The annual mini-marathon at the School of Activism brought together 100 of our university's most active, motivated and interested students. An early rise on a Sunday morning promised an interesting and eventful day. General assembly at the Rowing Centre in Regatta Hotel, and then everything went according to plan. At the start we held a master class on the organisation and implementation of projects, drawing attention to the key points of each stage and sharing personal experiences. After that the guys split up into teams and started discussing the task. One of the main tasks of the first stage of project creation was project planning itself - it is the key to a successful start. Its essence: to optimally distribute the resources needed to achieve the goals and objectives, to make a "project map" which will be an instruction manual and a guide.
Natalia Grechannikova, Vice-Rector for Administration and Youth Policy of Volga Region University, welcomed the participants to the activist school. In an informal atmosphere she told the students about her path of formation, about those difficulties that not only did not break her, but also allowed her to discover new opportunities, they also predetermined her life vector of development. "Don't be afraid to start and don't be afraid to finish if you don't like it. Everything can be done, only hard work and discipline win out and allow you to become a better person," were the words of admonition for our students.
After a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor of the university, the students continued with their assignments. The next task for the participants was to create a project: set goals, involve partners, form a team. A calendar plan and a well-compiled budget were also important parts of a successful project. The organisers helped to refine the key points of the future project as it progressed from phase to phase.
The next guest of the School of Activism was Elkin Iskenderov - Chairman of the Russian Youth Union of Tatarstan. The children welcomed him with cheers and applause and heard the same warm words of welcome in return. Elkin Elmanovich talked about the main directions of the youth policy, listened attentively to guys and girls and left no question unanswered.
At the end of the main part the protection of projects and summarizing of results was held. Guys with an idea of creation of business-club where students of our university can study financial literacy and entrepreneurship became leaders. Another interesting project was an exhibition of paintings done by children called "The world through other eyes". This is a socially creative project for special children. "We did not give specific places to the projects, it was not necessary. In one day, the activists did the unbelievable: they found an idea from scratch and came up with the projects. Design skills help in everyday life as well. We gave each project a chance to be implemented; all the ideas were useful for our university. But we highlighted several projects that we plan to implement together with the students in the near future," sums up the results of the Activism School Polina Sarvilina, one of the organisers of the event.
After summarising the results, the students had an equally busy schedule. At the show "talk and laugh" presenters in the humorous form talked to students about the problems of interest, about life in the dormitory. The older guys talked about funny situations that happened to him and how to prevent this from happening again. The evening part offered to take part in a quiz "Student Advice", and then rock out in the disco battle between the participants and organisers of the day. The next activist school will take place in the spring.
