'Europe Opened up to us'
From July 10th –25th the joint Russian-Swiss Summer School took place in Moscow and Lucerne. 13 students from the HSE and 22 students from the University of Lucerne participated in it.
We have already talked about the Swiss students'visit to the HSE as part of this Summer School. The programme of the two-week Russian students'visit to Switzerland included lectures, visits to companies, discussions on Russian and Swiss cultural traditions and work on projects in mixed groups. Before the Russian participants'departure from Switzerland project presentations were held. Students of the host country also organized excursions and told the guests about the history, politics, economics, culture and traditions of their country. Such informal communication helped build a clear impression about Switzerland, to which academic knowledge was added during the meetings with experts.
Kristina Zavarykina, 3rd-year student of the HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, and Vladimir Khimochko, 4th-year student of the HSE Faculty of Economics, told us about the Swiss stage of the Summer School.
—What was the programme of the visit to Switzerland?
Kristina Zavarykina: First of all, the programme included an educational part. We listened to various lectures on the political system of Switzerland, on economics, tourism and banking. These lectures were supported by a practical part:we visited the Bundeshaus in Bern, which is the Parliament of the Swiss Confederation, and visited hotels when were studying tourism.
Vladimir Khimochko: The programme was very interesting. After a small lecture course we had an informal follow up:communication with professors, where we could discuss the topics we'd studied and express our opinions. Through examples they showed us how things work in Switzerland and how they do business. As an illustration, they told about the construction of a large spa center.
K. Zavarykina: One of the tasks at the school was to defend a project. It should be a Russian-Swiss project, bilateral. The teachers worked with us, helped and answered our questions.
—What projects did you defend?
V. Khimochko: I was in a group which presented a project on people's behaviour in a city, about architectural protection. We compared the situation in Moscow and in some Swiss cities. We came to several interesting conclusions, though they were similar to conclusions of other project groups:if a person is not willing to develop himself nor to see others developing, nothing will happen in terms of architectural development, heritage protection, banking, political development and so on.
K. Zavarykina: I participated in another project. We compared key parameters of wealth and standard of living. We marked out three relative groups of the population:students, employees and pensioners. We compared income per person, educational systems and life expectancy by categories in Russia and Switzerland. The results were quite interesting. It seems that a lot depends on the political system and political life within the country. In Switzerland, for example, any suggestion can be put to a referendum, and in Russia this is impossible. The Swiss can make sure that such active efforts lead to amendments to laws and to socially important decision-making. They feel more confident and believe that a lot depends on every single person.
V. Khimochko: What surprised me was the attitude to people there. They treat a fruit seller and a politician the same. And if any politician makes a mistake, it immediately becomes common knowledge;it is discussed and judged by people.
—What do you remember the most?
K. Zavarykina: My heart's in the highlands! I remembered the Day of tourism. It took place in one of the hotels which is a former military bunker, just slightly redeveloped. People come there to get away from civilization and its attendant stress. Nothing distracts you there! The nature is wonderful:mountains and mountains all around. The weather was better than in Moscow, much cooler. We were even cold, and some of us had to buy jackets.
V. Khimochko: I made two Swiss friends. The project we worked on was, of course, important for our professional growth. But for me other things are more important. Communication with people from other countries changes your view of the world and your way of thinking. This is a unique experience. I also remember visiting the Museum of Transport.
—Who participated in the Summer School from the Swiss side?
K. Zavarykina: They were undergraduate and master's students of the University of Lucerne. There were slightly more of the latter. Most of them study business administration, marketing and communication.
V. Khimochko: It is remarkable that our groups - Russian and Swiss - were so different in age. Our average age was 19 - 20, while the youngest of them was 23, and on average they were 25 - 26 years old. One of the participants was even about 40, and one student from Brazil who studies in Lucerne, was 30something. But it was definitely not an obstacle for communication.
K. Zavarykina: In Switzerland school graduates don't always want to immediately enter a university. They work, travel and look for what interests them. They do not spend time and money on education in vain. And immediately after graduation, they start working and reach career peaks. If it is necessary, they enter master's courses, but only if they understand it is necessary. If they don't need it, they don't waste their time.
—What are your plans related to your participation in this Summer School?
K. Zavarykina: My only plan is to keep in contact with the people I met. They are very different and very interesting. I also would like to travel more. We spoke to professors from the host nation and they told us Switzerland is not really Europe. It is not part of the European Union, it stays neutral and has its own currency. So I would like to see other European countries. I also have had an idea to make something related to Switzerland the topic of my research work. Such a topic would be interesting to research with the support of the people I met at the Summer School.
V. Khimochko: New contacts might mean new projects. Probably there will be joint research. For me Europe is a source of information and an opportunity for further study. Earlier, it was something far and unreal. Now Europe is open for me, there are no barriers. I could continue my education there. Many universities offer programmes for international students. We understood that it is possible to study abroad, but I do not just understand there is the theoretical possibility to study in a master's course abroad - I have even started looking for options.
K. Zavarykina: Yes, I can agree with that. I thought that it would be hard to study in another country:there are such barriers as language, an unknown university, and the people are different... Of course, everything is different there, but it is not scary any more.
—Was there more informal communication, education or research?
V. Khimochko: Informal communication was everywhere:starting with the morning seminars and lectures and the subsequent discussions, and ending with evening meetings in cafes, where we discussed some problems, our impressions of the day and so on.
K. Zavarykina: The Swiss participants were more occupied with their work, for them it was one of the requirements for the participation in the school. Hence they could spend less time with us and did not attend all the meetings. There was a lot of informal communication. But, nevertheless, there was even more studying - we always had some presentations or papers to read. So, the organizers made the right decision:education was the priority. And it was well supported with communication, which was easy and informal.
Andrey Shcherbakov, HSE News Service