Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
On November 20, Novosibirsk State University concluded its first "Economic Challenge"—an innovative educational project involving over 20 students from eight faculties. Over the course of two months, the participants did not attend a single lecture, but learned to think economically through dialogue, debate, games, and simulations of real-life situations.
The challenge started on September 25th and was held every week in Startup studios NSU with the support of Laboratories of Economics and Business39 people attended the first meeting, and the 22 most motivated reached the final.
"We view economics not as formulas and graphs, but as a tool for understanding the world, because economics is its foundation. We teach thinking and understanding, not memorization (we don't teach making people smarter :))," notes Dmitry Markov, a lecturer. Faculty of Economics (EF) NSU and head of the Laboratory of Economics and Business.
The format completely abandoned the traditional presentation of the course. From the very start, participants were treated to logic quizzes, numerical puzzles, and problems involving economic concepts. Instead of lectures, nine teams worked in a dialogue and experimentation mode. The seminar participants were first-year students from the Faculty of Economics and Faculty of Information Technology (FIT), who themselves have gone through the process in the Laboratory of Economics and Business from enthusiastic schoolchildren to mentors.
The game-based "production" activity using construction sets left a particularly strong impression: participants created a product, sought out buyers, and worked with fake money—transforming abstract concepts into tangible experiences. After just a few sessions, the students were fluently analyzing financial statements and asking questions like, "How can a company grow with negative equity?" (using Ozon's financial statements as an example).
The project became more than just a learning experience, but a cognitive development environment: participants became more precise in their concepts, more confident in their reasoning, and no longer feared complex topics.
"Today, economic thinking is the same as literacy was 100 years ago. And we're teaching it in a new way. We're very pleased with the results of our new project and the high level of interest and engagement among NSU students! It was a pleasure working with them!" adds Dmitry Markov.
The idea for the project arose spontaneously: during a meeting between representatives of the NSU Startup Studio and the Laboratory of Economics and Business at the NSU Science Picnic on September 1.
"We talked about the future, about students, about what's missing in modern education, and in literally an hour we came up with something that enriched the autumn at NSU: our first economics challenge for all interested students," says Alexey Starostin, director of the NSU Startup Studio.
During the two-month economic challenge, students gained not only new knowledge but also remarkable experience in working with real-world economic problems.
"During the classes, we had time to solve interesting cases and listen to short lectures from Dmitry and the seminarians. I especially liked the interesting approach, which stems from the Austrian school of economics—practice first, theory second. Although it was unusual at first, we eventually got the hang of it. Also, some of the problems were presented in a game format, which made the process more engaging. If you want to sharpen your economic logic, analytical and critical thinking, and make new connections, I definitely recommend participating in the economic challenge," shares Maria Elatintseva, a first-year student at the Faculty of Economics at NSU.
"The first thing I'd like to say to Dmitry for this challenge is a huge thank you and deep gratitude to the entire team of the Economics and Business Laboratory. Such meaningful Thursdays wouldn't have happened if I had missed them all. This challenge helped me better understand how everything works, and it significantly influenced the way I think and make decisions. These two months together were the most interesting and rewarding. I'm also very grateful to my team, which we formed thanks to the challenge. Working with new colleagues from four different faculties at NSU was not only useful but also fun. I'm grateful to everyone for the time spent and the exciting work we did together," says Andrey Schmidt, a first-year student at the NSU Faculty of Information Technologies.
"Learning is light, not learning is darkness." With this motto, I took the economic challenge from the Laboratory of Economics and Business. At first, I thought I'd read a lot about economics and that a simple challenge wouldn't teach me anything, but all doubts were dispelled after the first meeting. A wealth of useful information, knowledge, interactivity, and a practical approach to problems—it all became so engaging that after each meeting, you eagerly await the next one. A big thank you to organizer Dmitry Markov and his team! After this challenge, I gained valuable skills, confidence, and the desire to develop further. — Nikita Sobolev, third-year student Faculty of Physics NSU.
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.