International Student Forum Passed at ASU

The International Student Forum “Students’ New Role in Educational Processes Quality Enhancement” has been over at Astrakhan State University.

“The agenda’s complete for 100 %” – this is a unanimous opinion of both its organizers and participants. During the two days when the event was held, its participants have been discussing modern methods to enhance the quality of education; they have been sharing experience of the universities that they represented and trying to find solutions to issues that were essential for them.

It was the panel discussion “New Tools of Educational Process Quality Management” that has become one of the most polemical items on the event agenda. Its key speakers have demonstrated a satirical cartoon that reflects widely spread models and stereotypes of relations between a professor and his/her student. After watching the cartoon, the event participants have discussed what they have seen by applying the method of focused discussion; they have extrapolated the watched situations to their own lives as a student. Then the audience considered tools to manage the quality of educational process that our University applies: technological charts, express tests, visual control cards, etc.

The master class given by Dr. Denis Akhapkin, Director of the Center for Writing & Critical Thinking of Saint Petersburg State University, has produced a bright and a vivid impression on the audience. During an hour, the master class participants have been presenting their thoughts, views, and ideas about what they have seen and read. “I aimed to demonstrate some techniques of interactive work that we use in our interactive program “Free Arts & Sciences” in Saint Petersburg to my Astrakhan peers and students”, Dr. Akhapkin remarked. “We arrange such events in Russia’s cities and towns regularly, and now we’re in Astrakhan, and I’m really glad to find myself here!”

The Forum participants have highly appreciated experience gained during the following events: the podium discussion “Modern Engineering Application”, the strategic session “Open Educational Environment”, the business game “Do Better Than Us”, the master class “Visualization of Educational Process by Student Media”, and the discussion site “Reflection of Modern Life, Culture, Traditions, and Ethnic Identity of Peoples within University Educational Environment”.

Summing up the outcomes of the event, Prof. Alexander Treshyov, Vice Rector for Academic Activities of ASU, has emphasized originality of the Forum that has been arranged mostly by students. “We tried to stay as far away from our students’ arrangements as possible: we gave them a complete carte-blanche, but we watched the process and we ran it in some extent. This Forum has proved that issues on its agenda can be tackled in another way by creating an environment (be it educational or creative) for students to demonstrate their leadership qualities, critical thinking, and creativity the best way possible. Thus, we form a personality who’s able to alter the quality of the educational process”, this is what the Vice Rector has remarked.

As for Sanan Gamidov, Director of ASU’s Unit of Strategic Planning & Student Projects Management, he has highly appreciated the value of the results obtained at the Forum: “Such events are not just productive talks and finding new friends. The Forum has made it possible to find particular solutions that both our University and other universities could apply to enhance the quality of the educational process afterwards”.

The official closing ceremony of the Forum has taken place at the Cultural Center of University Building # 5. The Organizing Committee has named the winners of the Media School Projects Contest that has taken place at our University at the same time as the Forum: all its participants have obtained a certificate of participation, whereas its winners have got diplomas and valuable prizes. At the end of the event, there was a concert that had previously won a prize at the students’ socialization competition “2015 Festival of Student Theaters at Astrakhan State University”.

Russian original information source: T.Yu. Gavrilkina (the University Web Resources Information Support Laboratory of ASU)

Russian original photo source: the TV Media Center of ASU