On 13 September, an international conference “Internationalisation of Higher Education – Strategies and Tools” was held in the conference hall of the main building of Voronezh State University. This was the key event of the Week of International Education “VSU’s 100th Year in History” held between 13 and 15 September and dedicated to the university’s centenary.
“I am glad to welcome our guests, partners and colleagues to the very heart of Voronezh – Voronezh State University. Between 13 and 15 September we are to hold the Week of International Education dedicated to the 100th anniversary of VSU. I hope you will all enjoy yourselves at this conference, hear interesting presentations and take part in fruitful discussions”, – said the rector of VSU, Dmitry Endovitsky, in his welcoming speech.
The conference gathered 120 participants from 50 partner universities in Spain, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Portugal, Austria, Netherlands, Greece, Hungary, Slovakia, Latvia, Turkey, Serbia, Macedonia, China, Morocco, the Republic of Belarus, and Armenia. Among the participants there were university rectors and vice rectors, experts in the internationalisation of higher education, and scientists from such universities as the University of Seville, the Sapienza University of Rome, Albert Ludwig University in Freiburg, Lille University, Birmingham University, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, the University of Granada, Oxford University, the University of Leon, the University of Kassel, the Tuscia University, Belarusian State University, and Southern Federal University.
Yury Agibalov, the vice governor of the Voronezh region, also gave a welcoming speech:
“Higher education in Voronezh is a part of a good old academic tradition. VSU is one of the leading classical universities in Russia and the largest university in the Central Black Earth Region. In its 100-year history it has trained over 150 thousand professionals. VSU is also an established centre of international education. About 100 international alumni from 13 countries are to come here for the celebration of the university's 100th anniversary. We believe that it is very important for the whole region that so many delegations from partner universities are coming to Voronezh. The topic of the conference is of great scientific and practical importance”, – said the vice governor.
He also pointed out that Voronezh State University is one of the leading universities in Russia by the number of its international projects supported by such EU programmes. At present, VSU is involved in 35 international projects. The Government of the Voronezh Region, and personally the governor, pay a lot of attention to the development of the region’s intellectual potential and international cooperation in the sphere of education and science.
“Joint academic projects with European universities demonstrate that such cooperation can still be mutually beneficial. Education is a unique area that leaves no place for arguments”, – said Yury Agibalov.
“The topic of today’s conference is of great importance. International education is one of the major issues for any university, and Russian universities are no exception. VSU is one of the leading universities in Russia in this area. It can be demonstrated by such factors as the number of international projects run by the university, its alumni and some other achievements. VSU has a very prominent Institute of International Education, and its members do a very good and important job. I would also like to thank the university’s administration and the region’s government for their support of international cooperation”, - said Olga Oleinikova, Head of Erasmus+ national office in Russia.
Professor Oleinikova also gave a plenary presentation on “Macrotrends in the development of the world’s higher education system”. The plenary session also included presentations by Wendy Yip, Director of International Development at Aston University (Birmingham, Great Britain), Anne Spangemacher, Project Officer of the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency of the European Commission in Russia (Brussles, Belgium), and Stephen Hagen, Honorary Professor of the University of South Wales, Vice Rector for Strategic Development at D. Serikbayev East Kazakhstan State Technical University, and a higher education expert of the European Commission (Bath, Great Britain).
After the plenary session the conference was divided into two sections – “Internationalisation of universities’ activities – a practical approach” and “Internationalisation of academic programmes – national requirements and international standards”.
Voronezh State University is also to hold an international forum “Russian foreign policy - the youth's opinion” and a round table discussion with British alumni “Russia and Great Britain – a setback in relationship?” monitored by Alexey Gromyko, Director of the Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences and an Honorary Doctor of VSU.
The Week of International Education will also include a meeting for international VSU alumni. Voronezh State University has trained quite a number of international students. The very first ones came to Voronezh back in 1961. Over the past 55 years, VSU has trained more than 15 thousand international students from 140 countries. About 100 international alumni from 13 countries, including Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, and Iraq, are coming to take part in the festive events dedicated to the university’s centenary.
