The benefits of this study could be measured in a 3D format
Can having a degree in politics be useful for a mining engineer? Vasiliy Berdyugin - the Alumnus of Higher School of Economics shares his study experiences on the Programme 'Politics. Economics. Philosophy'.
The two years of study that I spent on the Master’s programme 'Politics. Economics. Philosophy' passed quickly and I now have a Master’s degree from HSE. So what do have after all this? Can having a degree in politics be useful for a mining engineer?
My decision to apply for the Programme 'Politics. Economics. Philosophy' was not accidental. Nor was it accidental for me to look for information about this new programme during the summer of 2014. Having a technical background and studying at that moment on master’s programme at another prestigious Moscow university, I nevertheless regularly visited the HSE website. One day in May 2014 I found out that a new programme 'Politics. Economics. Philosophy' had begun. Before visiting the programme’s website I had a feeling that this programme could provide the knowledge I needed to have a much fuller kind of higher education. After viewing the programme’s description I decided to apply for it. And I did.
Thinking now about the benefits of studying PEP programme, I realize that the benefits of this study could be measured in a 3D format: width, height, depth.
Width in this system constitutes the breadth of coverage of the PEP programme and as a consequence, provides a broader view. As a result of completing the PEP programme the breadth of view had been widened by 180º, and it is approaching 360º. And it is not surprise because PEP is interdisciplinary programme that encompasses large parts of the social sciences and philosophy. The ‘breadth of learning’ comes from covering everything from Data analysis and Game theory, Macro and Microeconomics, Theory and Methodology of Scientific Research to Modern Political Science, Political Ethics, Contemporary Issues of International Relations, Analytical Philosophy and the Philosophy of Social Movements.
During our studies I was impressed by the depth of the courses on offer. For example, the brilliant course 'Political Regimes and Electoral Campaigns in the Regions of the Russian Federation', helped us to learn not only about Russian electoral laws but also, through practical exercises, to understand how these laws are realized in various regions of Russia – from Moscow to Yakutia. And during the course “Modern Political Science” we increased our understanding of contemporary developments in the political sciences.
The 'Height”' of the PEP Master’s programme is a kind of growth – a qualitative and growth of professional skills. And here a question arises. How has the PEP programme impacted on professionalism of a mining engineer? And here we should return again to the scope of the programme. The breadth of the programme lets you find the sources of professional growth not only for politicians and philosophers, but also for those employed in the industrial sector of the economy. In particular, there was a very professionally useful term paper about resource rent management and a corresponding thesis about industrial politics as a source of economic growth. And one of the books about game theory has become my bible for my profession and everyday life. And for sure one of the most useful courses for me was the optional course 'Government Relations in Modern Russia' where famous businessmen and federal officers were giving lectures. This course allowed me to be more objective about the issues facing government and business relations. My term paper about public private partnership in mining industry, which was supervised by the HSE President and the chairman of Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs – A.Shokhin, provided me with an opportunity to apply a scientific approach not only in the term paper, but also to get valuable knowledge and experience about PPP.
In conclusion I would like to thank all of the instructors of the programme for the knowledge I have gained and for its smooth organization, which must be credited to I.P. Mossakovskaya. And of course, I wish to express my gratitude to our Academic supervisors – Prof. O.I. Ananyin and Prof. M.V. Ilyin for transforming the idea of the 'Politics. Economics. Philosophy' programme into reality. Also I wish all faculty members involved in the PEP programme, together with the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, all the best as they further develop the programme.