See you soon in Zittau?

Polar bears in the streets and vodka for breakfast? Last week in St. Petersburg, students from the Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences and the Department of Electrical Engineering had the chance to see for themselves whether there’s any truth to these and other stereotypes about Russia and its people. The students accepted an invitation from the Saint Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics, and Optics (ITMO for short) and spent five days in this beautiful city as part of International Students’ Week.

The focus of the excursion was the Russian language and an immersion in Russian culture, with everything that goes along with it: learning the Cyrillic alphabet, guided tours of ITMO’s facilities and laboratories, a city tour, and various visits to historic buildings such as the Hermitage and the Church of the Resurrection. Delighted by the hospitality of their Russian hosts, the students explored the city after their classes together with their buddies Sascha, Anna, and Veronika.

While the students were cramming Russian vocabulary (or perhaps not), a representative from the HSZG’s International Office (IO) attended the International Partner Days, to which ITMO University had invited its partner universities. In addition to exchanging experiences with the International Office team regarding mobility programs such as Erasmus+, the focus was on getting to know ITMO as a research institution. Impressive young researchers guided the participants through their laboratories and explained the various research papers. In addition, a Students’ Fair offered all ITMO students the opportunity to learn about, among other things, the HSZG’s degree programs. It became clear that demand for English-language degree programs, in particular, is also growing among the Russian student body.

During an on-site visit to the International Office of Saint Petersburg State University of Economics (UNECON), another St. Petersburg partner university of the HSZG in the field of economics, during an on-site visit, helpful information was exchanged, and plans were made to further expand exchange opportunities in the future. A meeting at the branch office of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to discuss various funding opportunities rounded out the St. Petersburg program for the HSZG’s International Office.

Conclusion of the ITMO Week from all participants: A complete success! The farewell from the German students’ Russian buddies was especially heartfelt: “Do svidaniya” in Zittau? And for anyone who’s now curious: Students’ Week at ITMO will take place again next year!

A heartfelt thank you goes out to Prof. Jana Brauweiler, who, together with Prof. Olga Sergienko from ITMO, initiated the double-degree program in the “Integrated Management” degree programme and thus made this trip possible in the first place.

See you in Zittau?

The trip was funded by the “Eastern Partnerships” project of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as well as by the European Union’s Erasmus+ program.