The Consul General of Federal Republic of Germany in Siberian and Far Eastern Federal Districts of the Russian Federation, Mr. Bernd Finke, visited Baikal State University with information visit.
He got familiar with the main buildings of the university, visited the student food center, as well as the exhibition of unique German books of the 18th and 19th centuries presented by the research library of BSU. In the framework of the meeting with the university's administration, a constructive dialogue was held on the prospects for cooperation between our university and German academic organizations, as well as on the directions of the interaction between Baikal State University and the German Consulate General.
The Consul General was welcomed by the first vice-rector of BSU - Professor Anna P. Kireenko. She noticed that Baikal State University is happy to make a contribution to the development of Russian-German relations. It is cooperation between universities within student exchanges and the organization of joint research activities will help strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
Vice-Rector for International Relations of BSU, Mikhail P. Kuz'min, presented the main directions of the university's international activities and described in the details the programs implemented by Baikal State University with three German universities - the University of Passau, the University of Potsdam and the University of Applied Sciences Zittau / Goerlitz.
Nowadays BSU implements 117 educational programs in various fields of study. All of them are available to foreign students. The programs "International Relations" and "International Journalism" involve the study of two foreign languages including German. For several years, the university has been successfully implementing double degree programs with universities in China, France and Austria on a wide range of promising areas.
"Baikal State University is partnering with the educational and research organizations in 20 countries. Every year the university becomes more attractive for students from Asian and European countries including Germany",- noted Mikhail P. Kuz'min.
Since 2001 the program in German "German Law" has been implementing with the University of Passau as part of tripartite agreement on cooperation. Within the framework of cooperation with the University of Potsdam, BSU implements the programs of academic exchanges and exchange study.
The students from German side, who are enrolled in the bachelor program "Interdisciplinary study of Russia", come to our university on a constant basis.
The Consul General of FRG thanked the administration of Baikal State University for the opportunity to get acquinted with the university. Among the main areas of interest of the Consulate General for the development of relations between Germany and Russia are the following:
- Assistance in conservation of the traditions and culture of the small ethnic group of Russian Germans;
- Strengthening of the German language positions in Russian schools, development of cooperation programs with schools specializing in in-depth study of the German language;
- Development of relations between Russian and German higher educational institutions, as well as between their research centers.
The German side is interested in taking Russian students. The Russian side can determine which universities in Germany are suitable for cooperation including the field of scientific research. Mr. Finke emphasized that he is extremely interested in development of relations in the field of education and science of Germany and Russia.
In conclusion, Mikhail P. Kuz'min and Anna P. Kireenko thanked Mr. Finke for the visit which could become an important milestone in cooperation not only between Baikal State University and German universities, but also between Russia and Germany in general.