INST156 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Sergii Skakun INST156 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 11/03/2025	Difficulty: 2/5 Professor: 5/5 Pretty easy Gen Ed overall. I stopped going to lectures halfway through the semester and was still able to keep up, since he posts all the lecture slides online. The material can be interesting, but if you’re not really into the topic it can feel a little dry and hard to focus on. There are about 7–8 homework assignments throughout the semester. They’re definitely doable, but very tedious, and a few of them require Excel—so if you’re not comfortable with it, expect a bit of a learning curve. There are also some ELMS quizzes and a few in-class quizzes where you just scan a QR code and take them on your phone (super chill). He is quick at responding to emails and is very friendly. Overall: easy class, light pressure, lectures can be interesting, but not necessary to attend if you’re good at working independently.
Sergii Skakun INST156 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 02/16/2024	Skakun is a great professor whose experience and passion shine through his teaching. The concepts are fascinating and you get hands-on experience with software tools from NASA which was really cool. I'd recommend this class, taught by him, a million times over.
Sergii Skakun INST156 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 11/17/2023	If you need a DSSP, take this class! Skakun is an enthusiastic and understanding professor. His lectures are interesting and he's very knowledgeable about his field. I liked the class structure as well.
Sergii Skakun INST156 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/08/2023	INST156 is an interesting class, and easy too. Skakun's lectures make it super easy to understand the topic. It's rarely boring and you will learn a lot from him. He's also very nice and enthusiastically answers any question you might have. The class meets every Tue Thur, but Thursdays are just homework sessions so you can get away with attending once a week. (however this might be different in the future, since it's changing to MWF). There are weekly papers where you use NASA satellite imagery websites to compare and contrast satellite images across different time periods (e.g., glaciers in the past vs the present, or city population in the past vs present). It might sound intimidating but it's really just like Google Earth but cooler. The papers are kinda fun, very interesting (you learn a lot) and pretty easy.
Sergii Skakun INST156 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 03/04/2023	Dr. Skakun is incredibly knowledgeable in his area of expertise and does an excellent of making topics, that most students probably have very little to no experience with, seem very comprehensible. He's pretty understanding if you talk to him and an all-around good guy. The class is pretty interesting and I'd highly recommend taking it if you have any interest in NASA or data on large scales.

Sergii Skakun
INST156

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
11/03/2025

Difficulty: 2/5 Professor: 5/5 Pretty easy Gen Ed overall. I stopped going to lectures halfway through the semester and was still able to keep up, since he posts all the lecture slides online. The material can be interesting, but if you’re not really into the topic it can feel a little dry and hard to focus on. There are about 7–8 homework assignments throughout the semester. They’re definitely doable, but very tedious, and a few of them require Excel—so if you’re not comfortable with it, expect a bit of a learning curve. There are also some ELMS quizzes and a few in-class quizzes where you just scan a QR code and take them on your phone (super chill). He is quick at responding to emails and is very friendly. Overall: easy class, light pressure, lectures can be interesting, but not necessary to attend if you’re good at working independently.

Sergii Skakun
INST156

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
02/16/2024

Skakun is a great professor whose experience and passion shine through his teaching. The concepts are fascinating and you get hands-on experience with software tools from NASA which was really cool. I'd recommend this class, taught by him, a million times over.

Sergii Skakun
INST156

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
11/17/2023

If you need a DSSP, take this class! Skakun is an enthusiastic and understanding professor. His lectures are interesting and he's very knowledgeable about his field. I liked the class structure as well.

Sergii Skakun
INST156

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
04/08/2023

INST156 is an interesting class, and easy too. Skakun's lectures make it super easy to understand the topic. It's rarely boring and you will learn a lot from him. He's also very nice and enthusiastically answers any question you might have. The class meets every Tue Thur, but Thursdays are just homework sessions so you can get away with attending once a week. (however this might be different in the future, since it's changing to MWF). There are weekly papers where you use NASA satellite imagery websites to compare and contrast satellite images across different time periods (e.g., glaciers in the past vs the present, or city population in the past vs present). It might sound intimidating but it's really just like Google Earth but cooler. The papers are kinda fun, very interesting (you learn a lot) and pretty easy.

Sergii Skakun
INST156

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
03/04/2023

Dr. Skakun is incredibly knowledgeable in his area of expertise and does an excellent of making topics, that most students probably have very little to no experience with, seem very comprehensible. He's pretty understanding if you talk to him and an all-around good guy. The class is pretty interesting and I'd highly recommend taking it if you have any interest in NASA or data on large scales.

Reviews for INST156