An interactive educational forum for Mongolian school students “Days of Innovators and Encouragers” was held at the Russian Center for Science and Culture (RCSC) in the city of Ulaanbaatar (“Russian House”).

The main purpose of the forum is to strengthen cooperation with Russian universities, to inform about various educational programs and to involve schoolchildren in the future profession. The BSU delegation consisting of Ekaterina Bobrova and Daria Khlebovich, associate professors of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of BSU, and Maria Chalikova-Ukhanova, senior lecturer, came to the forum.

Twelve Russian universities from six cities (Irkutsk, Rostov-on-Don, St. Petersburg, Yakutsk, Ulan-Ude, and Novosibirsk) took part in the forum. Each university set up its own interactive program and became a “station” for schoolchildren in a fascinating quest for professions of technical, mathematical and humanitarian profiles. Each university had its own place and time to communicate with the children.

The days of BSU delegation work were spent in intensive communication with Mongolian schoolchildren and teachers. Over 250 Mongolian schoolchildren of 10-11 grades from Russian and Mongolian schools visited the BSU “station” for two days.

“To keep the participants from getting bored, the communication was held in an interactive format. The presentation about Baikal State University, its advantages, teachers, educational programs, extracurricular activities, material base aroused great interest of future applicants. Teachers in a game form presented the directions of training - management, economics and linguistics, translation studies. Schoolchildren with pleasure participated in the master class about the profession of manager and its future, quizzes “Own Game” and “What? Where? When?”. With their help they learned not only about BSU, Lake Baikal and Irkutsk, but also about how to become an effective manager, how knowledge of cultural features and attractions will help to become a good specialist in the field of foreign economic activity, as well as what are the most effective ways of learning a language, and how important the work of a linguist-translator is for international interaction,” said BSU teacher Ekaterina Bobrova.

The delegation of Baikal State University also visited school No. 93 in Ulaanbaatar, where they met with 8th grade students. The professors told about the university, met with the school director and teachers, and discussed areas of future cooperation in which both sides are interested.

“In this format, the forum was organized for the first time, but all participants noted its usefulness and prospects. The trip was successful and intense - new ideas regarding the prospects of interaction between Baikal State University and Mongolian educational institutions appeared", - note the participants of the BSU delegation.