Volga Region University second-year student Ilya Ivanov won the All-Russian "Pedagogical Olympus" Olympiad in the "Teaching in High School, Secondary Vocational, and Higher Education" category.
For the second year, the Olympiad has been successfully held by the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology in Physical Education and Sports at Volga Region University, in collaboration with the non-governmental private educational institution, the organization of continuing professional education, "Akcion."
This large-scale intellectual competition brought together 656 students from higher and secondary vocational educational institutions from across Russia. The project is aimed at future professionals whose careers will be directly related to the education and upbringing of children.
According to the Olympiad organizer, Associate Professor Venera Sultanova, the key objectives of the event were to reinforce theoretical knowledge of pedagogy, deepen professional competencies acquired during their studies, stimulate the creative growth of future teachers, and increase interest in the teaching profession among young people.
The competition challenges required participants not only to have theoretical knowledge but also to be able to navigate real-world work situations. Traditionally, the Olympiad consisted of two stages: a theoretical stage, which involved completing a comprehensive test on the fundamentals of pedagogy, and a practical stage, which involved solving pedagogical problems.
To ensure thorough preparation for the finals, the organizers offered participants the unique opportunity to take specialized training courses free of charge from the organizer, Akcion.
"We're competing on equal terms with the flagships of Russian pedagogical education. And if Volga Region University won silver in 2025, this year it's gold!" emphasized Associate Professor Venera Sultanova, sharing the results of the intellectual competition.
Talking about the decision to participate in the Olympiad, student Ilya Ivanov noted that he was attracted by the practical orientation of the tasks. The competition was an excellent opportunity for him to test himself at the federal level, compare notes with colleagues from other regions and see how best practices work.
In preparation for the Olympiad, he focused not on “coaching,” but on systematizing knowledge: he revised old developments and analyzed complex cases from practice. “It also helped that I constantly keep my finger on the pulse of modern techniques, which gave me a good theoretical basis,” noted the student.
The liveliest stage, in his opinion, was the “Professional Situation” competition - the jury gave non-standard input, which was helped by logic and flexible thinking. Here I especially felt the excitement of defending my point of view in front of experts.
"To be honest, I didn't expect to win, so winning was a pleasant surprise, given the high level of the participants. The realization of first place didn't hit me right away – when I thought back on all the previous stages, I realized that methodical preparation and stress tolerance played a key role.
I plan to participate next year, but in a slightly different format. I wouldn't be particularly interested in going through the same stages again, even if the tasks are updated. However, the organizers announced that a new track might be added next season – team competitions or ones with mentoring elements. If that happens, I'll definitely apply, because teamwork provides a completely different experience," shared Ilya Ivanov.
