Volunteering for St. Petersburg Students
All students sooner or later face the question of how to turn a few faded lines in their CV into a real story that will capture the admissions committee, employers, and other potential readers. It is quite difficult to do this when burning deadlines overtake and the session is already cautiously wandering behind. But do not despair, because in addition to combining work, there are other ways to quickly and usefully fill out the extracurricular activities column in your resume - namely, using the most popular method: volunteering.
St. Petersburg students are incredibly lucky in terms of volunteering opportunities because the possibilities vary widely in their duration and scale. HSE Model of United Nations is currently the most beneficial option for St. Petersburg HSE students, which represents not only formal usefulness, but also an opportunity to earn credits. It can be described as a rather large-scale project, carried out for several years in a row, which gives students a chance to try themselves in scientific activities, feel like a real delegate and practice debates in English with representatives of other countries or UN offices. This type of volunteering will give you the opportunity to get to know the internal organization of the conference, which has already become one of the symbols of the HSE, improve the process of the passage and help create a favorable atmosphere for participants and other employees. In addition, if you want to diversify your list of achievements, do not limit yourself to just helping, but also participate! In the future, the skills of debating and analytical thinking will undoubtedly come in handy, and for political scientists it will be a good practice to study the international agenda.
The next great option that will allow you to get acquainted with international culture as you carry out your activities is the International Cultural Forum. This event has been held annually for almost a decade in St. Petersburg and consists of representatives from a dozen countries from Europe and Asia. Each year of this event is dedicated to a specific country theme, so if you are interested in the culture of any geographical region, then stay tuned! The event itself lasts about a week and a huge plus for volunteers is that the choice of the type of activity varies greatly: from accreditation, to accompanying in the Mariinsky Theater itself or working as a guide in the Hermitage. Therefore, by participating, you will not only get to know other participants and employees, but you can also broaden your horizons and practice communication or team-building, which is especially important for future curators.
For students of the Faculty of Philology and just lovers of literature, volunteering at the Book Salon will not only be an opportunity to prove yourself as a responsible coordinator or assistant, but also to get acquainted with outstanding writers in their spare time shifts, as well as get unforgettable impressions from planned events, for example, literary mail throughout Russia or even a poetry competition! Moreover, this event will not take too much of your valuable time, as it only lasts about three days.
The list of opportunities for young students does not end there. Most HSE students have a tick in the field of participation in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, a huge annual conference that opens up opportunities for students not only to expand their CV, but also to meet potential future employers or even develop their own small business. At the event, in addition to working at the information desk and assisting, there are many sectors where enthusiastic students need help. The conference will be especially useful for representatives of the Faculty of Economics, since the lectures are quite intensive, but anyone can prove themselves during them and become noticed for a potential employer company. And believe me, you will have enough time for this, because the event only lasts for four days, not counting organizational aspects.
Perhaps one of the most diverse conferences to participate in will be the Roscongress Foundation: the theme of the events is the most outstanding and affects virtually all regions of Russia. Speaking directly about St. Petersburg, the Nevsky Ecological Congress, which includes many open conversations and lectures, will be useful for students and representatives of the green movement - and this is a great opportunity to become part of such a unique project. However, be careful and follow the updates in the city you are based in you can take part not only in St. Petersburg, but also during a trip to your home region!
The Labor Forum will also be a good option to participate, especially if you are interested in taking a closer look at organizations in which you will be able to train or even work in the future. And not only that: the event is full of open discussions on the topic of the labor market in the CIS, Europe, all over the world. Both economists who are most interested in the topic and representatives of other fields are invited to participate: political science, logistics and many others. You will have enough time to help the organizers of the event, but also to learn useful knowledge for future employment. In addition, the adjacent event is the Youth International Labor Forum, where you will be able to attend a set of not lesser entertaining lectures and make sure that the internship which you chose is the right one for you.
Completing our list of volunteering is the most extensive event that will not only be useful for filling out lines in your resume, but also just for getting an unforgettable life experience - VK Fest! Based on last year's experience of our students, you can be sure that this is one of the most unforgettable experiences that a volunteer can experience. And most importantly, HSE is one of the honored guests of this Fest! As a representative of one of the stands, you can choose any topic to your taste, starting with technology and ending with poetry. This is a place where self-expression is put in the first place along with your talents to attract guests. So do not miss the opportunity, if you are interested in discovering something new, learning skills for design or mastering various programs - all doors are open for you there.
These were far from the only volunteer events that you can attend, because HSE itself often needs volunteers no less than at international congresses - and if you are interested in constantly replenishing your resume with smaller events, as well as learning about the university's activities in different directions, then the best solution would be to contact the HSE St. Petersburg Volunteering Center. Everyone is welcome here and they are ready to accept help for any of their upcoming events.
If you prefer more stable and long-term projects, and also look into the distance, then welcome to the Erasmus Student Network HSE. Here, in addition to simple assistance, you will easily improve your English language skills, intercultural communication with students coming from abroad, and you will also be able to visit many new and interesting places as part of cultural acquaintance. The events of this center are formal and attended by representatives of universities from other countries, but they are necessarily done to include students in society, for example, by holding a day of culture inside the Tower with various dishes of European and Asian countries, folk costumes and much more. If you are also interested in upgrading your philological skills, then within the framework of this organization, participation or even running the Russian speaking club will be perfect for you, where you can help foreigners quickly integrate into the social environment of the St. Petersburg space.
You were presented with the main locations for volunteering, which were repeatedly chosen by students of our university and played an important role in entering the university, but not only: discovering interesting innovations can easily turn your life around and give you a spark to work in a particular field. Volunteering, of course, is not limited to one HSE - there is more than one organization in St. Petersburg that is eager to accept inspired young people who are ready to give themselves to the greater cause. If we take into consideration the main ones, then there won't be enough fingers to count them all. So go ahead and use all the opportunities to prove yourself and gain valuable life experience - after all, we are all engaged in volunteering to one degree or another.
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