Wang Bin: “Kazan University will become a bridge between our peoples”
KFU hosted a delegation from the Eurasian Bureau of China Media Corporation (CMG Eurasia) on 19 September.
Alexander Lebedev, General Director of the TV channel Greater Asia, and Maximilian Razdolskii, Deputy Director of CMG Eurasia, also came to the university as part of the delegation.
KFU was represented at the meeting by Timirkhan Alishev, Vice-Rector for International Affairs, Mikhail Shchelkunov, Director of the Institute of Social and Philosophical Sciences and Mass Communications, Yelena Yelshina, Director of the Department of Information Policy, Olga Vershinina, Director of the International Office, and others.
Timirkhan Alishev informed the guests that the university will celebrate its 220th anniversary in November this year – special attention was paid to this at the meeting. Then he presented the University at its current stage of development, talked in detail about its structure, educational programs, strategic projects and the Priority 2030 program. In particular, he talked about the Institute of Social and Philosophical Sciences and Mass Communications.
“This is a really big institute, responsible for sociology, political science, philosophy in our university, including journalism and PR,” said the Vice-Rector.
During the conversation, the delegates were introduced to the TV channel UNIVER TV, which broadcasts programs in digital cable packages in Kazan, in cable networks across Tatarstan, as well as through IPTV set-top boxes across Russia and on the Internet.
“The content is made by the students under the supervision of the channel staff. This is a very good practice and example,” Dr Alishev emphasized.
About 38,000 Chinese students are studying in Russian universities, over 2,000 of them at Kazan University, with about 120 in PhD programs. The Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Kazan provides great support to KFU, and on 13 – 15 November of this year the capital of the republic will again host the participants of the international forum ROSTKI: Russia – China.. In conclusion, he drew attention to the importance of cooperation between the university and the Media Corporation of China in journalistic education. According to him, the practice of working in foreign media will allow students to realize the modern international context and build up professional experience.
“I would like to congratulate the university on its 220th anniversary in advance. I think we will definitely cover it in our media,” Wang Bin replied.
CMG includes 51 TV channels, 9 of them are international – and broadcast in all 6 official UN languages. There are 23 radio stations in 80 languages, as well as digital platforms and mobile applications. The Media Corporation produces nearly 1,100 hours of TV programming and almost 4,000 hours of radio and online content daily.
“Our most famous program is similar to Vremya and Vesti of our Russian colleagues. Results of the Day is watched by an average of 128 million viewers every day. Another of the most famous programs is the annual Spring Festival Gala (Chinese New Year). In 2023, it was watched by nearly 1.5 billion viewers, with over 7 billion views across all platforms,” he continued.
Media Corporation has 192 locations around the world, including 8 regional bureaus – in Hong Kong, UAE, Kenya, USA, and other countries. A research institute of China Media Corporation has been established.
Dr Shchelkunov noted that out of 3,000 students his Institute about 10 percent are Chinese citizens, half of them study journalism. Yulia Andreeva, Acting Dean of the School of Journalism and Media Communications, expressed readiness for cooperation.
The meeting outlined the vectors of collaboration of UNIVER TV and the Greater Asia channel.
“Now our viewer reach is more than 5 million. We highlight science, talk about it in an interesting and simple way, as our target audience is students and people who are interested in the development of scientific technologies and science in general,” said Ms Yelshina. “We are already at a high level, and we receive positive feedback from our colleagues. I believe that such communication with colleagues from China will bring our students a tremendous experience.”
At the end of the meeting the parties exchanged memorable gifts.
“Kazan University will become a bridge between our nations, many of our compatriots study here. I think that the knowledge acquired at KFU will benefit them and our peoples,” Wang Bin said in an interview after the talks.