The experience of developing a hybrid form of education of the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg University (GSOM SPbU) and VTB Bank was presented at the annual Microsoft Educational Forum in Moscow.

Alexander Bayzarov, Head of the Hybrid Learning Project, Advisor at VTB Bank, spoke about the philosophy and values of hybrid learning, the experience of creating classrooms at the Mikhailovskaya Dacha campus, and approaches to implementing digital solutions in higher education.

“Responding to the challenges of the pandemic and the request of the university community to return to classrooms under the ongoing restrictions, VTB Bank has invested in the development of a hybrid form of education at partner universities. Thanks to GSOM SPbU, it was possible to make not just a technical solution, but a full-fledged methodology of teaching and learning in a hybrid format. Already now we see that our joint work has made it possible to create a solution at the level of the world's leading universities and EdTech providers. Based on the results of testing the format in the fall semester, we can say that the created solution provides a good educational experience for students, is simple in management and technical support, and is reasonably priced.”

Now three hybrid classrooms have been deployed on the Mikhailovskaya Dacha campus for the simultaneous teaching of students online and offline using a special methodology. When creating them, the technical team of the project was guided by the use of advanced NDI / Dante data processing protocols, the rejection of proprietary (ed. - having restrictions) components and the maximum automation of management for the use of classrooms in self-service mode. To connect online participants, the Microsoft Teams Room solution is integrated into the overall architecture of the classroom.

GSOM SPbU has been cooperating with Microsoft for several years. The Business school uses cloud solutions to provide educational and administrative processes. Microsoft Teams became the foundation platform for the emergency transition to distance learning in March 2020.