I learned that Alexander Alekseevich Kozhanov died in May 2021 – wise, smart and calm. This is how I remember him.

The university gave me a lot. It is no exaggeration to say that I became what I am thanks to PetrSU. The university provides a solid base of scientific knowledge in the chosen specialty. No YouTube course, no independent reading of books and sources can replace daily intensive communication with teachers and other students. If a person learns on his own, then inevitably there is a temptation to skip some topics that seem boring and secondary to him. But the Faculty of History proved to me that the subjects “Source Study” and “Historiography”, boring by the name, are in fact very important. Without studying them, you won’t be able to be a professional historian. The university provides exactly systemic and deep knowledge.

University teaches you how to study. This is indeed the case. The knowledge you have acquired becomes obsolete, but thanks to the methods and working skills laid down in PetrSU, you can develop further on your own.

PetrSU is the place of my growing up. There I met my friends. In the university gym in the evenings I was actively involved in sports. For five years my life revolved around Lenin Avenue and Anokhin Street, where we mainly studied. It was in PetrSU that I was formed as a person. And despite all the years I have lived, in my heart I still remain a boy from the history department, for whom seminars and scholarly books are a joy.

The victory in the All-Russian m competition is, innovative educational technologies “Best Young Teacher 2021” Stanislav Valterovich said:

As it is customary to say now, this was going beyond the “comfort zone”. It is important for any adult to periodically pose new challenges.

At my main job, everything is clear and familiar, but at the competition it was necessary to find contact with students from another university, whom you see for the first time. You had to describe the techniques that you use in your work and do it so that other people understand it.

In addition, the competition was held in a remote format, therefore, in addition to writing text files, several videos had to be recorded (and edited). It was a new and interesting experience for me.

What did the competition give me? First, the experience of communicating with new interesting people. The competition was attended by teachers of universities and colleges from all over Russia. What wonderful colleagues came to the final of the competition from Tyumen, the Republics of Chechnya, Tatarstan and dozens of other regions! Being with them, I was charged with their energy, thirst for new experience, received from them new knowledge and methods of work.

Secondly, it is useful for a teacher to periodically play the role of a “contestant” who came to the exam. Still, most of the time we, teachers, stand in front of the student audience and with an air of importance utter some things that we consider to be true. This is a specific situation in which one can “bronze”, turn into a monument to oneself. And when you participate in the competition, record and send videos and files with assignments, answer the questions of the expert commission, then you again feel like a student, you see the situation from a different angle. This is a very useful psychological technique (at least for me), which allows you to recharge with new emotions.