A delegation from the Manchurian Institute of Russian Language ( MIRL), headed by the Director Mr. Tian Zhenjiang, visited Baikal State University today. Vice-Rector for International Relations of BSU Mikhail Kuz’min gave the Chinese colleagues a tour of the university's landmark sites, followed by a meeting of the rector's office with members of the Chinese delegation.

At the meeting Rector of Baikal State University Professor Victor Ignatenko briefly spoke about the changes that have taken place in BSU over the past three years: the university radio and television have been created, BSU is among the five universities in the country that have 24-hour broadcasting. The annual budget of BSU today is 1 billion 750 million rubles. For three years, it has increased by 500 million rubles. BSU has the largest number of students from the People's Republic of China, so BSU is interested in further fruitful cooperation, as well as the Chinese side.

Mr. Tian Zhenjiang, the head of the Chinese delegation, the director of MIRL, said that the institute cooperates with 30 universities, but BSU is the most significant partner.

Baikal State University has joint educational programs with the Manchurian Institute of Russian Language since 2013. Now 48 students from Manchuria study at BSU under the 2+3 program. The first two years of the program students study in China. In the second year they come to BSU and continue their education under bachelor's degree programs. While studying at BSU, Chinese students have a unique opportunity to interact with leading specialists, representatives of employers, to conduct active educational, scientific and extracurricular activities.

Two weeks ago, the universities signed an agreement on the implementation of a new joint educational program 3+2, which will increase the number of students up to 100 people. As Mr. Tian noted, competition in China is fierce, so the number of students wishing to study in Russia is growing every year.

"We see how our students live and study in Irkutsk. They have an interesting diverse life. They come out as well-prepared specialists with a good knowledge of Russian. We also intend to host Russian students at the Faculty of Tourism Management. We invite Russian teachers," Mr. Tien noted.

The two universities also plan to establish short-term language internships. As Anna Litovkina, Dean of the BSU International Department, noted, Russian students also show great interest in language internships in China, because the Chinese language is in great demand and is studied at BSU both in dual degree programs and in other areas of training.

"Russian and Chinese students talk to each other, exchange information, become friends, so they are eager to learn, but they should start with language internships," says Anna Litovkina.

BSU is ready to accept Chinese students for summer language internships. The children are offered to pass an exam for a certain level of Russian language and participate in off-site test sessions of the BSU Testing Center in China or in Russia.