24 July, the graduation ceremony for the first students of Atos and VSU joint master’s programme and the students of the Atos Education Centre at VSU was held at the conference hall of Voronezh State University.
The Dean of the Faculty of Computer Sciences Eduard Algazinov congratulated the graduates.
– Atos has been successfully collaborating with VSU for 11 years, training high profile specialists and prospective Atos employees. A lot has happened since we started working together. First the company was a part of Siemens corporation, and now it is an independent French-Belgian company. And still, no matter what the geopolitical situation is, we retain and develop our partnership. Here are two things that I think are the most important. First, what we see today is yet another result of the long-running partnership between VSU and a large French-Belgian company. For us it has become a usual thing, a tradition, while it is uncommon for other universities in Russia. Signing a partnership agreement 11 year ago was an unparalleled case of collaboration between a university and a business organisation in Russia. The areas of our collaboration are now becoming wider. Second, our partnership with a large international company sets example of how a university and a prospective employer may work together. Establishing the Education Centre and a joint corporate master's programme may be a huge risk for any company. Only the companies with high level of social responsibility and financial stability, working thoroughly on their strategy, can take this risk. And Atos is such a company, – said VSU Rector Dmitry Endovitsky.
– Working with VSU all these years we've been trying to find new cooperation models that will keep up our long-term partnership. This is how we are different from other companies. We are changing. Together with VSU. There are now 100 thousand employees at Atos all over the world, and we hope we'll develop further. In Russia and in Voronezh as well. We think it is very important that our partners are interested in what is going on in Voronezh and want our specialist to become even better and to have more knowledge of how business works. This is very important for us, – said Edgars Puzo, the CEO at Atos Russia.
Faculty members working at the programme and in the Education Centre also congratulated their students.
After the ceremony Edgars Puzo answered some of our questions.
– Voronezh State University and Atos company has been working together for quite a long time now. What is the secret of such a fruitful and long-running partnership between a university and a large international company?
– The key thing are the people. Our work is based on our human resources, knowledge, and partnership with the University lasting for 11 years. And we will further develop this partnership, as it brings good results.
– What are the results of your partnership with VSU? Are they positive?
– Of course, they are positive. The University is developing and actively collaborating with international companies. For the past 11 year, Atos has grown 20 times of the original stage. And I can say it is also the result of our joint work with VSU. Atos Education Centre at VSU is going to train about 70 students next year.
– How do you see the company's future?
– We will definitely develop and grow further. We are now working on both European and Russian projects, and the number of Russian projects is growing.
– What would you wish today's graduates?
– To work with the same enthusiasm with which they've been studying and find a proper application for their knowledge and skills. And, of course, good luck.
