Administration of Baikal State University and representatives of national and cultural organizations from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan discussed possibilities for students' attraction from CIS countries, as well as joint participation in international events of various orientations.
The meeting was attended by Mikhail Kuz'min, Vice-rector for International relations of BSU, staff members of International relations department; Olga Penzina, head of Admissions office; Vaisudin Gayratov, head of Russian-Tajik center for inter-ethnic relations and youth policy "Watan" (Motherland); Yusup Kulmatov, head of Uzbek national and cultural center "Our homeland", and Ermamat Turganov, chairman of Irkutsk regional public Kyrguz national and cultural organization "Unity".
Throughout the conversation, Mikhail Kuz'min explained that currently 67 students from Uzbekistan, 23 from Tajikistan and 16 from Kyrgystan study at the university. In 2020 the university formed a concept for the development of the university's international activities, the key areas of which are internationalization of the educational process and complex promotion of the BSU brand abroad.
The result of work in this direction was the organization of an effective system of distance and hybrid learning for international students, the development of the university's website in English and Chinese, the university's inclusion to the leading international associations, as well as the strengthening of the university's position in national and international rankings. Thus, compared to 2019, our university has improved twice its position in the Interfax internationalization ranking.
Olga Penzina, head of Admissions office, presented the most popular programs for applicants from CIS countries and told about the aspeects of foreigners' admissions in the current year. She mentioned that at the moment CIS student have an opportunity to be accepted to part-time state-financed and full-time commercial programs of bachelor's study. The list of required documents for admission is available on the Admissions office website http://bgu.ru/abitur/.
Representatives of ethnic groups noted the high level of organization of the university's activities to support international students, their socio-cultural adaptation and support in difficult global environment. Moreover, they expressed their readiness to organize vocational guidance events for foreign applicants, as well as the participation of representatives of the center in organization of national holidays and days of different cultures.
The agreement on complex cooperation allows us to expect an increased flow of students from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan starting in autumn 2021.