Rector reiterates international admissions ever among priorities for Russian universities
Today in the Kazan Kremlin under the chairmanship of Rustam Minnikhanov, Rais of Tatarstan, a joint meeting of the Security Council of the Republic and the Council on Interethnic and Interfaith Relations was held.
They discussed issues related to ensuring stability in society, preservation and development of interethnic friendship in the region, and adaptation of foreign citizens to Russian language and culture.
Rector Lenar Safin made a report at the meeting in his capacity as chairman of the Council of Rectors of the Republic of Tatarstan.
In confirmation of Rais’ words that Tatarstan is historically a common home for representatives of many ethnicities, the Rector voiced data on the number of foreign students in provincial universities. He emphasized that for Russian universities the number of foreign students and the volume of education export are significant performance indicators.
“Accessibility of higher education for foreign citizens is one of the priorities for us. Today, more than 22 thousand international students study in Tatarstan’s universities, and their number continues to grow steadily. This, of course, is also influenced by the republic’s active position in the international arena”, noted the Rector.
In the past years, some of the destinations of interest for international admissions have been Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Laos, Palestine, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.
According to Dr Safin, the priority in this regard is to ensure quality selection during admission. One of the innovative mechanisms here is a network of preparatory centers for Russian language and subject studies.
“It is necessary to actively take these centers outside the country to invite the most prepared and motivated children to study in Tatarstan. Kazan University is currently moving in this direction, creating branches in Central Asia, as well as in the Middle East. Our preparatory faculties operate in Egypt, Turkey, Iran, and last week we opened two centers in China,” shared the Rector.
As for adaptation, he added, “This is also an extremely important task for us. Both systematic work within the university and constructive interdepartmental cooperation are needed here. Today. every university has a plan of adaptation work. The Assembly of Peoples of Tatarstan, its youth wing, the Student League and other organizations are also actively working with foreign students at a provincial level.”