Using social media for nurturing civic entrepreneurial spirit and motivation among the students

The article describes a best-practice case study at ITMO University (St Petersburg, Russia) and examines how social media can be successfully integrated into the learning process to enable students to develop the skills necessary for effective social engagement and civic impact. It specifically concerns nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit and motivation amongst students registered on the course "Life navigation", which is designed to develop professionalism and citizenship in students. The program makes widespread use of the popular Russian social network "Vkontakte" as an educational tool. The impact of "Vkontakte" reinforces the results of other research undertaken into the role of social networks and messengers in the learning process. The evidence presented in the article suggests that, by incorporating the "Vkontakte" social network into the study program, students' commitment to social engagement and civic entrepreneurship is significantly enhanced.