On 29 November, Voronezh State University launched a series of Days of Turkish Education in Central Russia within the framework of the Russian-Turkish business forum.
The opening ceremony was attended by Deputy Head of the Department of Education, Science, and Youth Policy of the Voronezh Region, Galina Ivanova, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Turkey to the Russian Federation, Hüseyin Dirioz, and representatives of various Russian and Turkish universities.
The guests were welcomed by VSU Rector, Dmitry Endovitsky.
“At the meeting with the Governor of the Voronezh Region, Mr. Dirioz suggested that we should create a joint Russian-Turkish university. I think it is a very interesting idea, particularly for the academic community in the Central Black Earth Region. The main obstacle on the way of our collaboration and implementation of joint business projects is that very few our specialists can speak Turkish. But we are eager to remove this language barrier.”
Galina Ivanova pointed out the importance of the business forum for our region.
“Voronezh is one of the largest academic centres in Central Russia. The scientific schools of Voronezh universities are well-known beyond the Voronezh Region. We hope that during the forum we will manage to sign a number of partnership agreements that will be the beginning of a productive and lasting collaboration between universities in Turkey and in Russia, and the Voronezh Region in particular.”
She also talked about the role of Voronezh State University in the development of this partnership.
“VSU is the leader in many research and academic programmes. It is one of the oldest universities in our region and it often initiates such bilateral programmes, which other universities can later join.”
The Turkish Ambassador, Hüseyin Dirioz, said that relations between Russia and Turkey are developing really quickly.
“We have a lot of hi-tech and research centres in Turkey. Organising exchange programmes and joint research work would be beneficial for both our countries. Adequate facilities and highly-qualified teachers are the most important things in education. Both Turkey and Russia have very highly qualified teachers. I am sure we will contribute to the development and prosperity of our countries”, – sad the Ambassador.
Dmitry Endovitsky also had a meeting with Mefail Deribash, Head of the Voronezh representative office of Turkish airlines, and they signed a partnership agreement between our university and the company. The agreement sets the terms of collaboration in science, education, and culture, and support of academic exchange programmes within the framework of national exchange programmes, such as Mevlana, and the EU programmes. The agreement also supports joint research activities and projects by researchers of VSU and universities in Turkey, and promotes cultural exchange.
The opening ceremony also included presentations of Russian and Turkish universities. At the end, the guests visited the VSU History Museum and Book Museum.
