HSE University Holds School of Snow in Perm Region

On February 15–17, the Winter SOS (School of Snow) was held at the Zhebrei ski resort. The event was organised by the HSE Perm Tourist Club and the Student and Alumni Centre. In addition to learning to ski and snowboard, students from all HSE University campuses developed and defended projects focused on the development of domestic tourism in their regions. SOS participants shared their impressions with the HSE News Service.

The Winter School of Snow maintains the tradition of summer hiking and rafting competitions. The initiative from the HSE Perm Tourist Club received support at the Student Project Contest, and the university-wide winter event for students, staff and teachers was organised in winter.

The Winter SOS involves:

 3 days of full immersion in joint projects

 3 days of skiing and snowboarding

 3 days of new and memorable experiences

A total of 33 HSE University students from Perm, Nizhny Novgorod, St Petersburg and Moscow took to the trails of the Zhebrei ski resort, listened to lectures, joined teams and developed projects. The School had a rich programme: Ekaterina Zagorodnova, Deputy Director of the HSE University in Perm, shared her insights of project work, while representatives of the HSE Perm Tourist Club held an introductory master class on project work. The participants then presented their ideas and split into teams to prepare projects to defend.

On the third day, the teams presented the projects to the committee, which included:

• Dmitry Artemyev, Associate Professor at the School of Management, Academic Supervisor of the programmes ‘International Bachelor's in Business and Economics’, ‘Management’, and ‘Business Administration’
• Maksim Kurganov, Head of the Project Support Unit, Head of the School of Management
• Sofia Rudnik, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Management, and Business Informatics

The students came up with a variety of projects, including a quest in the Kaliningrad region, a trip to Lake Baikal, dance workshops, a tour of St. Petersburg and more. All participants received certificates, met new friends and made lasting memories!

Vladislav Tsurkan, HSE University in Moscow

I can say that these three days spent at SOS were the best thing that has happened to me in the last few months.

I decided to participate in SOS because it was a great opportunity to make new friends, which is especially important now when students communicate with each other less because of the pandemic.

I also wanted to try skiing or snowboarding. By trial and error and with the help of other participants, I finally rode down the slope (more than once!). I can say for sure that it's worth it.

Of course, students come to SOS not only for entertainment. We worked on a project to develop tourism in Russian regions. My team and I developed a quiz tour of the historical sites of the Kaliningrad region.

The final round of the winter SOS was a project defence before a special jury. It went better than just fine—the ideas of the other teams were stunning, and the members of the jury helped us to adjust and refine our projects. These three days literally saved me from burnout, and I met the most wonderful people.

Agatha Kurnos, HSE University in St Petersburg

I decided to take part in SOS because it was vital for me to break out of my routine in my hometown, and also because I like sports and making impulsive decisions.

It's hard to describe my emotions after three days of SOS, but I'll try. I see it as a mixture of pleasant fatigue and endless happiness. I think many students will agree that we became friends in a short time.

Speaking about the project, I came up with the idea that St Petersburg is famous not only for its architecture and culture, but also for delicious food and interesting cafes. Therefore, my team and I have created a ‘Gastro-tour’ of the city to help students learn more about local culture by visiting notable places.

Participation in SOS gave me the opportunity to take a break from studies and work while learning to snowboard and skiing down the slopes. I learnt about Perm and project activities, and, most importantly, I met interesting new people whom I’ll probably never forget!

Vladislav Sokolov, HSE University in Nizhny Novgorod

I decided to take part in the event because the project covered two of my needs at once: skiing and project development. After three days of SOS, I feel full of energy and motivation to implement my projects. At SOS I was promoting a three-day quiz project in the Kaliningrad region.

Alina Borovkova, HSE University in Moscow

The most important thing for me was to get acquainted with the new student organisation, its participants, as well as guests from different campuses. We started to lose communication skills due to distance learning, and SOS managed to fix that!

We were promoting a dance project that unites dancers from different campuses. We focused on organising an intensive dance course, master classes and staging general choreography for the Student Spring project.

The students are very different; it was interesting to find an approach for everyone. And, of course, I learned to ski and overcame my fear of speed.

Maxim Chazov, HSE University in St Petersburg

I decided to take part because I knew that I would meet very interesting people, gain a lot of new knowledge and go snowboarding.

As a team, we defended a project involving a trip to Lake Baikal, which I was personally very inspired by and would like to implement. SOS gave me a boost of energy, allowed me to meet some amazing people, and taught me lot about project implementation and defending our ideas publicly.

Sonya Starkova, HSE University in Perm

My decision to take part in the event was spontaneous! I tried snowboarding and downhill skiing here for the first time. It felt no stress communicating with students from the other campuses—the very first day we met, we laughed, fell into snowdrifts together and got bruises trying to ride the slopes.