On December 21, the round table “Cooperation Between Russian Universities and China: Problems and Prospects” was held online. Representatives of leading Russian universities discussed new mechanisms and formats for interuniversity cooperation between Russia and China and shared their experiences, problems, and solutions. The round table was organized by Novosibirsk State University and Kalashnikov Izhevsk State Technical University with the support of the Russian Cultural Center in Beijing.
Opening remarks were made by Tatyana Urzhumtseva, the First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in China and Director of the Russian Cultural Center in Beijing and Alexey Maslov, Director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies at the Lomonosov Moscow State University. The speakers drew attention to increased mutual interest in cooperation between Russian universities and Chinese educational organizations and discussed establishing partnerships. The round table participants, representatives of more than 70 Russian universities, noted the relevance of the topics discussed. The Head of the NSU Education Export Department, Evgeniy Sagaidak, proposed holding round tables regularly with more detailed discussions on specific issues.
Sagaidak continued,
The idea of holding this round table arose in connection with Russian universities increased interest of in cooperation with China. Universities that are just starting this process need to understand how to proceed and universities that have many years of experience are ready to discuss problems in the implementation of joint educational programs and other formats of cooperation. NSU has accumulated extensive experience including the first joint Russian-Chinese institute that was created in 2011 when Heilongjiang University (Harbin) became an NSU partner. A new model of inter-university cooperation between China and Russia was developed that included training and process management. This experience was adopted for use by China in interaction with universities in other countries. Today in China there are more than 1,500 joint educational programs with universities around the world, slightly more than 10% of them are with Russia.
Before the end of the current academic year, two more round tables will be held to discuss the following topics in detail: recommendations for choosing a partner in China, the procedure and specifics for coordinating curricula, mutually beneficial training, and financing approaches.
Sagaidak emphasized that,
This is the first open dialogue between universities representing almost all constituent entities of the Russian Federation interested in establishing and expanding cooperation with China. For the first time, problematic issues related to interuniversity interaction were discussed.
