On December 6th, an opening ceremony for the Chinese Language Department took place in the main building of Minin University. The ceremony was attended by the leadership of the Kozma Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University, the official delegation of the Anhui State Pedagogical University of China headed by director Gu Jiaoshan, the first deputy director of the Department of External Relations of the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod region Vladimir Prelov, the chairman of the Committee for External Economic and Interregional Relations of Nizhny Novgorod Administration Elena Mishina, and representatives of Gymnasium 67, which partners with Minin University to teach Chinese to schoolchildren.
The ceremony began with a speech by the President of Minin University, Alexander Fedorov: “Opening our Center of Chinese Language and Culture in 2014 was an important step for us. Now we are talking another step to develop our training program: the opening of a new department. Today at Minin University, 176 students study Chinese. In two years, they will number 300 students and in four years, 500 students. We are also very pleased that students from China come to us to learn Russian and to get acquainted with our culture.” President Fedorov then expressed his gratitude for the Chinese delegation and their collaboration with Minin University.
In response, the director of the Anhui State Pedagogical University, Gu Jiaoshan, thanked President Fedorov and the Minin University leadership for their warm welcome. His speech highlighted the fact that student and teacher exchanges are a regular and growing practice for ASPU. “I am glad that our relations are becoming stronger,” said President Jiaoshan. “The opening of the Chinese Langauge Department is a new stage of that development. I am sure that we have a great future ahead of us.”
The ceremony touched upon plans for the continuing development of programs for the students at Anhui University, the pupils of Gymnasium Number 67, and the students enrolled in the double bachelor’s degree program at Minin University.
When the speeches were over, the directors of the two universities – accompanied by live violin music – cut the ribbon leading to the new Department. The Head of Educational Structure, Tatiana Charchoghlyan, presented President Jiaoshan with a special certificate to commemorate the opening of the Department.
The new department will strengthen the cooperation between the two universities. Now, students from both universities will be able to participate in two-year exchanges. Demand for Minin University’s English-Chinese double degree program is high. In just 3 years, more than 150 students have enrolled in the program and more than 1,200 students from sixty regions of Russia have submitted applications. The Minin-Anhui partnership has also produced teacher exchanges between the universities, short-term culture and language programs for students and in-service courses for teachers at ASPU.
