On 16 October Saratov University hosted the opening ceremony of the International Research-to-Practice Conference titled the Innovations in Endowment Development: From Books to IT-Methods. The forum was dedicated to the 110th anniversary of the university. Its members became researchers, directors and specialists of education bodies, representatives of higher education institutions, schools, lyceums, and gymnasiums, staff members of further education centres, directors and staff members of government and non-government organisations which implement innovation education programmes in the city and the Saratov Region, and students.
The event moderators were Saratov University, the Intergovernmental Foundation for Educational, Scientific and Cultural Cooperation of the CIS, Herzen State Pedagogical University, Moscow City University, West Kazakhstan State University, Brest State A.S. Pushkin University, and Yerevan State University.
The conference guests and participants were welcomed by Chair of the Department of Pedagogy Ekaterina I. Balakireva.
‘Many researchers and pedagogues all over the world have focused on the endowment issue. It is connected with the fact that modern society needs successful young people who can take the current challenges,’ noted Ekaterina Balakireva in her welcoming speech.
On behalf of the SSU administration the forum members were addressed by Head of Priority Projects and Programmes, Professor Elena G. Yelina.
‘We are happy to welcome you here. Perhaps, recently it is the first time when our friends and colleagues from Armenia, Belorussia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine gathered in Saratov University.’
Elena Yelina paid the attention to the fact the conference is held in the anniversary year and commented on the university history.
‘I hope the conference guests will walk around the campus and see our unique buildings. The university history is really interesting. During the Great Patriotic War Leningrad University was relocated to Saratov, and both universities worked together as one unit. They shared the rector and the management system.’
Speaking about the achievements of the SSU researchers Elena Yelina underlined they laid the foundation for the Saratov electronics, founded a big gas field which has been providing the Saratov Region and western and eastern Europe with gas.
‘Today SSU is included into the list of the top-10 Russian universities, it is a national research university. Due to this we bought unique equipment for natural sciences and liberal arts researchers. Surely, our guests will visit the Support Centre for Endowed Children. The endowment issue is one of the university priorities. We monitor the discussions on this topic, and we believe that all children are endowed. Therefore, researchers, pedagogues, and other educators must find the necessary strings and the grain of endowment which everyone definitely has,’ added the professor.
On behalf of the regional ministries the forum participants were congratulated by Deputy Minister of Education of the Saratov Region Galina V. Kalyagina.
‘Due to such conferences the colleagues meet not only at the plenary sessions and panel discussions but in a more informal setting, and there they discuss different topics in the most productive way. I agree that every child is endowed in this or that respect, therefore, we should support, direct, and develop their skills.’
Then the audience was welcomed by Deputy Chair of the Committee on Education of the Saratov City Municipal Structure Larisa Yu. Zhivtsova.
‘We are happy to live and work in a student city. We have many universities, and each of them is unique and develops our children in new ways. We have already achieved some results. Thus, three schools in Saratov have become RAS hub schools, Saratov school students gain victories in All-Russia olympiads. Our main objective is to learn how to define the talent grains which every child has.’
Chair of the SSU Department of Personal Psychology Elena V. Ryaguzova presented her report titled the Endowment as a Social and Cultural Phenomenon.
‘The society needs creative people who can produce innovation ideas, build a new architecture of life, those who are ready to play an active role in the state development, wellbeing, and flourishment and provide innovation development. The humankind will also be able to develop only if we find new ideas and original solutions for different tasks. And this can be done only by endowed people with divergent thinking who are inclined to search for something new, improvise, and speak out without any fear.’
In the reporter’s opinion, the main endowment indicators are the ability to learn, intelligence, and creativity.
Elena Ryaguzova spoke about the close connection between culture and endowment being other factors which form the personality.
Scientific Secretary of the Academic Council of Moscow City University Roman V. Komarov delivered the report titled the Children Endowment and Career Guidance: Crisis and Solutions. He marked the key skills young specialists must have today – literacy, creative thinking, the ability to find solutions to complex problems, etc. The speaker commented on the endowment issue as well defining it as the ability to share it with others.
Principal of Valeological Specialized School for Endowed Children Municipal State Institution (Ust-Kamenogorsk, the Republic of Kazakhstan) Natalia V. Akhayeva presented her report titled the Research in Pedagogues’ Work and Children Development in terms of New Education Standards. She connected endowment with creativity, personal point of view, and the ability to find a ways-out of any situation.
Professor of the Department of Pedagogy of West Kazakhstan State University (Uralsk, Kazakhstan) Larisa V. Obydenkina pointed out how her colleagues and she had advanced the system of pedagogy assistance aimed to develop children endowment.
Chair of the Department of Pedagogy of Brest State A.S. Pushkin University (the Republic of Belarus) Tatiana A. Kovalchuk told the audience about the social partnership of schools and universities in creating the education environment aimed to boost children endowment.
Chair of the Department of General Psychology of Yerevan State University, Professor Grant M. Avanesyan devoted his speech to education technologies which are supposed to form professional psychology skills.
Besides, at the Plenary Session the members watched the video about the Constellation School, the Support Centre for Endowed Children, and research-to-methodology seminars on endowment, all of which are organised with the help of Saratov University.
After the session the forum members discussed different topics at the sections. The conference will last till 18 October.
