Our Student Participates in 2015 Gaidpark Summer Discussion School

Pavel Zhidkov, a student of the Department of World Economy & Management of ASU, has taken part in the 2015 Gaidpark Summer Discussion School that has been held from June 28 to July 06, 2015 in Moscow. The School is backed by the Yegor Gaidar Charity Fund*.

The Gaidpark Summer Discussion School is an educational program for students who are either at their 3rd or 4th year of a bachelor program, or at their 1st year of a master program and who specialize in the field of Economics or Sociology and Humanities. The School makes it possible to involve students in active discussion of economical, historical, and social issues, to provide them with high-quality expert information. The theme of the 2015 School is “New History. Myths about Past & Open Future”. The contest between candidates who wished to take part in this School has been very high: university students from 40 cities of Russia have taken part in it. As a result of the entrance contest, 121 students have been chosen. As for Astrakhan State University, it has been represented by Pavel Zhidkov who studies at its Department of World Economy & Management. During the four days of the contest, his team was a leader. Finally, it has taken the 3rd place. One should remark that Pavel’s team has gained a high assessment by the jurors twice as the best presentation in its nomination.

Lectures delivered by professional journalists and key researchers of the Higher School of Economics (one of Russia’s most prestigious universities) – Leonid Parfyonov (a well-known TV producer and news presenter), Alexei Kudrin (a former Federal Minister of Finances), Alexander Auzan (Dean of the Faculty of Economics at Lomonosov Moscow State University) were available for the 2015 School participants. Issues concerned in their lectures had much to do with themes for the participants’ teams to discuss. Together with experts, the School participants have been searching for answers to questions how the national past influences the national political and economic development, how predetermined the national future is, and why each country considers that its own national development path is unique.

“It was more and more interesting there. We were a friendly team. We got useful skills. I had to be prepared for each of my public speeches beforehand to be able to provide well-grounded arguments in favor of my position within a short time”, this is what Pavel has told us. The School has made it possible for its participants to express their opinion in a wide range of public issues, present their ideas for experts to assess and judge, and obtain good practical and theoretical experience.

* Yegor Gaidar (1956 – 2009) is a former Russian Prime Minister. The name of the Summer School, which is arranged by the Charity Fund bearing his name, is a derivative of his family name. It has nothing to do with Hyde Park in London (the text translator’s note).

Russian original information source: Ilgar Melikov (the Department of Philology & Journalism of ASU)

Russian original photo source: the 2015 School participants