Congratulations to all faculty of the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg University on their professional holiday!

Russia celebrates The University Professor's Day for the first time. November 19, the birthday of the founder of Moscow State University and prominent Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov, became the date of the professional holiday. The establishment of a professional holiday in 2021, announced by the President of Russia as the Year of Science and Technology, will help increase the prestige of the profession of a higher education teacher. Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Valery Falkov signed the order to establish the Higher Education Day in Russia.

“To teach means not only to transfer knowledge but also to interest, to awaken the desire for new things, to teach how to ask questions correctly and find answers. At all times, the teacher's task has been to inspire and ignite curiosity, to guide and help achieve ambitious goals. And today, the teacher is also on the frontier of research knowledge and shares the best practices in research and development with students. To emphasize the value and relevance of the work of teachers, their significant role in the education of young people, we are establishing a new professional holiday. It will be celebrated annually on November 19, on the birthday of Mikhail Lomonosov, the great Russian scientist who founded the country's first university,” said Valery Falkov.

On the day of the professional holiday, we asked the faculty of the Graduate School of Management teachers at St. Petersburg University (GSOM SPbU) to tell us what research and teaching mean to them.

Tatiana Gavrilova, Professor, Head of Department, Information Technologies in Management Department, Academic Director of Master in Business Analytics and Big Data (MiBA):

"The work of a teacher is a nice job. You can help a student find himself by opening a window into the world of his discipline. The work of a teacher is creative. In each lecture, you paint a picture of the world. With their colors, in their style. The teacher’s work is also research as in addition to lectures, we are engaged in research work, we go to conferences. And what could be more interesting than creating new knowledge and sharing it with colleagues around the world? The work of a teacher is fun because we communicate with students, the most cheerful and advanced part of society. The work of a teacher is suitable for "owls" because lectures are not only in the morning. Can you name me another kind of creative, fun and interesting job that is suitable for "owls"?

 

Karina Bogatyreva, Associate Professor, Strategic and International Management Department, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship:

"Teaching and research activity for me, first of all, is the realization of creative potential. It is not enough for a teacher to simply know. It is important to be able to interest and fascinate students. So here, you can find space for creative expression, starting with creating a course program and content preparation, ending with the development of methods of active interaction with the audience and embedding technologies in the educational process. Despite the existence of strict rules for conducting research that guarantee the validity of the results, research is also a creative process. Searching for an interesting research question, thinking over the design of the study, analyzing empirical data, the moment of discovery of the "mystery" (what will they show?), and most importantly, writing a research article based on all this, which contains not just a dry academic presentation of the results, but an interesting story — all this, as in any creative profession, is very inspiring, especially when you find yourself in it."

 

Dmitry Sokolov, Assistant Professor, Organizational Behavior and Personnel Management Department:

"For me, the most valuable thing in the teacher’s work is freedom. Freedom to choose topical and actual research tasks, select the most interesting and useful content for courses, build the direction of their professional development, look for like-minded people in the academic community, and manage working time. Academic freedom allows the teacher to focus on their creativity and critical thinking when determining what is important. At the same time, such freedom works only when it is limited by responsibility to students, colleagues, the university, and society. Therefore, a teacher needs to see and critically evaluate the results of their work, primarily in the form of students' knowledge and skills and response to published research. Only a community of academically free and responsible professionals can make a significant contribution to research and carry out teaching activities that give precious knowledge to students."

 

Yury Blagov, Associate Professor, Department of Strategic and International Management, Director of the PwC Center for Corporate Social Responsibility:

"Teaching gives a person a unique opportunity to realize their professional, intellectual and ethical potential. Being a teacher is a privilege, but it is also a huge responsibility to those you teach, who believe in you, your knowledge, your ability to keep up. Only a teacher who is personally involved in the process of creating new research knowledge and is aware of their role in solving actual practical problems, applying and developing new educational technologies, will be in demand in the education market, which is rapidly changing."