Every year, Russian students from St. Petersburg get the opportunity to study or to get an internship abroad, being financed through the budget of the CGES. In return, students from Bielefeld and from other EU universities complete their semester abroad in the MA SES Programme. Usually, they are holders of the “GoEast!” scholarship of the DAAD or other foundations. Some students participate, using the student loan "BAFöG".
The special service of the CGES and the German-Russian Centre in the Faculty of Sociology SPSU in the area of student exchange has the quite complex and demanding selection procedure and the very intensive preparation of the stay abroad with mentors in home country, mentors in the guest country, and if, needed, intensive follow-up work with the preparation of their reports.
Both groups of students have to undergo rather ambitious study programmes at the guest university. The stay of Russian students at Bielefeld University is oriented towards improving their knowledge in theory and methods of sociology, using advantages of the library for writing their theses, and for intensive mentoring by German professors as well as attending seminars in German and English and getting credits. The general counselling and supervising is done in Bielefeld by Prof. Dr. Jürgen Feldhoff.
The stay of the students from Bielefeld University and other EU universities at the Faculty of Sociology of the St. Petersburg State University consists of three major parts: conducting autonomously small research projects, taking part in courses (MA SES, in the case of good Russian knowledge in Russian seminars, too) and giving one tutorial to Russian students in German language. In the supervision and support of these students in St. Petersburg the CGES cooperated with the German-Russian Centre. Following the cooperation contract between the Bielefeld University and the State University of St. Petersburg (between the two faculties of sociology such a contract exists since 1994) German exchange students have an opportunity to visit Russian language courses of the University for free as well as the opportunity to be registered as students of the State University of St. Petersburg for free, which makes the students’ financial state significantly easier.
Beside their study and research, the German exchange students offer several tutorials consisting of lectures and discussions in German language at the Faculty of Sociology of St. Petersburg State University. Those are dedicated to different aspects of German Studies and sociology.