International Polytechnic Week: Participants View
International Polytechnic Week 2018 (IPW) has achieved significant results: delegations from over two dozen universities from around the world from Ecuador to India and from Portugal to Finland visited one of the central events in SPbPU international activities. Both foreign colleagues and guests from leading Russian universities appreciated the high level of organization. IPW 2018 was full of various events: business meetings, negotiations, conferences, discussions, seminars, student exhibitions, educational program fairs and a rich cultural program. During the Week the participants enjoyed a boat trip along the rivers and canals of St. Petersburg and attended a concert of classical music in the White Hall of the Polytechnic University.
“IPW 2018 was focused on the development of relations with the countries of Ibero-American community. It is very pleasant that this topic received a warm response and support from our colleagues and was discussed in their reports at the plenary session and within a special day devoted to this area. We are receiving feedback from participants grateful for the events held from all over the world. It has become a great motivation for new goals and accomplishments. We will be happy to see all our colleagues, friends and partners at the International Polytechnic Week in 2019, which will be timed to the 120th anniversary of our university», as D.G. ARSENIEV, the Vice Rector for International Relations of SPbPU underlined.
Guests of the International Polytechnic Week from different countries continue to send feedback. “Of course, I expected to see representatives of universities from around the world here, but I did not think that the meeting at the International Polytechnic Week would include so many colleagues from universities in Spain and Latin America. It was a pleasant surprise. The International Education Fair, which took place within the framework of the Student Day, made a big impression: in addition to communication with students, we discussed issues of interaction with colleagues from Russia and other countries. This is a valuable and rewarding experience”, according to a participant of International Polytechnic Week 2018, representing the international office of Odisee University College (Belgium), Anneleen De RIDDER.
Another participant of International Polytechnic Week from Odisee University College 2018, academic mobility coordinator Stefanie DERKS told about her impressions of the Student’s Day and participation in the International Education Fair: “I am very glad that representatives of universities of such a wide range of countries took part in the Polytechnic Week. I have been working with foreign students for about seven years, and I also coordinate my colleagues on academic exchanges. In most cases, young people making decision to study abroad have similar motives - a desire to learn another foreign language and get acquainted with the culture of another country. Some students learn leaving on their own - studying in another country and in another language, of course, contribute to becoming independent. We are very pleased to see the interest of Russian students in international study programs and their desire to interact with people from different cultures”.
The student theme was significant for all the events of the Week. Rita SINDE, Head of the international recruitment and MBA department at the University of Porto (Portugal) Business School underlined: “We are focused on intercultural and international communication. Students from Russia study at our business school every year, and it is very pleasant to see that every year more and more young students from around the world understand: despite the differences, when it comes to the most important values, we all speak the same language. I was impressed by the Polytechnic University, your knowledge, equipment, laboratories and research centers and, of course, the people who work here. The plenary session has become important and relevant: in the modern world, the topic of the internationalization of higher education is of particular importance, and I believe that it should be developed as widely as possible”.
Mr. Liu MIN, a Professor at East China Normal University (ECNU) (China) shares the same opinion: “Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University demonstrates a high expertise in many disciplines. Your university is a world-class university and I am very happy to be involved in the development of cooperation between SPbPU and ECNU. The importance of the International Polytechnic Week is difficult to overestimate: it is thanks to such events that the university opens its doors to the whole world. During this week we discussed issues of mutual interests with representatives of the international scientific community, held talks about the possibility of cooperation at various levels”.
Dr. Rahul DEV GARG from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (India) also noted that the International Polytechnic Week had become a useful experience of participating in large-scale international events. “Science as we know has no nationality and we all spoke the same language during the Week. Your events demonstrate a high level of organization, and the presentations of universities and institutes made a very strong impression. The number of foreign students is also very impressive - more than seven thousand foreign students prove that your university had chosen the right internationalization strategy”.
The international office of the Polytechnic University express deep gratitude and appreciation to the guests of the Week for their opinions and feedback, for their willingness to cooperate and communicate and for their interest and active participation in past events. See you all at the International Polytechnic Week-2019!