From 12 to 22 of November The Talent Academy in association with The National Library of Russia and Graduate School of Management of Saint Petersburg University (GSOM SPbU) held a professional program for schoolchildren of St. Petersburg. It is a shortened educational program: as a part of this event there are workshops and seminars devoted to project management. The result is a protection of creative projects which are created by participants with the help of literature and management experts. 

Educational events of the program were organised on partners` space. Actually, GSOM SPbU gave participants an intensive course on the 18th of November, devoted to project management. During the lesson in “Mikhailovskaya Dacha” high school students learnt about principles of organization of cultural projects and what soft-skills and knowledge are required for the successful protection of the project.

In order to make a creative project organizers divided program for 4 theme blocks to the children — “Literature and library”, “Text in art”, “Working with a word”, “A word and modern technologies”. Participation of pupils in the intensive course with GSOM SPbU specialists, devoted to project management, helped to decide on the format of the final project (literary essay, videoclip or another format based on the text) and its further realization in cultural, scientific and educational establishments.

‘There is a stereotypical opinion that cultural and art specialists do not need to know anything about management — that is, of course, not true. Any project includes working in a team, defining goals and setting tasks, making financial analysis and so on. There would be no exhibitions, festivals, no conferencies or contests, no printed books without these knowledge or skills. Management skills   will be appropriate for specialists of any area, said an employee of the Russian Multinational Companies Center and GSOM SPbU global business, Darya Klishevich. 

An expert of the program, Director Adviser in development and project activities of The National Library of Russia, Polina Davydova added: `Project type of mindset is not typical for creative people. It is hard for them to learn about methods and technologies of project activities. However, effective creative self-realization is impossible without project logic nowadays. Thanks to the skills that they now have on the GSOM SPbU`s project track, program's participants will be able to realize their own projects which they created on the base of knowledge from The National Library of Russia. The partnership of this Library, The Talent Academy and Saint-Petersburg State University created a premium atmosphere which is comfortable for making an educational and professional path for gifted seniors – future humanitarians’.

The project participants emphasized that the format of the intensive course was extraordinary and interesting and left some feedback in social media:

• ‘Paper horses, sketches about soft-skills. ‘What problem am I solving?’. that is not just phrases, random events or objects. It is a day in GSOM SPbU, it is a project activity’ (Anastasia Mokshanikhina)
• ‘There is everything in GSOM SPbU: tasty food, great cabinets and wonderful way of giving information. If you want to find yourself and learn everything about projects — this place is just for you’ (Alina Nickiforova)

Authors of best projects working on which is beginning in the framework of the professional shift “Humanitarium”, will achieve their certificates from The National Library of Russia. It will give pupils an opportunity to enter the university on the target base (only St. Petersburg universities and only humanitarian educational programs).