Ekaterina Vorobeva
Gopika Sangeetha
Tal Yardeni
Daffa Abrari
Timothy Immanuel
Gift Braimoh
Universidad de Navarra
University Of South Wales
IPMI International Business School
Isabel Rodriguez Tejedo
Liam Newton
Amelia Naim Indrajaya
Keep this story going! Share below!
The “Association of Olympiad Winners” is a company that aims at helping students in Russian schools to prepare for academic intellectual competitions (“olympiads”) that enable them to secure a free place in the top universities across the country. To achieve high results in olympiads a student needs to have knowledge that is well beyond the school curriculum, so it requires a lot of self-preparation. That is where the AOW begins its mission: the company connects the former participants of the olympiads with the current students by organizing various types of courses ranging from one-week intensive courses to year-long all-rounded olympiad trainings.
The company started in 2015 as a small initiative of several university students who were motivated to raise awareness around the intellectual competitions as they believed that olympiads encourage students to think “out of the box,” seek creative solutions and enhance self-motivation on their academic way.
Now the company has over 500 experienced teachers who help students all round the country to look beyond the school programme and nourish their academic curiosity.
While the AOW has always mainly focused on raising awareness about the intellectual competitions and preparing students for them, recently the company started to broaden their vision in terms of the educational programmes that it offers. One of the most notable of those innovative educational projects is “Creative Workshop.” This programme goes beyond the conventional perception of an educational course: the participants, mainly high school students, need to create a real art product, working on all of its components: from producing and design to PR and marketing.
The project was launched 3 years ago and by this time it has empowered its students to create art products such as a youth theater festival, documentary, guided meditation tour, museum installation, audio performance and many more.
Mr. Zuev, the head of AOW, highlighted that “the main goal of this project is to encourage students to enhance their creativity, obtain cross-subject knowledge, train their soft skills and demonstrate the diversity of the art industry.”
The ongoing programme in the “Creative Workshop” focuses on the creation and organization of a promenade performance in a historic building from scratch. The students will learn the basics of directing, screenwriting, and set design, get acquainted with the process of producing a performance, and the work of various theater departments. Then they will develop the idea of the performance, produce it, and organize its promotion: create a media plan, advertising integrations, a website, and merchandise.
In the interview, Mr. Zuev attributed the creation of the project to the creativity of the employees of the AOW, “I work with an amazing team of people who are drawn to helping teenagers to realize their potential and find their passions along with developing various skills. One of my colleagues, Ms. Sumedi, came up with the idea of the “Creative Workshop,” and immediately after hearing out her idea, I set out on a mission to help to bring it to life. I knew that this is something groundbreaking in the education field and it will be very unique.”
This project can be considered a logical continuation of the fundamental missions of the AOW: aiding students in getting quality education, helping them prepare for the intellectual competitions and giving them a hand at choosing their future career path. The “Creative Workshop” is a compilation of all of the aforementioned. The project fosters the students’ creativity and critical thinking, encourages them to think “out of the box,” while giving a hands-on experience in creating a real art product.
Mr. Zuev pointed out that “nowadays, different industries are becoming increasingly intertwined: if you want to be a real professional at something, you need to have a vast array of various experiences and knowledge outside of just one field. That is why this programme is so unique: it gives an opportunity for students to experience not just one specific side of the project, but everything at once. The “Creative Workshop” gives them a comprehensive understanding of what it is like to work in the art industry.”
The most prominent impact of the “Creative Workshop” can be described by:
The teachers and curators help the students to find a spark of talent and develop it. By giving the opportunity to turn their ideas into a real product, the programme helps the students to find their self-confidence and be braver.
Due to the fact that the students constantly analyze various sources, solve emerging issues and work with the questions outside of the ordinary everyday activities, they benefit from enhancing their critical thinking skills and creativity.
During the entire time of the programme, the participants work in a diverse team. This enables them to develop the skills needed for efficient communication and collaboration with people from different backgrounds.
Unlike school, “Creative Workshop” is practice-focused. The students not only learn the theory, but also apply this knowledge right away when working on the final product. This approach helps them to learn how to take responsibility for their work, how to be accountable for what they do and see the fruits of their efforts. This also encourages them to be more independent and prepared for further studies.
“The most rewarding part of the programme for me was to see how significantly the students grow as people and young professionals in just two-three months of the project. While at the beginning of the programme I saw a bright spark of interest in art in their eyes, by the end of the programme this spark turned into a blinding bonfire ready to spread its enthusiasm for the art industry to everyone. Every time when the programme draws to its end and the students see the results of their hard work, the impact that it has on the audience, they start feeling so powerful. This rewarding experience shows them that they are able to do anything, even if it seems immensely complicated. Seeing that happiness and enthusiasm is the biggest reward for me personally and for our company,” reflects Mr. Zuev on his experience with the programme.
Even though the programme was experimental and innovative for the company, it proved successful. Now the AOW is in the process of developing more programmes that will go beyond the borders of traditional school subjects and follow the path of field integration. Moreover, “Creative Workshop” paved the way for the company to expand its vision beyond the intellectual competitions preparation courses and explore more opportunities of integrating future career development into the educational programmes.
In addition to all of the aforementioned short-term benefits like confidence enhancement and development of communication skills, the programme has a lot of long-term benefits. “I know so many students who participated in the “Creative Workshop” and thanks to it decided to bind their lives to the creative industries. Now they are studying design, cinematography, theater and other art-related majors in their universities. This programme allowed them to explore something that students do not usually get to experience at schools, so the “Creative Workshop” proved to be a transformative and empowering experience for them,” highlighted Mr. Zuev.
Also, Mr. Zuev mentioned the overall effect on the educational field in general, “I do believe that such kinds of programmes are the future of education. Modern life changes rapidly, therefore, the students change too. It is vital for education to reflect the real world that we live in, to cater to its demands and adapt to the changing psychology of the children. And I believe such programmes as “Creative Workshop” help to leverage the existing gap between formal education and real life: it is very practical, hands-on and versatile. I hope that “Creative Workshop” will pave the way for the creation of other similar projects that will enable future generations to receive quality education while developing as people in the modern world.”
Get stories of positive business innovations from around the world delivered right to your inbox.
Gleb Zuev, Director
The “Association of Olympiad Winners” is a company that aims at helping students in Russian schools to prepare for academic intellectual competitions (“olympiads”) that enable them to secure a free place in the top universities across the country. The company connects the former participants of the olympiads with the current students by organizing various types of courses.