Our Student Polina Shtanko - On Inspiration, Attention, and Life Within The Walls of HSE University (St. Petersburg)

Polina came to us from a seemingly distant Belarus, but she became close and dear to our HSE Arts and Culture Management family. She came with a great background in arts and culture and a great desire to learn something new, as well as to grow professionally in the cultural capital of Russia (not only in the traditional sense of the word but also from the side of modern urban art). Polina shares how her life turned upside down when she arrived in St. Petersburg, what she discovered for herself, what step she took to achieve her professional goals, and what role HSE played in her life and plans.

I'm by nature a person who is constantly looking for inspiration: in people, actions, locations. And I want to say that the Higher School of Economics is no exception! Because people who study at HSE are very rare people (according to the theory of street artist Pasha Bezor). And the rarity of HSE students is manifested in their uniqueness, creativity, originality, and openness to new experiences.

HSE is primarily about taking care of its students. It manifests itself not only in attention to details of the educational process of students but also in brand design and corporate identity. Yes, I believe that this is also to some extent a type of attention and details they make, to make us enjoy studying at HSE. So that we want to come to the university early, get a cup of coffee in Granola, then sit down in the library and work on group projects from the morning to the evening. That is so that we would like to spend more time within the walls of HSE. You then would really feel a part of the community, and I'm incredibly happy to be a part of it.

I'm currently studying in the MA Arts and Culture Management program. When I enrolled, the program was completely different. Yet already in the process of my studies on the program, some metamorphoses began to occur. And these changes happen to be just in line with my scientific interests and my field of activity.

The thing is, I'm a street art researcher and work at the Institute for Street Art Research. One of the Institute's projects is called Urban Walks, in which my colleagues and I explore the city through traces of street art.

When I entered our master's program, I set a specific goal for myself: to write a master's thesis on street art hunting.

And I'm very glad that the teachers of this program continue to support my scientific interests and provide an opportunity for the study and development of this topic.

In general, the teachers of our program are super-professionals. And I really like that the people talk to us like colleagues. This is a very mature approach. Interpersonal relationships greatly influence the work process. Therefore, it is important to initially build a relationship of trust between teachers and students.

MA Arts and Culture Management is a program where the concentration of brilliant and creative ideas per student is off the charts. I've never met so many cool and incredible guys in one place. Students here study very differently and with different backgrounds, which makes it possible to work in multidisciplinary teams and projects and gain invaluable experience. In general, at the end of my story, I had an irresistible desire to say that I'm studying at one of the coolest master's programs, with the coolest classmates and teachers.