Tomsk State University's educational programs in Geography and Geology have undergone an external review conducted by experts from Russia and China. The international accreditation will enable promoting the programs in the international educational market and will significantly boost their popularity in Southeast Asian countries.
The professional audit assessed six programs — Geology; Evolution of the Earth: Geological Processes and Mineral Resources Geography; Geotechnologies and Tourism; Geography and Geoinformation Technologies; Recreational Geography and Tourism; and Digital Technologies in Geographical Science and Education.
The external commission composed of Russian and Chinese experts from the National Centre for Public Accreditation and the Education (Russia) and the Education Quality Assessment Center of the Ministry of Education the People's Republic of China. The Chinese experts were Lai Xuelong, PhD, Vice-President of China University of Geosciences, chair of the Teaching and Methodological Department of Geology under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China; Xue Desheng, dean of the School of Geographical Sciences and Planning of Sun Yat-Sen University & Vice Chairman of the Geographical Society of China; and Yang Jialin, agency manager.
The Russian side was represented by Anatoly Yamashkin, Director of the Institute of Geoinformation Technologies and Geography of Mordovian State University, Chairman of the Russian Geographical Society branch in the Republic of Mordovia; Alexander Shpektorov, Senior Geologist for Exploration Projects of the international gold mining company Nordgold; and Fyodor Soloshchenko, member of the Educational Council of the Institute of Earth Sciences of St. Petersburg State University, representative of the professional community.
The experts listed TSU’s numerous advantages, including modern laboratory equipment, as well as the TSU Scientific Library, which provide many opportunities for students' learning, its modern system of distance education, and its many industrial partners. The experts paid special attention to the high level of teaching staff, which directly affects the quality of educational programs.
The experts agreed on the high quality of the research input and the full alignment of the academic policy with the research needs of the students.
“The Faculty of Geology and Geography is one of the best faculties in the country that trains specialists in geography and geology,” concluded Anatoly Yamashkin.