On 10 July, Kazan Federal University opened its doors to 300 international students - the university launched the Summer University project. The guests will take part in the Youth. Innovations. Commonwealth program. The project program includes lectures, seminars, practical classes, as well as excursions and cultural events.
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Chernyshenko welcomed the organizers and guests of the project:
"I welcome you to a unique educational platform created to introduce Russian education, science, history and culture to young people from different countries. The first Summer University took place in the Year of Science and Technology in the format of an educational project between Russia and Belarus. Since then, the geography of the project participants has increased many times over. This year, three universities in Yekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk and Kazan have prepared substantial educational intensives on the most popular scientific areas for the participants, as well as an extensive cultural program, including excursions and workshops, which will help them find new friends, strengthen friendship ties, and get acquainted with the traditions and culture of Russia. I am confident that the Summer University will become an excellent platform for creating sociocultural initiatives, breakthrough innovative projects, and, most importantly, joint ideas and new international collaborations, which will strengthen the development of human resources potential of our countries".
KFU first vice-principal Dmitry Tayursky said that more than 11 thousand foreign students study at the university, i.e., every fifth student came to study at KFU from abroad. He also mentioned that last October the first foreign branch of KFU was opened in Dzhizak (Uzbekistan), besides, three preparatory departments were opened in Iran, Turkey, and Egypt. The opening of a branch in Egypt is planned for next year.
"Extremely interesting educational programs have been prepared for you. I must say that these educational tracks have been selected to make them fascinating for a wide range of participants. Today our colleagues from the leading universities of the Volga Federal District: Nizhny Novgorod State University, Samara State Technical University, Udmurt State University, and Innopolis University are organizing the Summer University together with us. Thank you to all our colleagues for their productive assistance in organizing this event," – said Dmitry Tayursky.
Timirkhan Alishev, vice-principal for external relations of KFU, moderated the panel discussion. He noted that within the framework of the Summer University guests will be trained in eight subject tracks: humanitarian, economics, international relations, culture, architecture, ecology, IT, physics. The participants will have an opportunity not only to study on these subject tracks, but also to create social entrepreneurship projects, which can be later implemented and attract financing for them.
The plenary session discussed issues related to the opportunities available to students in Russia.
"Tatarstan is a typical region in terms of implementing various federal projects; on the other hand, it is a unique territory where these projects have been most developed. We have a huge number of students from abroad studying here. This testifies to the demand for higher education in our republic, to the image created by our republic in the market of educational services in the world. This has been facilitated by the implementation of major international federal projects. We participate in all the projects that are being implemented by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science (creation of advanced engineering schools (AES), Student Startup. I hope that the number of foreign students will increase as a result of the forum. We have created a very good infrastructure for you," – said Andrey Pominov, First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Tatarstan.
Georgy Suvorov, Deputy Head of the Sociocenter, spoke about the role of the Summer University in the paradigm of higher education in the Russian Federation:
"Summer University is a unique opportunity for foreign students to get acquainted not only with Russia, but also with its opportunities, to see our universities; to learn about the opportunities to study in them, to get a quality education in order to subsequently engage in fundamental and applied science".
The Summer University-2023 federal project takes place from 10 to 23 July at the sites of three universities: UrFU, SFU and KFU. It is attended by students from 25 countries from near and far abroad. An important task of the project is to introduce foreign students to the current scientific and educational agenda of the Russian Federation and to promote the creation and development of international student communities.