From September, 30th to October, 2nd Penza State University hosted the delegation from Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra (Portugal). Professor Luis Manuel Ferreira Roseiro and Adjunct Professor Luis Miguel Moura Neves de Castro visited Penza and PSU for the first time.

The cooperation with Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra started in 2018 under the international project “Enhancing Teaching Practice in Higher Education in Russia and China” (ENTEP), which is being implemented by the consortium of universities from the European Union, Russian Federation and China.

“The visit was made possible due to Erasmus+ programme of academic mobility. Within its framework the International Projects Department of PSU and the International Office of Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra applied for obtaining finance for academic exchange between our universities. The application was confirmed in the spring of 2019”, emphasized G.V. Sintsov, Vice-Rector for International Affairs.

In the course of the meeting with the PSU management, the Portuguese partners presented general information on the structure of Coimbra Polytechnic Institute, educational programmes and major research projects which are being currently implemented.

G.V.  Sintsov, Vice-Rector for International Affairs, highlighted the importance of cooperation between the universities in educational, research and cultural spheres, and expressed the hope that the visit will lay the foundation for collaborative work.

In order to promote the cooperation, S.M.Vasin, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation, suggested using the mechanisms of financing international projects which are available for our universities, including grants from the Portuguese National Agency for Research, joint grants from research foundations of the Russian Federation and Portugal, grants of the European programme HORIZON 2020.

In the course of negotiations, the agreement was achieved to continue the academic mobility project, to prepare joint publications, to apply for grants from academic and research foundations which finance international cooperation, and requirements to candidates who will participate in further exchanges were set.