220 years of geographical education celebrated at KFU
The event was held on 3 December.
Its participants were Danis Nurgaliev, Vice-Rector for Earth Sciences, Rishat Guzeirov, Vice-Rector for Comprehensive Security, teachers, students of the university, its graduates, as well as representatives of the Russian Geographical Society and partner organizations.
“I congratulate you all on a wonderful anniversary! I wish everyone success and that all of us together with you develop geography and make it sparkle with a beautiful diamond in the sky of Kazan University!” said Danis Nurgaliev.
Congratulating the geographers, Rafik Shaikhutdinov, President of the Association of Small and Medium Business Enterprises of the Republic of Tatarstan, noted that they have good cooperation with enterprises.
“The years when I was a student of Kazan University’s Faculty of Geography are some of the happiest in my life,” admitted Andrey Paramonov, Deputy Head of the Department of the Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography in the Republic of Tatarstan. “I am very happy that I graduated from this faculty. Now I continue to cooperate with teachers, alumni, students, they are all professionals, and I am very pleased to interact with them.”
He presented a letter of appreciation to the Department of Geography and Cartography for fruitful cooperation.
Dmitry Shiller, Chairman of the Tatarstan Branch of the Russian Geographical Society, reminded those present of the continuity of generations and urged not to forget those who laid the foundations of modern geographical education.
Then the initiation of freshmen students into geographers took place.
“Dear our freshmen! It won’t be long before you leave our walls and go to work for our wonderful employers. Today you are taking the first step in that direction. I want you to always remember that the department is your home, and we will always support you in everything,” said Yelena Pudovik, Chair of the Department of Geography and Cartography.
She informed that KFU is hosting a scientific and practical symposium 220 Years of Geography at Kazan University, the participants of which are teachers and students of KFU, as well as representatives of partner organizations.
The event was continued by the speeches of the symposium participants. The first to present his report was Mikhail Panasyuk, Professor of the Department of Geography and Cartography, who spoke about the potential of modern geography and projects of the department in 2014-2024.
The celebration ended with the awarding of the winners of the competition of poster presentations held at the symposium.
Mikhail Rozhko, Senior Lecturer the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, is a 2008 graduate of Kazan University.
“The knowledge gained while studying at the Faculty of Geography has been very useful to me in my life and helps me in my teaching activities,” he shared. “Without comprehensive geographical knowledge it is impossible to engage in economic activities or develop the territory in a country like Russia. It is difficult to be effective today without a full understanding of regions, municipalities and the Russian Federation as a whole.”
Yegor Pankratov, senior year student of the cartography and geo-informatics program, was among the winners of the poster presentation competition.
“I am very happy that I became one of the three winners of the competition and that I was offered a job by the department’s partner organization. I came to study at KFU from Kaliningrad, because this specialization is available in very few universities in the country. I don’t regret a bit that I enrolled in this wonderful university, because the level of education here is very high and the teachers are wonderful.”