PetrSU Opened the Pedagogic Innovation Park

The new space for generation and implementation of creative ideas in pedagogy was created within the implementation of the Flagship University Development Program and the strategic project “Education 5.0”.

The idea of the establishment of Pedagogic Innovation Park was conceived in 2016.

“Back then we had an understanding that we should do something unusual, essential and interesting in the area of pedagogy,” shared his recollections Anatoly Voronin, PetrSU Rector, at the opening of the Park.

According to the Rector, the Pedagogic Park has several features. The first lies in the fact that its output is not products or equipment, but new methods, technologies, electronic resources. The second is the employees. “The Innovation Park is a community of people, interdisciplinary and mixed-age teams. For several years we have been fostering such teams that involve schoolchildren, students, teachers. This provides succession and different approaches to the same problems or issues,” clarified the Rector.

He wished the employees of the Park, their colleagues from educational institutions and NGOs to dare and create. “Let all new, interesting, and outstanding be amassed and increased! Good luck!” said Anatoly Voronin.

On behalf of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Karelia, the team of Petrozavodsk State University was congratulated by the First Deputy Minister Tatiana Vasilieva.

“Today we saw new, freshly refurbished halls that will host students and schoolchildren. This will keep up young people’s interest in the teaching profession. We need such places, we need new people, new ideas in education. I am sure that PetrSU as the Flagship University of the region should aspire to open university schools, specialized departments, develop cooperation between the units of the university and educational organizations of municipal districts,” noted Tatiana Vasilieva.

The Director of the Pedagogic Park Aleksey Talykh talked about the openness to cooperation with new partners: “From the inception of the idea to establish Pedagogic Innovation Park we have been working on a conceptual model of our new structural unit, define vectors and paths of development. We have done a lot already. Particularly, we have established the university daycare center that works on engineering and technology class, launched other projects and programs. We need interactive projects not only within the university between educational institutions but also projects involving cooperation with educational institutions, organizations of science, culture, art. We are open to and ready to cooperate and are looking forward to seeing you with new ideas and proposals for their implementation.”

The Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Konstantin Tarasov told about plans for the development of the Pedagogic Park.

“The principal task set before the employees of the center is to turn it into an ideological and organizational place for the implementation of ideas in the area of life-long education in the Republic of Karelia. Another equally important task is the implementation of events under the national project “Education”. Everything done in the area of education for children, pupils, students, adults should be concentrated here. We plan to fully launch the Pedagogic Innovation Park in 2020. By this time we plan to open our own schools, including a sports school, develop and offer citizens of Petrozavodsk, as well as the regions of Karelia, programs of additional education, including distance programs akin to that already available at the Open University,” said the Vice-Rector.

The guests of Petrozavodsk University could see what already has been done at the Park during the excursion that presented the activities of centers and classes (engineering and technology class, exhibition hall, room of psychology relief), introduced topical exhibitions of art works created by teachers and students of the Department of Technology, Fine Arts and Design of the Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology.

On this day the University also hosted the Republic’s seminar the Council for the development of teacher education in the Republic of Karelia titled “The Pedagogic Innovation Park of PetrSU: strategies and practices of development of regional educational system”. At the event teaching community discussed prospect of implementation of the strategic project “Education 5.0” on the premises of active innovative platforms of PetrSU, shared their opinions on the efficiency of units of the Pedagogic Innovation Park in regional system of education in the Republic of Karelia, as well as defined the priority areas for the development of vocational and higher teacher education, engineering education in the regional educational system of the Republic of Karelia.

The participants of the seminar also attended workshops on ceramics, sculpture, animation, printmaking, cinematography.