In August 2025, a group of students fr om Novosibirsk State University's Geology and Geophysics (NSU GGE) Department participated in their first internship focusing on sedimentology, stratigraphy, and paleontology, organized by Peking University. The group included one international student, Avishka Alagiyawanna from Sri Lanka, a second-year Master's student at NSU GGE. The group was supervised by NSU graduate student Margarita Luzan.
The internship lasted two weeks and took place in southwest China's Guizhou Province. This area is known for its unique habitats with marine vertebrates that existed during the Triassic period of the Mesozoic era. These habitats are important for understanding the recovery of marine ecosystems and the evolution of marine reptiles after the end-Permian mass extinction. This academic year, students from Beijing University will visit the NSU Shira Geological Training Site (Khakassia), wh ere NSU GGE students are completing their geological survey internship.
NSU GGE students completed their geological internship in mixed groups with Chinese students. Each group included one or two NSU students. They worked together at observation points, attended theoretical classes, and prepared daily reports on their activities.
This internship was the result of cooperative agreements in the field of geosciences signed during a visit by a Beijing University delegation to NSU this spring. As the relationship develops, the parties will develop joint research projects. Peking University leadership has expressed interest in providing geological internships for its students.
Yevgeny Sagaydak, Head of the Education Export Department at NSU, explained,
A cooperative agreement between our universities will be drafted in the near future, outlining all important aspects of our plan. The agreement is expected to be signed by the end of this year. Peking University was founded in 1898 and is one of the oldest universities in China. It ranks second in Chinese university rankings and is among the top 50 universities in the world. That is why we are interested in collaborating with them.
