In early December, a TSU delegation visited China’s Shenyang Normal University, and the universities opened a new PhD training center in China. The joint PhD education and academic mobility program began this academic year. The students will conduct research in physical education and professional physical training, theory and methodology of sport, and health and adaptive physical education.
The PhD training collaboration with Shenyang Normal University stems from a five-year collaboration with Liaoning Province universities. One of the outcomes was the defense of two PhD theses in physical education and sports at TSU in 2023.
“The new project is practical, well-timed, and ambitious at the same time. In fact, TSU and SNU are education hubs, because TSU is the chair of the Tomsk consortium of universities and scientific organizations, and SNU organized an interuniversity center in collaboration with Liaoning Province, as well as other Chinese provinces,” commented Artyom Rykun, TSU Vice-Rector for International Affairs.
The Vice-Rector also noted that Shenyang is a major industrial center of vast resources, creating a stable demand for highly qualified personnel and applied scientific research.
“The program includes a wide variety of studies, and their topics are related to basketball training, physical activity of seniors as prevention of fractures and other disorders, physical education for kindergarten students, and motivation and attitude to mass physical education. These topics are also of particular interest in China, and a huge number of the Chinese do morning exercise in squares. Perhaps, we can also implement this practice in some form here,” said Leonid Kapilevich, head of the Department of Sports and Wellness Tourism, Sports Physiology, and Medicine.
As the initiative to establish and implement the joint program was initiated by SNU, all ten enrolled students are from China. After passing the English and Philosophy in English exams remotely, they are admitted to TSU, but during the first two years they study and conduct research in China. Every PhD student is assigned a TSU supervisor and a SPU supervisor. They will study in Tomsk in the third year, and they will complete their research work, pass final exams, and defend their theses here.
Students from Russia can also enroll in this program, and the parties are discussing the financial details of such collaboration. It is possible that Russian PhD students will be able to go to Shenyang on exchange for a certain period of time and work on their theses there.
In addition, the creation of a joint biomedical laboratory between TSU and other Tomsk universities, and SNU and Chinese universities participating in the joint PhD program, is being discussed. Other Chinese universities also demonstrate interest in collaboration. Not only representatives of management, PhD students, and students of SNU but also professors from various Beijing and Shanghai universities participated in the meeting with the TSU delegation.
“All ten Chinese PhD students demonstrate excellent motivation and efficiency and, most importantly, study Russian on a daily basis. The first intake will be the first step of the collaboration between TSU and SPU, and Tomsk and Shenyang universities, as well as the first serious proof of the success of our large-scale and ambitious project,” Artyom Rykun summarized.