“The award took me completely by surprise, but I’m very happy about this recognition,” says Olga Sidorova at a meeting in Ravensburg, her eyes beaming. With her open and friendly manner, she quickly wins people’s attention and trust—and she has quite a story to tell.
Olga Sidorova has been living in Upper Swabia with her husband for three years. “I come from the beautiful Russian city of St. Petersburg,” she says. The 37-year-old earned her bachelor’s degree with a focus on “German as a Foreign Language” at Herzen State Pedagogical University there—one of Russia’s largest teacher-training universities, with approximately 18,000 students. Building on that, she earned her master’s degree in linguistics, translation theory, and international communication. “I already took German classes in school,” she explains in nearly flawless German with no trace of an accent. She gained her expertise in German as a foreign language through teaching positions at various institutions in St. Petersburg, including in adult education. Among other things, she taught for two years at the St. Petersburg branch of the Research University “University of Economics” and contributed to the development of teaching and learning programs. Through a distance learning program, she also earned the Green Diploma, a standardized teacher certification from the Goethe-Institut. In addition to her native Russian and a high level of German, Olga Sidorova also speaks and understands English very well.
She decided to come to Germany in 2022. “I searched for job openings on the Federal Employment Agency’s website, found a job posting for the Josef-Wilhelm-Schule at the Liebenau Foundation in Ravensburg, and applied,” she explains. Just one day later, Principal Klaus Hagmann contacted her and suggested an online job interview. “I almost had a panic attack during that interview because I could barely understand anything at first—Mr. Hagmann was speaking Swabian,” she recalls with a laugh. But then they quickly came to an agreement. She received an offer and was able to apply for a visa with her husband. It took about six months before she was allowed to come to Ravensburg accompanied by her husband and her dog.
In order to be eligible to teach in Germany, Olga Sidorova needed to have her teaching degree recognized as equivalent. To meet the requirements for this, she enrolled in the 2023–24 winter semester in a postgraduate program at the University of Education Weingarten (PH) to become a teacher for lower secondary school in German and English. “Olga Sidorova participated very actively and enthusiastically in the courses,” said Dr. Anny Schweigkofler-Kuhn, a lecturer in German and speech training at the PH, during the award ceremony. “I have great respect for your courage and your international professional and academic background; I value your expertise, your critical perspective, and your willingness to take on challenges,” said the laudator. Olga Sidorova praised the PH for its outstanding and well-structured educational work, carried out by competent instructors and featuring excellent course content. “I have learned a great deal and can apply much of it to my work.”
Olga Sidorova has been working as a teacher of German as a second language in so-called VABO classes (Pre-qualification Year for Work and Career, now known as Integration and Language) at the Liebenau Foundation since 2022. “Here, young people with little or no knowledge of German and very diverse educational backgrounds receive intensive language support,” she reports. It’s easy to see how much she loves her work and her students. And she speaks with deep gratitude of Principal Hagmann: “He is a great humanitarian.” Hagmann has actively supported her wherever possible and necessary, she says; he has helped with paperwork and finding housing, advanced tuition fees, arranged important contacts, and much more. “He made it easier for us to settle in.”
Olga’s husband also feels at home in Ravensburg. “He’s a physicist and now works as a software developer at a company,” she says. Upper Swabia has become a second home for both of them. “We enjoy living here, love our work, and have made many nice friends.”
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Author: Barbara Müller
