As a participant in the Russian-Chinese conference on journalism education, the TSU Faculty of Journalism was invited to present at the international conference hosted by Renmin (People's) University of China in Beijing. The conference, titled "Global Challenges and Knowledge Innovation in Journalism and Communication Studies," focused on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in the media. Vasily Vershinin, Acting Head of the Department of New Media, Photojournalism, and Media Design at the TSU Faculty of Journalism, presented at the conference on the potential formats of cooperation between Chinese universities and TSU.
“At the forum, my colleagues from Russian and Chinese universities and I shared our practices of using AI-based tools and our vision for the future of mass communications in light of new technological changes. It is evident that AI poses one of the most significant challenges for the industry. We also discussed potential formats of collaboration, such as student and teacher exchanges, joint educational programs, and media projects,” said Vasily Vershinin.
TSU Faculty of Journalism is actively involved in international activities, with students from China, Mali, Vietnam, and other countries enrolled in both bachelor's and master's degree programs. The faculty has a strong track record of success in international media design competitions, with both students and professors receiving multiple awards from organizations such as Adobe and the News Design Community. In 2019, the bachelor's program in "Journalism and New Media" received international accreditation and was awarded an Excellent Quality rating by the National Accreditation Council and the Higher Education Evaluation Center under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. Currently, the faculty is also implementing the IISMA program for students from Indonesia.
As part of a recent conference, a meeting of the Union of Journalism Education of Chinese and Russian Universities was held, which was established in 2016. During this meeting, the Statute of the Union and formats for cooperation were updated. The main areas of joint activities include the development of academic exchange programs, joint research, and the promotion of cultural interaction.
It is worth noting that the Union of Journalism Education of Higher Education Institutions in China and Russia currently unites 16 Russian universities and 21 Chinese universities. However, only two universities from Siberia are represented in the Union: Irkutsk State University and Tomsk State University. The Union is co-chaired by Elena Vartanova, Dean of the Faculty of Journalism at Lomonosov Moscow State University, and Professor Zhu Yong, Dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Renmin (People's) University of China.