Annual Workshop on Intercultural Communication ‘Living and Working in Russia’
On September 22 the annual workshop ‘Living and Working in Russia’ was conducted by Mira Bergelson, Professor at the Faculty of Humanities for the HSE international faculty. The workshop has proved to be highly effective in helping the newcomers to adapt more quickly to their life in Russia.
International faculty members discussed many significant issues concerning everyday life, differences in academic and teaching cultures, and others. e.g. hope of being a good lecturer given cultural background differences. Some of the questions also focused on the general nature of cultural differences, prevalence of specific traits or behaviors, and stereotypes.
Christian Fröhlich, Assistant Professor at School of Sociology, and Tim Jäkel, Assistant Professor at School of Public Administration, have been at HSE for several years, and attended the workshop to share their experience of living and working in Russia with colleagues. The new faculty members asked them about many things that can be useful in the everyday life.
Attending the ‘Living and Working in Russia’ seminar was a wonderful experience. To a great extent, it helped me overcome my initial fears, as well as make sense of my daily life in Moscow. Coming from a South Asian background, I had little knowledge of Russia. This seminar inspired me to comprehend and appreciate the historical, cultural and linguistic traditions of Russia. I was inspired, and plan to start a Russian language course next semester. I hope this will mark an entry point to Russia’s social and cultural 'landscape'. Thanks to the International Faculty Support Unit for organizing this!
Arnab Roy Chowdhury
Research Fellow at Public Policy Department