The School Of Journalism "Energy And PR"

The coverage of the energy company activities is quite a serious and enough specific job for a journalist. It is necessary not only to respect the consumers interests, the state and power engineers, but also to navigate the key processes of industry. It isn’t so easy for the ordinary graduate to understand the technical structure of CHPP and HPP. However, this skill is dramatic for the branch reporter.

The mutual project of TGC-1 and Graduate School of Journalism and Mass Communication of the St. Petersburg State University was organized to help journalists and engineers to speak the same language.

There was the starting event on March 6, 2019 at the conference “Media in the modern world. The young researchers" in the St. Petersburg State University. Sergei Ivanov, Director of TGC-1 Production Systems Directorate, told about the future of energy. And Michael Tuznikov, Finance Director of the Nevsky branch of TGC-1, explained mechanisms of media influence on the economy of the large energy enterprises.

Victoria Pavlova, head of Public Relations Department, took part in the panel discussion “Why do we need research in PR?”.

There was also announced the special course the School of Journalism "Energy and PR" during the conference.

Authors and lecturers of the course aim to promote the training of new gen of specialists in the field of journalism, public relations and advertising, trained in the energy industry, observing ethical principles, knowing the laws of crisis communications and writing in a variety of genres about complex specialized topics.

20 students and undergraduates have become participants of the project.

Lectures were devoted to the basic concepts of the energy and the energy facilities design.

- At the very beginning of the training, it is essential to discuss the basic terminology, units of measurement and the structure of the power system. This knowledge is not given on the journalism, but without understanding it is impossible to learn anything in the future, - said Roman Polikarpov, one of the authors of the course, the chief expert on the Internet communications of the press service of TGC-1.

The workshop on the study and modeling of the work and interaction of the press service with the media has become the key activity of the program.

The lesson, based on the principle of the working in groups, clearly demonstrated the methods of journalists and specialists of press service, as well as the problems faced by both sides.

The excursion to the production has become the culmination. All the students got to know the most contemporary power plant of the Northwest - the Pervomayskaya CHPP, its structure, and got their graduation task.

Quite realistic task was put forward in front of the The School students: to create the project information support about the new element of the of the enterprise’s production system – the "ES Obkhody" program.

The specialists of TGC-1 have created the electronic system with use of radio tags, a special smartphone and a software for accounting, control and automating the routine operations of the CHPP inspector. The program allows to bring a very significant operation to a new technological level.

All the Scholars have received diplomas of The School of Journalism and PR. Alena Rodicheva, Natalia Ganina, Elena Seliverstova, and Ludmila Vernikovskaya were awarded the prize of jury sympathies for the brilliant performance and presentation.

The history of the project hasn't finish after the final photo. The students are going to the practice in the Department of Public Relations, where they will face again with real challenges and gain new experience.

Although the main result is different. The successful experiment of the first The School has opened the way for future journalists and the whole society through them, to a more complete knowledge of the power engineering. And the power engineers themselves have got another opportunity to look at themselves from the outside, felt the interest to the profession, saw how young people are interested in it. 

Furthermore, the next step has been done. Each our employee can take part in the creating more profession sphere surrounding to popularize the work, to build the main creator image of our planet – the engineer.