Students from the Faculty of Philology of VSU, Anastasia Naletova, Anastasia Berdnikova, and Margarita Saratova, completed a programme in Göttingen in the autumn semester of 2022–2023. The students studied at the University of Göttingen as part of the joint master's programme “Russian Literature in the European Context”.
“My level of German and English has improved a lot. Though, the basic literary disciplines were held in Russian. I think the most valuable experience was to learn about the German system of higher humanitarian education and the methods used to analyse literary texts developed by the staff of the Institute of Slavic Studies at the University of Göttingen,” said Anastasia Berdnikova.
“My stay in Germany was as comfortable as possible. The management of the Institute of Slavic Studies made everything possible to make us feel at home. Teachers were friendly and ready to help in any matter. During our studies, we met German students. Some of them knew Russian well, others could barely understand us. But this did not prevent us from communicating with them, sharing opinions, and feeling united. It was very interesting to discuss Russian and German literature, to learn new terms and concepts. I think we will have warm memories of this trip for a long time: it was a very useful and meaningful experience for our further education and profession,” said Anastasia Naletova.
“Studying at the university was an ideal experience of studying abroad. German curators of the programme “Russian Literature in the European Context” took care of us in Germany throughout the semester we spent there. The training course was really fascinating and extremely informative. The disciplines were full of new ideas, teaching methods were also new and this made our communication with teachers of the University of Göttingen more sincere and respectful. I want to thank Yuri Tkachev, an employee of the Institute, a connoisseur of ancient Russian literature, who conducted hours-long excursions around Göttingen, Hannover, and Bremen for us. We were asked questions about our studies and introduced to our peers studying Russian literature. We also taught German students to sing our ritual children's song “A Christmas tree was born in the forest.” We will keep these pleasant memories of the University of Göttingen forever,” said Margarita Saratova.
The master's programme “Russian Literature in the European Context” was established in 2015. Within the framework of the programme, master’s degree students study at VSU and at the German partner university. By now, over 20 students have already completed their studies and received two diplomas of Voronezh State University and the University of Göttingen.
