Online meeting at international level on the subject of “Experience of distance education in the context of COVID-19 pandemic” was held on December 16, 2020. Baikal State University was presented by Mikhail P. Kuz’min, Vice-Rector for International Relations of BSU, Doctor of Sciences, Associate Professor. Elena V. Tikhonova, Head of International Relations Department, as well as department officers also took part in the meeting.

Baikal State University has been a member of the Russian-Chinese Association of Economic Universities since its foundation in 2013. A total of 18 Russian and 22 Chinese universities participate in the Association’s work.

The main goals of the Association are creation of an educational and scientific platform for higher economic educational institutions both in Russia and China, joint work on educational and scientific projects at international level, improvement of work efficiency, experience and academic exchange.

The eighth annual meeting was attended by rectors, vice-rectors, heads of international services of leading Russian and Chinese economic universities. The participants were greeted by Deputy Director of the International Department of Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Yu.V. Raspertov, and the representative of Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Liu Jianqing.

At the plenary session, 14 reports were read from both sides. The event lasted more than 3 hours.

The participants of the meeting were especially interested in detailed and extensive speech of Vice-Rector for International Relations of BSU, Mikhail P. Kuz’min. In his report titled “Prospects of international activities of Baikal State University in present-day conditions” he spoke about the complex of measures implemented and scheduled at BSU to minimize the consequences of the pandemic and to maintain the university’s effectiveness in this period.

M.P. Kuz’min announced that one of the main successfully completed tasks, was the organization of distance learning for first-year foreign students staying abroad. In this regard the following activities were carried out:

• scheduling classes taking account of time lag and daily routine of foreign students;
• providing students with access to a set of educational materials;
• tutors’ attraction from senior students to help first-year students in adaptation;
• informational and psychological support;
• distant contests, games and programs for their socialization and involvement in university life;
• teachers’, mentors’ and international department officers’ individual work with students.

At the end of his speech, Mikhail Petrovich emphasized that the set of measures to support foreign students is constantly expanding. So this year, the outgiving of financial and humanitarian aid was organized to foreign students who are in Russia on a regular basis. The issue of organizing of new scholarship programs for foreign students is also being considered at present time.