On November 30 Petrozavodsk State University, the Flagship University of the Republic of Karelia, hosted a meeting of the Board of the Association of Finno-Ugric Universities (AFUU) and summed up the work of the Association for the three years under the chairmanship of PetrSU.

The event gathered representatives of the universities of the Republic of Komi, Mordva, Udmurtia, Mari El, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra.

The participants of the event learned about the work of the IT-Park of PetrSU, the Institute of High Biomedical Technologies, Accreditation and Simulation Center of the Institute of Medicine, visited the Ethnohouse of the Department of the Baltic and Finnish Philology, met the Rector Anatoly Voronin and listened to the report presented by the Secretary of the AFUU, the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Konstantin Tarasov. The report covered statistical data on the 2016-2018 educational, scientific and cultural events, international cooperation with universities of Finland, Hungary and Estonia, the results of the Stipendium Hungaricum Program, academic mobility, united information platform of the universities of the AFUU, development of the Network University of the Association, as well as proposals for further development. The report particularly focused on how the Finno-Ugric studies are presented in the Development Programs of the AFUU member universities. Thus, PetrSU within the Flagship University Development Program is successfully implementing the strategic project “Forming Network Partnership “Finno-Ugric World” as a Model of Harmonious Intercultural International Dialogue”.

The Board of the Association unanimously highly appreciated the work done by PetrSU as the chairman in the reported period.

The key question of the meeting was the election of the chairman of the AFUU. Under the Agreement on Cooperation, the chairman of the Association Board is elected by the decision of the board for three years. According to the results of the elections, for the next three years, the chairmanship in the AFUU is transferred to Yugra University, while the Rector of the University Tatiana Karminskaya becomes the Chairman of the Association of Finno-Ugric Universities.

Tatiana Karminskaya shared her impressions:

“This is my first time at Petrozavodsk University. I am vastly impressed. PetrSU is one of the leaders in Russian education. I am now certain of that. There are amazing innovative solutions. The inventions created by the university within its research laboratories go beyond its limits. This is the principal sign of the right policy and university success. Practices of your Institute of Medicine are an example for many academies as the system of training specialists is being reformed and we have to unite and share the experience. I liked the Accreditation Center, the Institute of High Biomedical Technologies, one can see breakthroughs there. I am convinced that one of the fortes of our association is the presence of such a strong, modern university with which we enjoy cooperating. I hope that by joining our forces we can reach a synergetic effect!”

Dmitry Pinaevsky, the Advisor to the Rector for Administrative Affairs of Syktyvkar State University:

“In the last three years, I have visited Petrozavodsk State University four times. We cooperate with many teachers. In many ways, Petrozavodsk University is a model for us. Many ideas you implement we too realize at our university. I wish Petrozavodsk University success, further development, and fruitful cooperation.”