The Consul General of Turkey has visited St Petersburg University

The Consul General of the Republic of Turkey in St Petersburg Yunus Belet met with St Petersburg University students and academic staff who are specialising in Turkic philology.

Earlier, Mr Yunus Belet met the Rector of St Petersburg University Nikolay Kropachev and received an offer to head the council of the educational programme «Turkic Philology».

The honoured guest shared his view of the modern international situation, as well as the trends in the educational ties of our countries. He also noted an increase in the number of Turkish students who want to study Russian and enrol in master’s and doctoral programmes at Russian universities.

Mr Yunus Belet discussed the creation of the conditions that will encourage greater mobility of students from Turkey. He is convinced that it is necessary either to strengthen their training in the Russian language, or to open international programmes in English. In particular, he has proposed an initiative to open a master’s programme in law in English.

During the meeting, university students and professors were given the opportunity to ask the Consul General questions of interest. They discussed what they care about in organising inter-university mobility programmes. They also shared their thoughts on what can be changed in the future. Mr Yunus Belet appreciated the level of proficiency in Turkish of the St Petersburg University students.

It is to be recalled that last year the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkey to the Russian Federation Hussein Dirioz visited St Petersburg University. He also held an open meeting with university students and professors. He was able to communicate with students and academic staff in his native language and discuss topical issues in the field of internationalisation of education.