On June 5, at the recreation center “Russian Hunt”, the ceremony of presenting the PSU Award “Students of the Year” - 2024 took place. According to tradition, the most international category was the “Best International Student”.

In 2024, six students of Penza State University from five countries of the world competed for the title of the winner: Shetty Twinkle Gunakar (India), Mamatkulov Zhavokhir Oybekovich (Kyrgyzstan), Obidov Bakhrullo Bahodurkhojaevich (Tajikistan), Solanki Nityarajsinh Rajendrasinh (India), Sadek Farah (Lebanon), Eldasougi Ahmed Eldasougi Ahmed (Sudan).

“PSU unites more than 3,000 international students from 50 countries! All students are, of course, talented, smart and creative, but the task of this competition is to select a versatile, active student who can combine several areas of activity,” said Gleb Sintsov, Vice-Rector for International Affairs.

The participants wrote a test in the Russian language, organized by the department of Russian as a Foreign Language. They spoke about the culture of their country to schoolchildren in the city as part of the interactive educational project “Lessons of Friendship”. In addition, the organizing committee of the award assessed the educational and social activities of the students. The final test was the writing and defense of projects within the framework of the Laboratory of Student Initiatives before an expert committee, which included Olga Meshcheryakova, Head of the International Relations Office of the Institute of International Cooperation, Ekaterina Syagaylo, Head of the Student Affairs Department, Adel Ali Omar Maqbol, Chairman of the International Students Association of the Penza Region.

Based on the results of all tests, the holder of the title “Best International Student of the Year” was Mamatkulov Zhavohir, a third-year student of the Faculty of Computer Science from Kyrgyzstan.

“It is a great honor to bear the proud title of “Best International Student of PSU”! I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Institute of International Cooperation for their support and this opportunity, it means a lot to me!” Zhavohir shared his impressions.