International informal student meeting "Bridge of friendship"

On January 24, 2019 at the Michurinsky State Agrarian University, with the support of the rector Vadim Babushkin, an international informal student meeting “Bridge of friendship” was held, dedicated to the celebration of the Day of Russian Studentship.

The organizer of the event was the staff of the international office of the university. Foreign students and staff of the Michurinsky State Agrarian University, Lipetsk State Technical University (LSTU) and Tambov State University. G. R. Derzhavina (TSU named after G. R. Derzhavin) participated in the event.

The meeting hosted a meeting of the international discussion club " Live in Russia - Speak Russian", which brought together representatives from Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote DʻIvoire, Egypt, China, Libya, India, Syria, Turkmenistan. The vice rector for education Sergey Zhidkov made a welcoming speech. He noted that the “round table” is a great opportunity to exchange views and solve actual problems, establish cooperation between representatives of different cultures and search for like-minded people.

The head of the international office, Elena Yashina, announced the current results and main directions of work of her structural subdivision. She told about the number of foreign students studying at the university, about their distribution by institutes, participation of the Mich SAU in international projects and programs. The Chairperson of the Student Self-Government Council, Lyubov Mikhailova, drew attention to the possibilities of realizing the potential of students in the Michurinsk State Agrarian University. Many of them have actively participated in cultural, public, and sporting events.

Colleagues form other universities shared their own experience: Anna Pozdnyakova, head of the department of international relations at Lipetsk State Technical University, and director of the Resource and Methodological Center for cross-national relations, TSU named after G.R. Derzhavina Natalya Ershova.

Further there was student performances of different educational institutions. Presentations from the Michurinsk State Agrarian University were presented by: Foka Fango Floran, a student at the Engineering Institute, as well as students of the pre-university training course in the Russian language Perman Berdiyev, Lu Xiao, Ojong Felix Oru, Abeed Abdulkadir Amkhmid Mohamed. Their messages were devoted to: intercultural communication in the modern world, national traditions as the basis of mentality, the development of interethnic relations between Russia and Turkmenistan in the field of education, the dialogue of cultures and the tolerance of communication.

The participants of the discussion club examined the actual problems of studying foreign students in Russian universities and the peculiarities of adaptation in a different psychological and sociocultural situation. Boys and girls talked about the difficulties they had to face and their impressions of the new country.

Later, the guests made a tour on the objects of the research and innovation infrastructure of the university, visited the museum of the history of the educational institution.

The day ended with a concert prepared by students of higher educational institutions and awarding letters of gratitude to the participants of the meeting.

According to the opinion of Rector of the Michurinsky State Agrarian University Vadim Babushkin, this meeting was a unique opportunity to make constructive proposals for improving the conditions of study and residency of foreign students in the Russian Federation, as well as developing cooperation between people of different cultures and searching for like-minded people.