Students of the Institute of International Cooperation from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan took part in the XI All-Russian Congress of the Association of International Students of Russia. It was held from September 13 to 16 at the Kazan Federal University. More than 300 delegates took part in its work - international students from 34 educational organizations of the Russian Federation, representatives of 42 countries of the world, as well as employees of federal and regional legislative and executive authorities of the Russian Federation, Russian universities and public organizations.

The event is implemented jointly with the Association of International Students and the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and is aimed at attracting the attention of government authorities to the existing problems of international students in Russia - their adaptation, protection of rights and interests. The Penza region was represented by PSU students and staff:  Parizoda Abdumazhidova (Faculty of History, Languages and Literature), Shabibi Atajanova (Faculty of General Medicine), Adel Ali Omar Maqbol, Chairman of the Association of International Students of the Penza Region, and Vladislav Svyatov, events coordinator of the Department of Student Affairs, International Education Office.

The event was opened by the President of the Association of International Students of Russia, Issa Shaabo, who said that at the congress the association sums up the work done and outlines plans for the future: “Since 1996, the Association of International Students has united all international students of Russian universities, has helped with solving various issues, problems at the most different levels. This would not have been possible without the support of government agencies, our friends and partners.”

The Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Valery Falkov in his video message emphasized  that the Association of International Students today unites about 100 thousand people from more than 160 countries studying at Russian universities: “Your activities are in tune with Russia’s desire to provide young people with the opportunity to receive high-quality higher education. You are making a significant contribution to the training of in-demand specialists for partner countries.”

Participants of the congress took an active part in the round table “Practices of interaction between associations of international students and national-cultural autonomies”, attended the presentation of the platform “Russia – the land of opportunities: your opportunities here and now”, a project session, and workshops. “The Association of International Students is an effective tool for identifying the problems that international students face during their stay in Russia. Thus, holding such events is a great opportunity to communicate with representatives of the Association, international students from around the world, make friends and, of course, see a new city! This time it was Kazan, which we fell in love with at first sight!”  PSU international students shared their impressions.