The first group of students has completed a training course at the interuniversity PhD training center opened by Tomsk State University and Shenyang Normal University (SNU). The students in the program will spend two years mastering various disciplines and conducting research in China, while in the third year they will study at TSU. The center will increase the number of students from China at TSU.
“Early-career scientists who come to us are engaged in research in such areas as physical education and professional physical training, recreational and adaptive physical education,” said Anastasia Kabachkova, associate professor at the Faculty of Physical Education. “Each PhD student has two supervisors — from the Russian and Chinese sides. During our classes, we learned about the features of PhD studies in Russia, exam requirements, how to prepare, and how to make a proper individual research plan, and we discussed many other issues.”
The professor noted that although the PhD students had not had enough language practice yet, they spoke Russian boldly by the end of the course. It is expected that by the time they arrive in Tomsk, they will already be able to gain a lot of practical experience, because TSU professors will regularly work with graduate students in Shenyang.
Earlier, Artyom Rykun, TSU Vice-Rector for International Affairs, mentioned that the 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.
Artyom Rykun also noted that Shenyang is a major industrial center of vast resources, creating a stable demand for highly qualified personnel and applied scientific research.
Research cooperation between TSU and Chinese scientists is established in various areas. Employees of the BioGeoClim laboratory and Chinese partners are studying the carbon cycle in thermokarst lakes. TSU chemists in collaboration with researchers from Xiamen University are working to create a new class of catalysts for processing carbon dioxide into synthesis gas.
The interuniversity center in Shenyang will enable expanding joint research areas. The two sides are discussing such topics as physical activity for seniors as prevention of fractures and other disorders, physical education for kindergarten students, increasing motivation for mass physical education, and others.