On May 21-22, 2025, the VIII Forum of the Volga-Yangtze Association of Universities was held at Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University.

The main theme of the forum -  "The Volga-Yangtze Association of Universities as a Platform for Interregional Cooperation between Russian and Chinese Universities" - attracted top officials of the country and regions, more than 70 participants from among the heads of universities, representing about 40 Russian and 32 Chinese universities, as reported by the organizers.

The opening of the forum began with a speech by the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Volga Federal District Igor Komarov, who noted that about 60 universities located in the district cooperate with more than 220 universities in various provinces of China. Specifically, the Association unites more than 50 Chinese and 37 Russian universities. Traditionally, the demand among Chinese citizens for educational services in the district's universities remains high.

Among the honored guests of the event were Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Marat Khusnullin, Deputy Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Zhang Guoqing, and Head of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov.

Gleb Sintsov, Vice-Rector for International Affairs of PSU, took part in the forum and presented PSU experience in cooperation with Chinese universities: 

"Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China in the humanitarian sphere has become systemic and has begun to play no less a role than political or economic cooperation. Cooperation between educational institutions of the two countries has increased and reached an unprecedented level in the history of bilateral relations. In this context, PSU has something to say: out of 78 foreign partner organizations, more than 10 are Chinese universities, and the contingent of Chinese students is over 300 people."

In his report, Gleb Sintsov emphasized that cooperation with Chinese universities at PSU is carried out in various areas: academic mobility of teachers and students, intensive programmes for studying Russian and Chinese languages and culture, joint cultural events.

"But the most successful practice of PSU today remains the implementation of joint educational programmes and projects. Thus, PSU is recruiting for two joint educational programmes: the Master's programme "International Economy and Business" in English, implemented jointly with Lanzhou City University (Lanzhou, PRC), and the Bachelor's programme with the assignment of two diplomas in the study field "Pedagogical Education", course in "Music", implemented jointly with Gannan Normal University (Jiangxi, PRC)”, the Vice-Rector commented in his speech.

Since 2018, the university has also been implementing joint educational projects with educational institutions in China, the purpose of which is to continue the education of Chinese graduates under PSU programmes with a shortened period of study. Projects have already been launched in the study fields "Pedagogical Education", course in "Music" and "Physical Education", course in "Sports Training in a Selected Sport" together with Lianyungang Normal Institute (Jiangsu, PRC), from September 2025 a similar project will be launched in the study field "Linguistics", course in "Theory and Practice of Intercultural Communication" together with Hunan Professional Institute of Foreign Languages (Hunan, PRC).

Gleb Sintsov also emphasized that the strategic priorities of Penza State University include the internationalization of science. Thus, in 2021-2022, under the leadership of Professor Yuri Smirnov, the project "Fundamental Principles of Designing Thin-Film Coatings with Diffraction Gratings for Modern Technologies" was implemented jointly with Professor Xinbin Cheng from Tongji University within the framework of a grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

"Every year PSU increases the number of partners among educational organizations of China for cooperation in the field of education, scientific research, for the implementation of joint educational projects and programmes. We are open to constructive proposals and well-coordinated joint work, ready to keep up with the times in terms of mutually beneficial Russian-Chinese cooperation at the level of cities, regions and states," the Vice-Rector summed up his speech.

Photo: Press service of the ANO "Directorate of International Programmes", other event organizers