The Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) partnered with the International Institute for the Development of Science Cooperation (MIRNaS) to hold a round table discussion on 9 April 2015 entitled “Cooperation in research and education between Russia and Turkey: a resource for developing and internationalising the two countries’ universities”. Those taking part in the event included representatives of government bodies and of leading Russian and Turkish universities, and experts on bilateral relations.
The Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) partnered with the International Institute for the Development of Science Cooperation (MIRNaS) to hold a round table discussion on 9 April 2015 entitled “Cooperation in research and education between Russia and Turkey: a resource for developing and internationalising the two countries’ universities”. Those taking part in the event included representatives of government bodies and of leading Russian and Turkish universities, and experts on bilateral relations.
The meeting opened with speeches by Andrey Kortunov, Director General of the RIAC, and Elena Ponomareva, President of MIRNaS. The participants were also welcomed by Andrey Buravov, Deputy Director of the Fourth European Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Artyom Markaryan, head of the Department of Scientific Cooperation and Youth and Communication Programmes at the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), and Gökhan Bacik, Vice-Rector of IPEK University.
The special session heard presentations by Valery Kononov, member of the Russia-Turkey business council of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vyacheslav Kulagin, head of the Centre for the Study of Global Energy Markets at the Energy Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Pavel Shlykov, associate professor in the History of Near and Middle Eastern Countries department at Lomonosov Moscow State University. The experts reflected on aspects of economic cooperation between Russia and Turkey, including in the area of energy, and also issues concerning inter-cultural dialogue and humanitarian relations between the two countries. The moderator of the special session was Timur Makhmutov, RIAC deputy director of programmes.
The first stream in the round table was devoted to discussing the prospects for social-humanitarian, educational and research cooperation between Russia and Turkey. At the start of the session, moderator Gökhan Bacik said: “The Turkish educational space has traditionally been open to western universities, but now we are also trying to make it accessible for Russian partners too.” Those taking part in the event shared their experience of setting up joint degree programmes and emphasised the importance of support for academic mobility and of bringing the two countries’ universities together for partnerships in research.
The participants in the second stream examined issues and prospects with regard to managing the internationalisation of Russian and Turkish universities. The discussion included a special focus on mutual recognition of diplomas and how to promote Russian universities to Turkish school-leavers. The moderator of this session, Velikhan Mirzekhanov, head of the Centre for Nineteenth-Century Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of General History, drew on his personal experience in noting that the difficulties in mutual recognition of diplomas are entirely capable of being overcome. Close cooperation between universities and the relevant ministries makes it possible to conclude the appropriate inter-governmental agreements.
In their closing remarks, Arif Asalyoglu, General Director of MIRNaS, and Timur Makhmutov, RIAC deputy director of programmes, noted the exceptionally fruitful nature of the meeting. Both sides also expressed their intention to continue exchanging views on a regular basis.
It is planned to prepare a printed publication for the relevant ministries and agencies on the results of the round table discussion.
Round table “Cooperation in research and education between Russia and Turkey: a resource for developing and internationalising the two countries’ universities”
