Soft Skills Master’s courses

Section	Contents
Module description	The Soft Skills module consists of 18 disciplines that will help you improve, develop or form your transferable skills. Developed according to the latest educational trends, these courses meet international educational standards. You will have to pick either one course that is worth 3 ECTS or three courses, each worth 1 ECTS.
Language of instruction	Russian/ English Five courses are taught in English: in order to successfully pass any of them, you will need to confirm English comprehension at the level of B2 or higher(according to the CEFR scale). If you have not confirmed your level of English, please email us at softskills@itmo.ru before making your final choice of a course. Don't leave it till the last day!
How to sign up	Before the start of the academic year and until September 15, students can choose 1 course (or 3 micromodules) out of the eighteen available Soft Skills subjects using the platform my.itmo.ru.
Schedule	You have the opportunity to choose a discipline and then choose a group with the most convenient time for classes. All the courses of the Soft Skills block are modular. You will have intensive lectures and practical sessions for two weeks during the discipline. Confirm your choice, and the system will send us, Soft Skills coordinators, your application. The number of seats in the group is limited! If a convenient time is not available for selection, this means that all places have already been taken, and you will have to choose something else.
Contact us	Address: 9 Lomonosova Street, room 3103 Phone: 8 (812) 607-04-66, E-mail: softskills@itmo.ru,

Courses:

Personal Efficiency and Time Management (in Russian)

More information you can find here Личная эффективность и управление временем

Teachers:

Marina Kazantseva

Elena Karpova

Anastasia Prichislenko

Inna Toporova

Elena Ponomareva

Tatiana Afanasyeva

Evgeniya Shestakova

Daria Helstein

Olga Kalyaeva

Olga Sorokotyaga

Alena Dzhumagulova

Alexey Gustyshkin

Anastasia Bulatkina

Julia Glebova

Dana Namdi

Vladislav Frantov

Maria Shvedova

Efficient Team Management (in Russian)

More information you can find here Эффективное управление командой

Teachers:

Anastasia Bulatkina

Elena Karpova

Alena Bondar

Inna Toporova

Konstantin Kim

Marina Kazantseva

Dmitry Kuftyrev

Anastasia Kuzminkova

Lenina Podgorskaya

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EI) is a key leadership skill that helps people to achieve goals, high performance, and productivity at work as well as to maintain effective personal relationships. It includes the ability to perceive, facilitate, understand, and manage emotions. It is a skill that can be developed. This course is based on the materials acknowledged worldwide, the latest research, and authorized practices. Through reading, listening, and discussing EI concepts, mastering the five core skills of EI, observing peers, and writing reflection journals, students will deepen their awareness of their emotional life, needs, and motivation. As a result, they will understand others better and enhance their skills for effective communication. Such practical activities as case studies, simulations, and group discussions will help students to apply this new experience in real-life social situations.

Prerequisites

EMOI is a course in English language, therefore the main prerequisite for the course participation is B2 level or above. Students are expected to be active participants in classroom discussions and other learning activities.

Course workload: 3 credits | 108 academic hours

Semester: autumn

Teachers:

Yulia Romanenko

Maria Stepanova

Ekaterina Solodovnikova

International Research Management Essentials

International Research Management Essentials (IRME) is a graduate-level course offered to students pursuing Master’s degrees. The goal of the course is to teach students how to develop research project proposals from start to finish and prepare them step-by-step for their final defenses. Through an intensive project-based learning approach, students from multicultural backgrounds and miscellaneous disciplinary fields engage in real-world problems inspired by UNESCO Sustainable Development Goals. Upon completion of the course, students also learn and acquire some of the most essential 21st century skills ranging from complex problem solving to data-driven decision-making skills.

In order for teams to develop their research projects and compete with other teams, a cross-continental, diverse group of experts train students in product-oriented sessions grouped in three topic clusters:

Research Design: identification and formulation of the research problem, finding literature (Scopus, EndNote Click), bibliography management (Zotero), formulation of the hypothesis, the aim and objectives of the research, the expected research findings, developing roadmaps and Gantt charts;
Commercialization of Research and Social Entrepreneurship: proven formula to win funding, pitch presentations for possible investors, pitching;
Public Presentations: public speaking and vocal presence, effective speech techniques, anxiety management, graphic editors for visually attractive and effective presentations.

Prerequisites:

English language proficiency — level B2 or higher

Confident users of Google Docs & Google Sheets, Zoom and, preferably, Miro

IRME is a course in English language, therefore the main prerequisite for the course participation is B2 level or above. Students are expected to be active participants in classroom discussions and other learning activities.

Course workload: 3 credits | 108 academic hours

Teachers:

Meriç Bıçakcıoğlu

Yulia Claridge

Polina Khapaeva

Mikhail Kurushkin

Christoph Sprung

Daniel Tordera

Negotiation, Influence and Conflict Management

This course is aimed to introduce the students to the basics of principled negotiations as well as to supply them with practical solutions for the analysis and resolution of conflicts. Besides that, the students will obtain a set of instruments to counter manipulations and aggressive behavior and to deliver their viewpoint in a non-violent, convincing way.

Accent is made on developing argumentation skills and presenting ideas in view of the opponent's interests and core values. This course can be described as highly practical and employs the method of case study. The cases are inspired by the Program of Negotiations of Harvard Law School, educational practices of Yale University and Cornell University as well as by the personal experience of the instructors, related to the management of teams and companies.

Course workload: 3 credits | 108 academic hours

Prerequisites: NICM is a course in English language, therefore the main prerequisite for the course participation is B2 level or above. Students are expected to be active participants in classroom discussions and other learning activities.

Semester: autumn and spring

Teachers:

Yulia Romanenko

Maria Stepanova

Vadim Moichkin

Resource State Management (in Russian)

More information you can find here Управление ресурсными состояниями

Teachers:

Alyona Dzhumagulova

Elena Karpova

Olga Sorokotyaga

Anastasia Borisova

Anastasia Prichislenko

Anastasia Bulatkina

Inna Toporova

Natalia Tikhomirova

Life in Science: Guide for Young Researchers (in Russian)

More information you can find here Жизнь в науке: путеводитель молодого исследователя

Natalya Ten

Sofia Vershinina

Life in Science: Guide for Young Researchers

The course «Life in Science» is executed in a unique format of a game-simulation aimed at immersing a student in the process of building a career in the scientific field.

The game can be accessed with PC or a tablet through a web app. As a student you will complete 36 modules, which contain a game plot, educational materials and tasks created for developing skills and abilities necessary for a scientist.

The «Life in Science» course offers the opportunity to create your own character, choose your own path based on your decisions, and even interact with various NPCs (non-player characters).

By completing the game, you will be able to go through the beginning stages of a scientist's career path: starting with choosing a scientific advisor and researching a subject area, and ending with the article publication process and preparing for public speaking at a conference. Additionally, there are educational materials and tasks focused on developing Soft Skills that will allow you to encounter real life challenges and learn how to find ways to solve them.

If you have any questions about the course, you can contact us at lis@itmo.ru.

Course workload: 3 credits | 108 academic hours

Prerequisites: English B2-C1

Semester: autumn and spring

Natalya Ten

Sofia Vershinina

Organization of Scientific Research (in Russian)

More information you can find here Организация научных исследований

Teachers:

Elena Bykovskaya

Alexandra Mayurova

Ekaterina Tyurikova

Irina Timofeeva

Anastasia Babkina

Techniques (in Russian)

More information you can find here Техники публичных выступлений

Teachers:

Valentin Kuznetsov

Marina Kazantseva

Daria Helshtein

Evgenia Shestakova

Antonina Fedorova

Career Management (in Russian)

More information you can find here Управление карьерой

Teachers:

Olga Chernaus

Career Management

Career Management is a graduate-level course offered to students pursuing Master’s degrees.

The goal of the course is to assist students in mastering versatile work skills that will gain them broader career opportunities.

The course culminates in a mock interview with real-world HR managers.

The following topics are covered:

Career goals & trajectories;
Mindful career, burnout prevention & work-life balance;
Business correspondence, communication & etiquette;
Personal brand; Resume, CV & portfolio;
Self-presentation & networking;
International career opportunities;
Recruitment trends;
Job interview.

Prerequisites: English language proficiency – level B2 or higher

Confident users of Google Docs & Google Sheets, Zoom and, preferably, Miro

Career management is a course in English language, therefore the main prerequisite for the participation is B2 level or above. Students are expected to be active participants in classroom discussions and other learning activities.

Course workload: 3 credits | 108 academic hours

Semester: autumn and spring