On 10 July, the Summer University project was launched at the Ural Federal University. About 300 students from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Serbia, Brazil, India, Vietnam, Colombia, Yemen, Egypt, and Turkmenistan gathered at the UrFU site. At the same time, the Summer University was launched at Kazan and Siberian Federal University. In total, more than 1,200 students from 25 countries are taking part in the project.
The opening ceremony at UrFU began with the International Youth Cooperation in Intercultural Dialogue plenary discussion. It was attended by Viktor Koksharov, principal of UrFU, Nina Zhuravleva, First Deputy Minister of Education and Youth Policy of the Sverdlovsk Oblast, Andrey Keller, Head of FSASI Sociocenter, and Vladimir Bublik, principal of the Ural State Law University. They discussed the importance of such projects for effective international youth interaction and the issue of adaptation of foreign students in Russian universities.
"Ural Federal University is focused on international cooperation. We have more than 4600 foreign students and trainees, among our partners there are more than 400 foreign universities. We are creating joint educational programs with universities from CIS countries and China. And we aim only to increase the number of international students at UrFU. For this purpose, we are improving the infrastructure, so the new UrFU campus is being built, new dormitories are being erected, in one of which you have become the first residents", - noted Viktor Koksharov, principal of UrFU.
"The peculiarity of this project is that the guys not only study and form their professional competences but do it as part of international student groups within the framework of project work. And the second point is that they get acquainted with the culture, traditions, history of the cities. Relationships that are formed between students are a potential pledge of future interstate cooperation. These students will graduate from university, take an important place in the country's economy, and influence the decision-making of their states and companies," – said Andrey Keller.
In addition, on the first day, the project participants started their educational program. They learned the basics of project activities and listened to experts in their professional tracks.
"I came here to communicate with people from various countries, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw how many different participating countries were represented. I believe that the track I chose - humanitarian - will help me in my future work. As this direction implies training in solving social problems, and I plan to connect my life with public service in the future," – said Alexandra Verovka, a student from the Republic of Belarus.
The participants have two busy weeks ahead of them to create creative projects and get acquainted with Ekaterinburg and the region.