At the All-Russian conference on the export of education at AltSU, a call was made to unite the potential of universities in the context of COVID-19
Organized within the framework of the national project "Export of Education", the video conference brought together heads of universities and representatives of international services of higher educational institutions, heads and employees of university departments that provide admission, stay and training of foreign students, representatives of regional and federal authorities.
When opening the conference, Vice-Rector for Iinternational Affairs of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, the current state adviser of the Russian Federation, grade 3, Larisa Efremova noted that regardless of the affiliation of the university to a particular ministry, the entire higher school of the country has a common task - to promote Russian education abroad. To effectively solve it, highly qualified specialists are needed who can not only represent educational organizations in the international educational market, but can offer competitive programs and products.
Elena Kolesnikova, Director of the Department of Project Activities of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, participating remotely in the conference, voiced proposals for a new Strategic Academic Leadership Program, which was actively discussed at the Altai-Asia 2020 sites, spoke about the implementation of the national project "Export of Education". During the event, an exchange of best practices for adapting universities to the regime of self-isolation took place, how contacts were built in these conditions, in particular with foreign colleagues and students from abroad, and what forms of new international cooperation were identified within universities and in the education system in general.
Another important topic of the conference was the comfortable and safe stay of foreign students in Russian universities, including in the context of restrictions caused by the spread of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19. Elena Bobrova, Head of the Department for Supervision of Hygiene of Children and Adolescents and Food Hygiene of the Office of Rospotrebnadzor in the Altai Territory, reminded that at the present time it is necessary to adhere to the requirements to prevent the accumulation of students in places of study, to maintain social distance between them, to exclude the holding of mass events, etc.
"The current situation of the coronavirus pandemic has shown to all of us how much it is necessary to organize the educational process in general in online and offline formats. This is quite difficult, and Russian universities still have a lot of work to do in terms of digitalization of education. Now we are largely operating thanks to the established ties within Russian universities, with foreign partners, but in any case, we need live contact, that is, full-time work. In a word, we all need to learn how to maintain a balance in these things", said Larisa Efremova.
"In order not to lose foreign students in the current conditions, Russian universities need to combine their intellectual and infrastructural capabilities. Individually, each university will not survive now! It is necessary to unite in consortia, in network cooperation and promote both our own educational and scientific platforms, and promote the education of the region and the country as a whole. This is the only way we can win! "- summed up the Vice-Rector of RUDN University.
