From 13 to 15 of December the Head of International Affairs of KNRTU Anna Ebel with other Kazan universities’ representatives visited Shandong province (PRC) educational institutions. The visit was mainly aimed at establishing cooperation and the promotion of our universities’ education services in China.

The delegation’s objects were as following: creation of positive image of Russian education and of our country on the whole, attraction of interested persons and organizations to the cooperation on the example of regional education system of the Republic of Tatarstan and Kazan as Russian leading international centres of student life and sport.

The place of visit was not chosen accidently, as Tatarstan and Shandong Province have been friends and partners for more than 10 years. The first agreement between our republic and the Chinese province was signed in 2008 (the agreement between the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan and the People’s Government of Shandong Province in the fields of trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation). The opening of Haier company refrigerator plant in Naberezhnye Chelny has become one of the largest projects under the cooperation of our regions.

On the first day of the visit the meeting of the universities’ representatives and Chinese recruitment companies with the Head of Russian Culture Centre in Beijing and the first Russian Embassy secretary in PRC Tamara Kasyanova was hold. She endorsed the Tatarstan’s universities’ initiative and promised to give an active methodological support to the Russian language centres that are being opened.

In December, 14 the delegation arrived to Jinan city and visited Qilu University of Technology (QLUT), that is the main education institution of Shandong Academy of Sciences. Here the meeting with the administration was held where KNRTU delegates familiarized themselves with Chinese universities’ capabilities and offers and presented ones of theirs as well.

There is a powerful Technology of Cosmetic Products Department at QLUT. Likewise, such academic programs as Production and Assessment of Food Safety, as well as Food Technologies, including brewing and winemaking are also highly developed here. The most powerful laboratory on cellulose production and various technologies of its usage is functioning under the personal guidance of QLUT rector Chen Jiachuan. These are exactly those fields, where KNRTU has accumulated a great scientific and pedagogical experience, - Anna Ebel reported.
Both parties demonstrated a high readiness to the cooperation in the following forms: academic exchange, establishment of joint laboratories, as well as organization of summer and winter schools according to relevant research areas.

It was a really intense program! We were so pleased that everybody was genuinely interested in establishing contacts, -notes Anna Ebel. - The educational market of the PRC is very attractive in terms of Russian education export, and the universities of Tatarstan seem to be attractive as well to Chinese applicants in many respects. It is necessary to consolidate the emerging contacts and focus on joint promotional and PR activities with our Chinese partners,” – she believes.