Geography of Opportunities: Polytechnic University's Competence Center Helped Novosibirsk Students Discover Their Talents

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

As part of the Priority 2030 program, the SPbPU Center for Competency Assessment and Development team held a series of events at Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU) and Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management (NSUEM). The Polytechnic University's visit was part of a project to engage students from partner universities in professional and personal development.

"Realizing the potential of each student, developing their talents, and engaging them in the process of conscious self-improvement is an important task set for universities by the President of the Russian Federation," noted Lyudmila Pankova, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs at SPbPU. "That's why its implementation is given special attention within the framework of the Polytechnic University's Educational Policy."

The Polytechnic University Competence Center Days at NSTU were part of events celebrating the 35th anniversary of the university's Faculty of Humanities. At the plenary session of the anniversary conference, "Socio-Humanities in an Engineering University: Challenges and Prospects," Elena Zima, Director of the SPbPU Competence Center, discussed the development prospects of the "Competence Centers" and "Centers of New Opportunities" projects.

As part of the student track, the Polytechnic University Central Committee ambassadors held an information session where NSTU students learned more about the presidential platform "Russia – Land of Opportunity" and the "Competence Centers" project. They also participated in an engaging quiz and tried their hand at the pantomime "Show Your Universal Competence." The student track culminated in the Soft Skills Tournament, where student teams honed their soft skills by playing board games and developing and pitching business ideas in a startup battle. Tournament participants received certificates and Polytechnic University merchandise, while the winners received diplomas and valuable prizes.

"It's incredibly important when students themselves talk about professional development projects like 'Competence Centers,'" Elena Zima emphasized. "I believe our ambassadors succeeded in inspiring the event participants with the idea of self-development, the starting point of which was completing the diagnostics on the presidential platform 'Russia – Land of Opportunity.'"

All NSTU students who participated in the Polytechnic University Competence Center Days were ceremoniously presented with their first universal competency certificates.

Then, NSUEM took up the baton. A large-scale interuniversity tournament was held there: 12 teams from six Novosibirsk universities competed for the title of best in the skills of the future. In the final, students pitched their startups to a jury consisting of representatives of Sovcombank and the heads of competence centers from participating Novosibirsk universities. All students received commemorative prizes, and the winners received board games, diplomas from Polytechnic University, and Sovcombank merchandise.

The Polytechnic University and NSUEM Competence Center Day program also included a student session, "Territory of Opportunities," where ambassadors and employers discussed how joint projects can transform the student environment and help them confidently build a career.

The day concluded with an expert session, "Best University Practices for Developing Universal Competencies in Students." The heads of SPbPU Competency Centers and Novosibirsk universities, representatives of the Novosibirsk Region Ministry of Education and the Novosibirsk Employment Center, and Artur Kuchaev, head of the Competency Centers project for the presidential platform "Russia – Land of Opportunity," discussed best practices for developing universal competencies and the prospects for implementing the "Centers of New Opportunities" project.

According to Artur Kuchaev, the creation of opportunity centers is a logical continuation and strategic development of the project, taking it to a new stage: "These centers are intended to become a hub for projects and initiatives within the presidential platform among students, providing students with comprehensive support, expert consultations, and assistance in unlocking their potential through access to a wide range of opportunities."

The events demonstrated that soft skills are bringing together universities, students, and employers, and that the geography of competence centers is expanding, turning each trip into a platform for new ideas and partnerships.

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