On October 22nd, a ceremony of opening a new student cafe IntellektUm was held on the 3rd floor of the academic building No.3 of South Ural State University.
The Institute of Sport, Tourism and Service, and its Department of Production Technology and Catering Organization, suggested the idea of creating the IntellektUm innovative student cafe and helped put it into life. The cafe was opened by the SUSU Rector Alexander Wagner, the university President Aleksandr Shestakov and the Institute Director Vadim Erlikh.
"I am very happy that such a place now exists, as usually there is a lack of food courts, especially interesting, modern and comfortable ones and with good food. I'd like to wish the people who created it to welcome many students and teachers here, so that they could take their time and just talk over a cup of coffee. The process of education includes not only teachers, literature, and information ‑ it also implies proper infrastructure. We'd like to make our students feel comfortable at our university as much as possible. This cafe differs from other catering places thanks to its main concept: not to have a solid meal, but rather spend time with comfort during the break between classes, discuss team projects, charge your gadgets, and take a quick bite together with your fellow students or colleagues," noted SUSU Rector Alexander Wagner.
The cafe is functioning thanks to the joint efforts of the academic staff members and students. The atmosphere of this new space has been thought through to consider all the little details: it has a contemporary design, good food, convenient location, and student personnel. This student cafe will become a unique place for practical training of students majoring in Production Technology and Catering Organization, where they can work on their skills to get a job in the future.
"This is a space for students first and foremost. Zone one can welcome 30 guests. This is the exact number of people in one academic student group. We were creating our cafe hoping that we will be able to hold master classes and other student activities here. The personnel are also students. It is a place both for practical training and earning money. Such practical training will be like an internship, just not at an enterprise but right at our university, as well as a chance to do something good for your fellow students," shared Vadim Erlikh, Director of the Institute of Sport, Tourism and Service.
A thematic photo area and several interactive zones were working for the guests of the event.
All those willing could take part in master classes offered within the "Students in the Kitchen" grant project by Rosmolodezh: students could cook simple breakfast dishes themselves. And also, guests could leave their comments and some well-wishing for this new cafe.
Interesting fact: one of the students was the author of the name idea for the innovative cafe. A contest was held to come up with a name meeting the following criteria: it should be interesting and unique, and related to education. The organizers received around 200 name ideas, but the winning one was suggested by Anastasiia Barbasova, a student of the Institute of Sport, Tourism and Service.
"Usually I don't participate in such contests, but this time I decided to give it a try. For me, this name is associated with my best friend – she often successfully demonstrates her intellect during classes, that's why this very word "intellect" came across my mind. I also decided to add "um" ("intelligence" in Russian), and thus it turned into IntellektUm. It suits the style of our Institute and SUSU well. I learned about the news that my idea was picked for the cafe on my birthday, so I was especially happy that day!" explained Anastasiia Barbasova.
The creators feel confident that the new cafe will become a meeting place for many students and will make them feel even more comfortable at our university.