International Activity

KubSU has a long proven history of international partnerships which began as early as 1970s when higher school students from socialist countries (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, German Democratic Republic, Bulgaria, Poland, Mongolia) as well as Great Britain, France, USA and other states came to attend full-time study courses at Kuban State University.

Today the University has established contacts with more than 40 academic institutions of Europe, Asia, and America. Thirty of them currently have university-level agreements which involve scientific co-operation in education, seismology, ecology, natural and anthropogenic disaster prevention, membrane technology, pure substance production technologies, as well as biologically active substance production technologies, laser technology and in other fields.

The University is actively involved in a range of international projects funded by granting organizations such as Tacis, Tempus, Intas, DAAD and others. Over the whole period of grant-giving activity in the Russian Federation, the university and its academic community including students have obtained more than $1.5 m of grant support. The members of the academic staff are represented in councils of experts for Russian and international charities (USAID, Tacis, Tempus, IREX, Potanin Foundation, etc.). The regional office of “Open Society” Institute (Soros Foundation) was open at the university from 1997 to 2002 contributing to and promoting partnerships of the university and the local community with Russian and overseas organizations in different fields.

The University is establishing international links in its main sphere: education. There are more than 350 foreign students from all over the world studying at KubSU at the moment. The University students, its teaching staff and other members are involved in academic mobility programmes. In recent years more than 400 students and 150 members of the teaching staff have visited overseas universities and research institutions to study and participate in research projects.

Both, students and academic staff from other countries willingly come to study and work at the University. More than 60 foreign students and young specialists did their training courses at KubSU on academic mobility programmes in 2009. The reach of academic mobility is vast and stretches as far as EU countries, countries of Asia and North America. Scientists and professors from foreign partner institutions take an active part in the educational process of the university. Over the last 5 years they have provided about 7000 hours of classes for KubSU students. What is more, foreign students, interns, scientists and lecturers readily volunteer for activities outside their studies and lecture-rooms at KubSU, acting as native speakers, helping to develop international partnerships, assisting in students’ clubs and international centres of the University.

The University has established and successfully run a network of international partnerships: Greek Education Centre, German Literature Centre, and International Cultural and Educational Centre whose mission is not only to popularize the Russian language and culture but also to support foreign students during their stay in Russia and studies at the University as well as to encourage students of KubSU and other higher education institutions in the Kuban region to study foreign languages and cultures.

KubSU’s international partnerships are coordinated by the Department of International Relations.