Teaching Students to Communicate with Themselves and Others

From August 11 to 17, HSE University’s Voronovo study centre hosted the educational retreat ‘Training for Trainers of Effective Communications.’ Participants of the joint project from the Centre for Psychological Counselling and the Training School student organisation learned how to conduct social and psychological training.

The main goal of the retreat was to teach the participants to train others in effective communications and improve the social and psychological environment at HSE University. The attendees comprised first to fourth-year bachelor’s and master’s students from various HSE University campuses. Over seven days, they immersed themselves in the theory of effective communications, studying their relationships with themselves and with those around them, the art of conducting a dialogue, team building, and group dynamics.

Irina Makarova
Director of the Centre for Psychological Counselling

‘For the last several years, we have been living through difficult circumstances, and these external factors impact the internal life of HSE University. We are now enrolling students who have had a very difficult social experience due to the pandemic and distance learning. Analysis of appeals to the Centre for Psychological Counselling and of conflicts in the student environment shows that students have a lack of knowledge and skills for building effective and successful communications. That is why we decided to organise the retreat and training sessions. We strive to help those students who want not only to better understand the laws of interaction between people, but also to learn how to teach these to others.’

The specially designed training programme was created and implemented by Andrey Ruban, graduate of the HSE University School of Psychology, business trainer, facilitator and organisational consultant, in cooperation with the Training School student organisation. ‘The participants of the retreat were very engaged, so it was both easy and interesting to work with them. There was a sense that everyone wanted to get as much as possible from the training. There was a good group dynamic. The participants came to the retreat isolated from each other and left as a close-knit team. It is likely that in the future, they will want to communicate with each other and perhaps work together,’ he said.

The training was held in two formats: whole-group lectures and practice in smaller groups. The trainers-to-be particularly enjoyed the latter: ‘The format allowed us to learn more about ourselves and others,’ said Kamila Bakirova, second-year student of the Bachelor’s in Asian and African Studies. Kamila learned about ‘Training for Trainers’ from a university email. ‘In the future, I would like to pursue an education in psychological aid. I see myself as someone who will help women in the east. I am from an eastern family and the topic of restrictions is a relevant one for me, so I want to combine eastern studies with training sessions,’ she explained.

Alsu Safina, third-year student of the Bachelor’s in Marketing and Market Analytics, learned about ‘Training for Trainers’ through a Telegram channel. She has previously attended psychological training sessions, and liked this experience. ‘I am interested in psychology, coaching, and mentorship, and I would like to be involved in these someday. I really liked the organisers; they are invested in their work,’ she shared.

Elizaveta Afanaseva
Graduate of the Bachelor’s in Psychology, creator of the “Pisat’ nel’zya otkladyvat’ (Don’t Put off Writing) Telegram channel

‘As a graduate of the Psychology programme, I already knew when I went to the retreat that I wanted to connect my life to education. I like bringing value to people, giving them the opportunity to obtain knowledge and skills. I practice coaching and develop and conduct my own master classes, so my top priority was to acquire tools that I can implement in my own work and, of course, try them out in practice.

“Training for Trainers” exceeded all of my expectations. I not only took on the role of trainer, but also met wonderful people, and even helped some of them to better understand themselves through coaching sessions. In addition, I conducted a demo training session on defending against manipulation. The participants were satisfied and provided valuable feedback.

The retreat allowed all of us to better understand and express ourselves without fear. The organisers and participants created the most accepting environment possible, one in which it was possible to share very personal things and be vulnerable.

It was incredible to see how everyone changed and came together in such a short time, becoming more self-confident and trusting others. It really was the best week of the summer. Who knows—maybe someday I will take part in an event like this in a different role and will be able to contribute to the development of such active and engaged students.’

In addition to the busy lecture and game programme, the participants also took part in a rope course as a teambuilding exercise. The exercises could only be completed if every participant contributed fully. The training session was designed to develop responsibility, mutual trust, and a team spirit.

‘Training for Trainers’ included not just learning exercises, but fun activities organised by the Training School. The participants spent their evenings doing quests, expressing their feelings in art therapy, and playing the guitar. They visited the atmospheric ‘Grow Closer to Yourself’ fair, entered the world of a well-known video game, and ended the retreat with a disco.

‘I would like to express my gratitude to all of the participants of the retreat. They were energised and motivated, and that gave us energy. Everyone took an active part in our events and organised their own master classes and demo training sessions. We even had students come from Nizhny Novgorod, Perm, and St Petersburg. We hope that everyone was left satisfied,’ said Yulia Zaychikova and Ksenia Chupris, coordinators of the retreat and members of the Training School student organisation.

August 18, 2023