Preparatory School for International Students celebrating 20th anniversary
The main event was the third session of the all-Russian scientific and methodological seminar Problems of teaching general education disciplines and specialty language in a foreign-language classroom on 20 September.
Experts from Russian universities are discussing the development and application of teaching aids and online resources for effective pre-university training of foreign students.
Timirkhan Alishev, Vice-Rector for International Affairs, took part in the opening of the meeting. He noted that many positive changes have taken place at the Preparatory School over the past two decades.
“Of course, the Preparatory School has grown over these 20 years – this academic year about 1,200 people will study here. This is one of the largest preparatory faculties in Russia. It solves problems both for Kazan University – this year 50-60 percent of graduates of the faculty entered our university, and for many other educational institutions of the country,” the Vice-Rector noted. “The School is really very important for KFU. We consider it as a driver of development of our international activities.”
Dr Alishev also emphasized that for the students is actually their first long-term trip outside their home countries, so the teachers are responsible not only for teaching, but also for cultural adaptation of the young people.
Speaking about the seminar, the Vice-Rector said that its participants were representatives of 20 educational organizations from Russia and abroad, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Astrakhan, Tver, Izhevsk, Tambov and other cities, as well as from overseas KFU branches.
Language and specialization training for foreign students started at KFU in 1979. A preparatory department was established in 2004, and then the Preparatory School in 2010.
Rais Safin, the first dean of the preparatory faculty (2010-2017), contributed to the talks, “It is very important that we ourselves prepare our foreign applicants and prepare them in Russian language, in subjects, prepare them to speak in Russian about physics, chemistry, math, history, literature and so on, so that these are our students from the beginning to the end. This is part of the great international activity of the university, which is impossible without teaching foreign students.”
Rais Safin told what is the most important thing in working with international students.
It should be noted that the event was held with the participation of Viktor Krasnoshchyokov, Director of the Graduate School of International Educational Programs at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, and other experts and representatives of Russian universities. Anzhela Dolzhikova, Director of the Institute of Russian Language at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, welcomed the participants via video conference.
The Preparatory School received congratulatory words and gifts. The highlight of the event was a musical number performed by Ivan Acosta, a student of the Institute of Physics from Mexico.
The session the continued with thematic reports.