student clubs and projects

Meraki Journal

Meraki Journal (MJ) is an academic journal launched by the School of Advanced Studies (SAS), with the goal of publishing interdisciplinary research by students. 

The journal features peer-reviewed articles covering a wide range of research areas. In addition to articles, MJ also invites forms of academic work such as reviews, thematic studies, essays, and creative works. 

This approach aims to encourage students to explore different avenues of academic self-expression and contribute to a broader intellectual discourse. Thus, Meraki Journal provides students with the opportunity to enhance their research skills and make a mark in academia. 

The editorial board of Meraki Journal consists of students from the Excellence Track of the Scholars program, ensuring a fair and rigorous double-blind review process. They provide valuable feedback, mentorship, and guidance to students, contributing to the highest quality of work. 

The journal's key principle is "by students, for students," which expands students' opportunities and goes beyond graded subjects.

The electronic version of the magazine can be viewed here.

creative association “Abuliia”

Creative association “Abuliia” was created in January 2023. Participants of a small reading group decided to put their thoughts in articles and publish them in a small magazine. Then, a telegram channel was created; the team became an editorial board. 

A topic of an issue is cultural phenomenon and its representative. The association aims at supporting artists and writers, offering them an opportunity to participate in the creation of issues. 

Besides online activities, “Abuliia” runs offline events. For example, the discussion of “Wuthering Heights” novel with the support of “No one’s asleep” book store, creative picnic with collage-making on the embankment and workshop on handmade magazines in Sigma summer school 2023, organized in SAS.

summer school “Sigma”

“Sigma. Tyumen” is a free summer school for students in grades 7-11 organized by SAS students. Sigma's main principle is passing research skills and the excitement for academic work from undergraduate students to school students. In 2024, Sigma will take place in SAS for the second time.

From 2015 to 2022, Sigma was held in Omsk as an initiative of students who left Omsk for their studies but returned to their hometown for vacations. Following the initiative, in 2023 SAS students organized the school in Tyumen; in August 2024, Sigma will take place in SAS for the second time.

All Sigma classes are taught by students from various Russian universities. In 2023, Sigma hosted 18 courses from students of the School of Advanced Studies (SAS), NSU, DGTU, OmSU and the joint undergraduate program of MIPT and SKOLKOVO. Sigma School's courses are interdisciplinary in nature, and students independently choose classes of interest to attend.

You can familiarize yourself with the activities of Sigma, as well as enroll for the 2024 season, via social networks — in the project's VK group and Telegram channel.

SAS debate club

Parliamentary Debate is a world-famous intellectual sports game that had captivated the whole world before nesting at SAS. From the speaker it demands a series of outstanding qualities, such as command playing, great oral skills, and knowledge in vast variety of subjects.

Thus, those who participate in our Club do not only train themselves in English and as orators, but expand their interests ranging from global warming to politics. Moreover, they eventually expand their geography by attending the debate tournaments and championships across the globe.

Our meetings are usually taking place 2 times a week at the dates and times agreed by the members of our telegram channel. The student might not necessarily be involved in all the meetings, but come from time to time to play and enjoy it. From time to time, we are organizing the public events (such as the debate fights) that are going to be breathtaking and funny.

Jazz Dance

SAS Jazz Dance Club is focused on studying swing dance and its African American cultural origins. As a part of regular meetings, students learn practical dance skills, such as authentic jazz steps, foundations of movement, and interaction techniques in an attempt to build a dialogue. 

This season, Jazz club work will be devoted to two dance styles (any or both are free to choose). No prior dance experience is required, come as you are. 

• Lindy hop is a pair swing dance, born in the USA in the 1920s with the popularization of jazz music. It is joyful, bouncy, and improvisational.

• Body movement for blues. Blues dance is a family of different dances developed during the colonial enslavement and oppression of the Black people in America. 

Technically, somewhat due to African roots, blues dance is hardly possible without well-developed bodily plasticity and ability to relax.

We’ll have solo exercises and talk about what brings the blues aesthetic to movement. 

Swing is a social dance – meaning, dance dialogue, communication are essential. 

So, in addition to classes, we enjoy throwing parties in SAS, bars, open city spaces, or traveling to jazz festivals to dance together. This year, we’ll try to organize blues nights – authentic, soulful, uniting, and blue. 

Finally, Jazz Dance Club was born with the idea of popularizing swing dance and Afroamerican art, but it happened to unite people with wider, diverse requests. Club members searched and found new connections, regular physical activity, or a hobby. 

Some were seeking acceptance of their movement and bodies, they wished to dance naturally without fear of judgment or shame, but with joy and positivity. For others, Jazz club meetings functioned as relief from stress, anxiety, or even pain, allowing an hour of psychological peace. 

SAS film club

Participants are expected to watch movies together - from the films of Jean-Luc Godard to the experimental animation of Norman McLaren - followed by a discussion of the films and a search for answers to the question: "What is cinema?". 

SAS Film Club participants watch movies in the original language with subtitles, while animated pictures have only sound effects and musical accompaniment. In some cases, organizers invite SAS professors and alumni to the meetings for more in-depth discussion of the film, the genre, or the director's work.

SAS music club

The SAS Music Club is a place where students listen to and discuss music, specifically contemporary albums.

Listening, perceiving sound, is the sense with the widest range. We can taste food only in our mouths, smell scents in close proximity, see objects hundreds of meters away, but hear sounds from even further distances. Similarly, music is the most accessible art form – it takes days to read a book, two to three hours to watch a film, but only an hour to finish an album, and four minutes to listen through a song. It is important and exciting to discuss music because it is rarely compared to other arts: people can easily discuss their favorite films, TV shows, or books; yet it seems that people often struggle to name their favorite music, describe their feelings towards it, or identify particular technical highlights.

While people are well aware of music from the past, they often remain oblivious to current music outside of poptimism and rockism beliefs. Everyone knows the Beatles, everyone knows Queen, but so much attention is already devoted to them. We also want to focus on an album as the unit of a musician’s output, because we always discuss movies and books as a whole. Music is usually discussed by genres, artists, or songs, but rarely as complete projects with unique concepts and lyricism.

The SAS Music Club holds a meeting once every week. Each class is devoted to one music album released in the XXI century, which is considered praiseworthy for its unique music, themes, or impact. While listening, students are welcome to make notes, read lyrics, and discuss their thoughts with each other. We also discuss the short biography of the artist and the events that led to the creation of this album. After listening, we discuss the album as a whole, as well as the reception it received from critics and the public. Additional materials, like lyric sheets, music videos, photos, demos, samples, etc., can be provided.