On April 11, I spoke at the Business Day event at Vector School.
I had to talk about my path in the profession and discuss with the kids their business case projects.
My path to architecture began with a passion for art and drawing in childhood, then continued at art school and Voronezh State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (specialization, master's and postgraduate studies). My parents, architects, largely determined my professional future, although initially I planned to enter the Faculty of Romano-Germanic Philology at VSU.
I have always believed that the most important thing is not just skills, but also the ability to communicate, build a team and find non-standard solutions. During my professional career, our office has worked on such significant projects as the improvement of Petrovskaya Embankment in Voronezh, Tanais Park, the design of the Sous restaurant, the reconstruction of the Architect's House and many others, including international ones, in which we actively used modern approaches and technologies, such as parametric design and artificial intelligence.
I had to talk about my path in the profession and discuss with the kids their business case projects.
My path to architecture began with a passion for art and drawing in childhood, then continued at art school and Voronezh State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (specialization, master's and postgraduate studies). My parents, architects, largely determined my professional future, although initially I planned to enter the Faculty of Romano-Germanic Philology at VSU.
I have always believed that the most important thing is not just skills, but also the ability to communicate, build a team and find non-standard solutions. During my professional career, our office has worked on such significant projects as the improvement of Petrovskaya Embankment in Voronezh, Tanais Park, the design of the Sous restaurant, the reconstruction of the Architect's House and many others, including international ones, in which we actively used modern approaches and technologies, such as parametric design and artificial intelligence.
🏅 What did the students present?
During the presentation we discussed 7 case projects that students are already implementing:
Children's playground through children's eyes - development of 3D-figures made of geoplastic. We discussed how important it is to take into account the opinion of children and use augmented reality (AR) technologies for preliminary visualization of projects. By the way, for this case study we interviewed industrial designer Ariel Rojo, you can see the first part here.
Children's playground through children's eyes - development of 3D-figures made of geoplastic. We discussed how important it is to take into account the opinion of children and use augmented reality (AR) technologies for preliminary visualization of projects. By the way, for this case study we interviewed industrial designer Ariel Rojo, you can see the first part here.
Vector School's Merch - launching its own brand of clothing and accessories. It is noteworthy that we managed to involve local brands and their artisans. For my part, I suggested the guys to use neural networks and AI to create and test unique designs, as well as chatbots to organize pre-orders and customer feedback.
Cultural adaptation of the advertising product - creation of a methodological guide for ad adaptation of advertising. We discussed the possibility of using specialized AI trained on cultural peculiarities of different countries to automate the analysis and preparation of advertising campaigns. I think this project has huge potential. We immediately thought up with the guys how we could integrate it into other cases.
Holiday agency - development of non-standard holiday scenarios. I advised the guys to actively use neural networks and creative AI-services to come up with unique scenarios with elements of cultural diversity.
Creative space Matryoshka - organizing events for teenagers. Discussed the need to promote events through creative and attention-grabbing content in social media, as well as the integration of interactive elements and gamification.
Increasing student motivation - creating a motivation system through points and bonuses. I recommended to introduce something like “Portfolio of Achievements” or simple mobile applications for easy tracking and exchange of points or their accumulation, as well as involvement of parents and administration in the motivation system. I think scholarships for progress (not only for A's😁) are possible. In my opinion, one of the main objectives of this case study should be to foster a growth mindset in students - the belief that abilities can be developed.
Audio tours of Voronezh - development of unique audio tours. Suggested to the guys to integrate their audio guides with already existing platforms, such as Yandex.Maps or 2GIS, to increase the accessibility and popularity of the product. And also to diversify the scenarios, for example, based on the goals: “to pump up knowledge” or simply “to relax under the baritone of a professional speaker”.
✨ What hooked me as a speaker?
I was very inspired by the way the kids presented their ideas freely and confidently. Each project is a real business case, where students learn in practice to solve problems that they will encounter in adult life: from marketing and sales to project management and interaction with partners. A quote from one of the participants was particularly memorable: “You don't need to fixate on one thing. You need to cling to every detail and opportunity”.
🎯 Why are such events important?
Such formats allow students to develop skills that will be really useful for them in the future: communication, teamwork, creating and promoting a product. It's not just theory - it's live experience that becomes part of their professional path.
I am glad that teachers and parents support such initiatives. Who knows, perhaps it is now in the school “Vector” that future leaders and entrepreneurs who will change our world for the better are born.
Thank you guys for the inspiration and see you again!
I am glad that teachers and parents support such initiatives. Who knows, perhaps it is now in the school “Vector” that future leaders and entrepreneurs who will change our world for the better are born.
Thank you guys for the inspiration and see you again!