HSE University to Host 2022 Geographical Dictation
On October 30, the HSE University Faculty of Geography and Geoinformation Technology will once again serve as a venue for the annual Geographical Dictation of the Russian Geographical Society. The dictation offers participants a chance to test their knowledge of Russian geography.
As always, there will be four versions of the Geographical Dictation. Each has 40 questions and is divided into two sections: one with ten basic questions on basic geography facts and one with thirty questions that require creative thinking, logic, and know-how.
Those interested in participating in person at the HSE University venue must register in advance (link in Russian). There will also be venues in cities across Russia and in other countries, including China, a number of European countries, and many others.
Alexey Krylov, Deputy Dean of the HSE University Faculty of Geography and Geoinformation Technology, notes the rapid development of modern geography.
Alexey Krylov
Climate change, natural hazards, growing spatial differences in economic growth, migration processes, the proliferation of technology, and many other factors are bringing geography to the forefront of understanding global transformation. Today, geography utilises big data to model natural and anthropogenic processes and phenomena of interest. Meteorological and climate data serve as the basis for complex forecasting models, and data from mobile operators is used to evaluate real population dynamics. The variety of geographical work across a wide range of topics (from geophysics to cultural geography) means that anyone interested in our science can find something that appeals to them. Those who participate in the 2022 Geography Dictation will expand their horizons and become more familiar with a wide range of fields of geographical knowledge.
Roman Oparin, first-year student of the Bachelor’s in Geography of Global Changes and Geoinformation Technology, took part in the Geography Dictation in his hometown of Nizhnekamsk (Republic of Tatarstan) when he was in the 11th grade.
Roman Oparin
At the time, the tasks showed me the variety and unlimited scope of geography as an Earth science. The questions were understandable and interesting, and they were focused on Russian geography, history and literature. In particular, I remember a question where we had to guess a city based on its description and map. The answer was Vladivostok, which hosted the APEC Russia 2012 summit. As someone with experience of student competitions, the Geographical Dictation was both interesting and useful to me. I recommend that anyone interested in Russian geography take part in this wonderful event.
For more information, see the Geography Dictation 2022 website. If you have any questions about participation, please email iponedelnik@hse.ru.
The Russian Geographical Society has held the Geography Dictation every year since 2015. The main aim of the event is to popularise geographical knowledge and raise interest in Russian geography. Since it was first held, more than 2.4 million people from 122 countries have taken part in the event.