Associate Professor from the St Petersburg School of Economics and Management Becomes a Winner of the All-Russian Competition 'Knowledge.Lecturer'
Liudmila Veselova, Associate Professor at the Department of Management, HSE University-St Petersburg, is among 70 winners of the All-Russian Competition for enlighteners 'Knowledge.Lecturer'. In early February, the National Centre 'Russia' in Moscow hosted a grand awarding ceremony. Find out how the selection of the best lecturers in the country went in our article.
The competition 'Knowledge.Lecturer' is a flagship project of the Russian association 'Knowledge'. The fourth season gathered more than 19 thousand people. Among the winners of 27 regions is the academic supervisor of the Master's programme 'International Business in the Asia-Pacific Region' at HSE University-St Petersburg.
'For some years, I've been observing the activities of the association 'Knowledge'. I like the events, which they organise, and the experts, who they invite. These are always highly qualified specialists in their spheres. At the beginning of the last year, I got a newsletter from HSE University. My colleagues offered me to participate in the competition, and I decided to try my hand at it', says Liudmila Veselova.
The competition participants had to prepare a unique lecture on one of 14 topics and organise a series of public talks in their region. The way to the finals consisted of seven stages, and each of them required a specific approach.
Liudmila Veselova
Associate Professor of the School of Economics and Management, Winner of the All-Russian competition 'Knowledge.Lecturer'
The topic of my lecture was Russian-Chinese economic relations. I was talking about how to run a business with partners from Asia and which cross-cultural communicative peculiarities to take into account. It's interesting for both adults and school students. For the latter, the content was easier, it was interesting for them to guess how the Chinese are different from us. In total, I delivered about 15 lectures. An important condition was to address different audiences. One thing is to invite your students, make an open presentation or organise a workshop for business representatives but another is to work with school students. I don't usually interact with children because I work in master's programmes with adult students. Delivering lectures to children is a challenge after which nothing is scary. If you can spark a teenager's interest, you can do anything. Another challenge is to find a place for lectures—you need not only public speaking skills but also organisational ones.
The final round of the competition 'Knowledge.Lecturer' welcomed 140 strongest participants from 52 Russian regions. The final stage was held in the form of a three-day intensive course with workshops, lectures and interactive events.
Liudmila Veselova
Associate Professor of the School of Economics and Management, Winner of the All-Russian competition 'Knowledge.Lecturer'
We were fighting for victory with the representatives of different Russian regions: Kazan, Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Vladivostok, Kaliningrad, Volgograd... We had to present our lectures to the experts in person. Among the juries were writers, actors, TV journalists and bloggers. Of course, it added some stress.
The results were announced during the grand awarding ceremony. They called my name at the very end when I was ready to admit defeat. Emotions ran high. The event was broadcast on VK, and all my friends and family watched it. It was very pleasant.
Apart from the main reward, participation in the competition gave Liudmila Veselova additional opportunities: new professional contacts, experience in working with different audiences, a course on public speaking and a special prize—a recording of a podcast about Asia and China with 'Russian Radio'.
'Thanks to the competition, I have expanded my personal network, we keep in touch with many participants and experts. My lectures at schools aroused the interest of high school students, and plenty of them want to enrol in our university. According to the competition terms, I have to deliver another series of lectures for the association 'Knowledge', that's why I encourage you to monitor the announcements and participate', says the winner.
The next season of the competition 'Knowledge.Lecturer' has already started. The participants receive an opportunity to get into regional teams of lecturers, improve their public speaking skills and find their audience. The winners are developing educational projects on the federal level.
Liudmila Veselova
Associate Professor of the School of Economics and Management, Winner of the All-Russian competition 'Knowledge.Lecturer'
I recommend this competition to absolutely everyone. It is an awesome, interesting environment, these are inspiring people. In general, it seems to me that the art of presentation, public speaking skills and communication are something important for any profession right now. For young people, it is definitely a must-have.
The Russian association 'Knowledge' roots back to 1947. The representatives of the Soviet intellectuals engaged in the promotion of science, and delivered lectures on the achievements of Soviet agriculture and production sectors. In 2016, 'Knowledge of Russia' was transformed into the educational organisation 'Russian Association «Knowledge»'.