"Etnomir" brought together representatives of leading Russian universities

Representatives of universities from all over the country discussed the best practices of attracting foreign youth to Russian universities "Ethnomir" is a place where you can immerse yourself in the history and culture of different countries.

There are pavilions of South Korea, Japan, China, Sri Lanka. And this is the Myanmar pavilion. For its construction, builders from this country specially arrived here. The spiritual leader of Myanmar Ashin Nyanissara personally watched the construction process. He was on this balcony and made sure that everything happened according to the customs adopted in Myanmar.

In this park there are pavilions of other countries, the construction and arrangement of which was carried out by representatives of these states. In the "Ethnomir" everything is real as it is – in Asia and Latin America, Australia and Oceania. Families with children, young people, and those who are older come here from all over Russia to relax. However, the possibilities of this large-scale space are much wider than a relaxed outdoor recreation, interspersed with excursions and master classes.

Indeed, there are not only 20+ young people here, but also, above all, parents with children. There are a lot of projects, the Ethnomir is working. It is difficult to list here, but in general, what we have announced is the adaptation of foreign students, talented young people. Of course, we want to give a new impetus to such work. We are constantly generating new impulses – both on our own initiative, and life forces us."

It is no coincidence that it was here that the first intercollegiate conference on how to attract international students was held in three years since the beginning of the pandemic. The geography of the participants is impressive – from the Far East to the South of Russia. Today, when borders are gradually opening up and the world is in the process of transformation, cooperation in the educational sphere is becoming one of the most important elements of soft power and people's diplomacy.

And from the point of view of internationalization of Russian education and attracting foreign students to study in Russia. And this is one of the main very serious tasks of Russian universities, because how actively students come to you, how interested they are in studying at Russian universities. This shows how strong your education system is, how competitive it is in the global education market." Russian universities have a long history of working with foreign students.

And even during the coronavirus pandemic, domestic universities managed to attract talented young people.

If we talk about working with talents, these are also online tools for attracting talent. For example, we have the international Olympiad "Lobachevsky/ RU", which has been held completely online since 2020, since the beginning of the pandemic. We managed to attract representatives of about 70 countries of the world, more than 600 people, to participate in it. Prize–winners, winners of this Olympiad - many of them come to study with us later." Today, with the end of the pandemic, offline work with foreign applicants is becoming relevant again.

"Today, a very important task is to build such a system of interaction with our partner countries that would allow us to enter these countries and look for guys, work with them; it is in the partner countries. To conduct schools, some kind of training camps. Not only Olympiads – I would like to emphasize – because when we talk about working with talents, for some reason they always mean holding some kind of Olympiad, identifying and then inviting children to study. In fact, the task is more complicated. This is also the task of popularizing science, the task of systematic work with children in those countries that we are interested in. That's what we're doing today." Rossotrudnichestvo can help attract foreign talents to domestic universities.

This year we will be doing exhibitions in 24 countries of the world – exactly the exhibitions that Rossotrudnichestvo arranges as a federal agency."  There are also students who purposefully choose a Russian education – thanks to the positive experience of their parents or mentors who once studied in our country.

Guys from Europe still come to us, but in small numbers. Most of them, of course, come through graduates and those who used to work in the science city. Understanding the potential of the Russian scientific school, they send their students to us for postgraduate and master's studies in order to acquire these competencies."

It is important not only to provide high-quality education, but also to create a comfortable environment for international students. So the study will be more productive, and our country's image abroad will increase.

And when he finishes, he is already the Russian ambassador to his country. That's why we need to work well with them and promote active and talented students."

Issa Shaabo notes: it is important to notice in time and try to keep the spark in the eyes with which a foreign student absorbs more and more new knowledge, learns Russian culture, learns complex Russian. A variety of public institutions are now involved in working with talented young people. Not only universities, but also cultural centers and libraries.

And we are promoting our Russian culture among citizens of other states who have chosen Russia as a point of vocational education."

But foreign students in Russia can also feel the atmosphere of their native home. Ethnographic Park "Etnomir" is one of such places. This platform is a kind of indicator of the respect and interest with which other cultures are treated in our country.