Political Science on Vacation: How to Level Up
Anna Shabanova, a first-year student of the Master's programme 'Comparative Politics of Eurasia', has received funding from the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) for participating in a virtual summer school dedicated to political research methodology. Taking part in summer and winter schools of various international organisations is an auxiliary facility to deepen methodological and research skills.
Anna Shabanova, a first-year student of the Master's programme 'Comparative Politics of Eurasia', has received funding from the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) for participating in a virtual summer school dedicated to political research methodology. Taking part in summer and winter schools of various international organisations is an auxiliary facility to deepen methodological and research skills.
Anna Shabanova, a first-year student of the Master's programme 'Comparative Politics of Eurasia':
My groupmate told me about the call for applications, and I decided to try my hands and participate in the School. Deep knowledge in methodology is important for my current studies and my prospective PhD research. Fortunately, HSE offers students the opportunity to get financing since it belongs to the association. I had to select a course that I was interested in and write a cover letter. On the recommendation of my colleague, I chose the course 'Working with Concepts' by Frederic Schaffer, a professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
I believe that the seminar will teach me to determine the theoretical and empirical orientation of my research and will improve my critical thinking and a general understanding of academic standards, which is essential in our field.
I would recommend that everyone who strives to improve the quality of their intellectual labour follow the information on the ECPR website and take part in the association's events.
Besides, many international summer and winter schools provide applicants having the most interesting and elaborated applications with the opportunity to cover the costs of the participation. Saint Petersburg School of Social Sciences and Area Studies support participants financially as well. The applications are selected on a competitive basis and are subject to the approval of the academic council of the educational programme. Given the diversity of student backgrounds, which are not always related to political and social sciences, opportunities like these are especially important. Participating in courses and schools, students obtain knowledge and skills to apply modern tools of political research, network, brainstorm and share ideas, by which they consolidate the global research community.
Thus, the School has footed the bill for Daria Bobarykina and Mackenzie Tubridy, students of the research track in the programme 'Comparative Politics of Eurasia' with an area of concentration in methodology, in ECPR - 2021 Winter School. The academic council of the programme, along with the Dean of the School, decided to confirm the financing of Mackenzie Tubridy's and Daniele Stracquadanio's applications for participation in the annual IPSA – HSE Summer School. It is dedicated to research methods in political and social sciences and is organised by International Political Science Association (IPSA) and HSE University. Besides, the School has also supported Mackenzie Tubridy in participating in another ECPR summer workshop.
Student participation in various conferences serves as an additional mean for developing student research and presentation skills. The School annually hosts the October Readings that has a section and International Conference on Inequality and Diversity. Students can apply for various international conferences and, provided that they have high academic achievements and motivation, they have an opportunity to get the school's financial aid to cover the associated costs.