After a COVID-related break in 2020 UdSU has opened the doors of its traditional summer schools to international students.
Luckily, the list of open-border countries is growing steadily. The coordinators of the summer eco-school “GoGreen with Russian” were especially happy to hear the news of lifted restrictions on the Russian-German border as the majority of school participants this year are German students. The applications from these students came after UdSU summer school project had been supported by German academic exchange service DAAD.
In spite of numerous new regulation related to COVID prevention all students could get visas and arrive in Russia before the start of the course on August 09.
The 2-week programme, as the name implies, features both Russian and ecological classes on such topics as separate waste collection, environmental biotechnologies, monitoring of natural environments etc. At the same time students are offered plenty of opportunities to learn about the Udmurt region, its flora and fauna, landscape features, culture and traditions. Thus, they have already visited the UdSU botanical garden, Izhevsk zoo, cultural and historic sights. Waiting ahead are trips to Pikhtovka fishing farm, Ludorvay open-air museum, vermi-composting farm. An important part of the course is students’ hands-on experience: measuring different environmental indicators, a community service of planting trees, giving “second life” to old things, and socializing with their peers – UdSU student volunteers.
Summer school “GoGreen with Russian” has become possible thanks to the joint efforts of many UdSU teaching and administrative staff: the faculty of the Institutes of Natural Sciences and Civil Defense, staff of the International and Public Relations Office.
We do hope that in course of the two weeks Izhevsk will become both a sweet “home away from home” and a burning point for international students. That, on one hand, the “GoGreen with Russian” eco-school will help them discover the beauty of the Udmurt Republic, make new friends, and, on the other hand, engage in discussion of local and global ecological issues, improve their Russian and environmental performance skills.
