20th anniversary of cooperation between TSPU and DAAD

The Tomsk State Pedagogical University will mark the first week of summer 2016 by the active collaboration with the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD. On 6 June 2016 the grand opening of the international forum dedicated to the 20th anniversary of collaboration between the Tomsk State Pedagogical University and colleagues from Germany was held in TSPU.

"Dear colleagues, we are pleased to welcome you on this celebration, which is not by coincidence organized here in Tomsk. Our city - one of the oldest centres of education, science and culture beyond the Urals. Now Tomsk can be proud of five major universities, each of which is listed in tops of the ten different ratings in a different direction, and are considered as one of Russia's leading universities. Tomsk State Pedagogical University is among the three leading pedagogical universities in the country and ranks first among the Russian pedagogical universities in the "University brand" rating. Our scientific schools are known both in Russia and abroad: TSPU is among the ten leading Russian universities in citation index, including international citation index, and takes a well-deserved first place among pedagogical universities in this regard. A wide range of international connections plays a huge role in our educational process.Regarding the fraction of foreign students studying at our university we take the first place in Russia. 16% of students of the Tomsk State Pedagogical University are foreign citizens and this supports the positive status of a university, not only in Russia but also abroad. The role of international relations is great: because of them, students have the opportunity for further self-realization. Various international foundations, including the German fund academic exchanges the DAAD, play major role in this process. Thanks to such foundations dozens of our students and teachers have the opportunity to attend German universities and share their scientific achievements, teaching methods with the foreign colleagues and,  of course, promote cultural exchange within the framework of cultural education. Today we celebrate the anniversary - 20 years of cooperation with DAAD. This event is an important milestone, which as we hope will popularize this filed of university activity, as well as the development of cooperation with the DAAD and with Germany as a whole!"- welcomed the participants of the forum Constantine Evgenevich Osetrin vice-Rector for TSPU International Relations.

The ceremony was also hosted by deputy administrator of the DAAD in Moscow Charlotte Wohlfahrt, DAAD Lecturer of TSPU in the period of 2006-2008. Stefan Karsh (Humboldt University). Within the first day of the Forum a head of the language department of the Goethe Institute in Novosibirsk have presented a report "The Goethe-Institut and its activities in Russia." The participants of the event could also test their knowledge of German on different interactive platforms. Lea Völker lecturer of the DAAD at Krasnoyarsk Siberian Federal University has presented the "The use of cultural knowledge in practice" workshop. DAAD Lecturer at Ulyanovsk State University Johanna Sievers in her seminar "Heading to Germany: scholarships, motivation letter, CV"  told about the opportunities of students specializing in languages and wiling to do an internship abroad. Judith Merkushev, DAAD lecturer at the Moscow State Pedagogical University in the lesson "German for Beginners" taught the basics of German to those participants who are just beginning to study the German language.Viktor Richter, the consul general of Germany in Novosibirsk has joined the forum in the afternoon. Accompanied by representatives of TSPU, the guests made a tour of the historic body of Tomsk State Pedagogical University, answered questions about the future cooperation between DAAD and the Tomsk Pedagogical, stressing  the necessity for such interaction. After the cultural program Viktor Richter addressed the participants and guests of the forum with a report "German Foreign Cultural Policy", but before doing this he had welcomed the audience: "Dear guests, students, teachers, I am pleased to speak to you today! This is my second visit to Tomsk, a beautiful student city, which is always a pleasure to visit, especially today since its the 20th anniversary of cooperation between the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD representatives with the Tomsk State Pedagogical University. Сome to Tomsk to celebrate this event is a great honor for me. First of all I'm here to congratulate all of us with long-term cooperation and wish to further strengthen of the alliance. I think this is our common desire, a common goal! "

International form in TSPU will last for three days. Within the next few days specialists of DAAD are going to organize interactive workshops "Destination of escape. Role-play about the situation with refugees in the world", "How to write captions? - A seminar for future teachers and translators", "Choral singing workshop" and intercultural training.