“MGIMO Days” in Dushanbe
On April 9-10, Dushanbe hosted “MGIMO Days” – a series of presentation and educational events aimed at introducing foreign schoolchildren and students to the MGIMO University, as well as creating a youth platform for scientific and educational dialogue.
On April 9, presentation and interactive events took place at the Yuri Gagarin Russian-Tajik School, attended by more than 100 schoolchildren interested in building a career in international relations and planning to enroll into MGIMO. The opening of the “MGIMO Days” was honored by the presence of H.E. Semyon Grigoryev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Tajikistan, a graduate of the School of International Relations, as well as MGIMO graduates working at the Russian Embassy in Tajikistan.
In his welcoming speech, Semyon Grigoryev emphasized that it is a great pleasure for him as a graduate to take part in the first “MGIMO Days” in Dushanbe. “MGIMO is not just a university, but also a training ground for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government agencies”, he added. Vladimir Gudkov, Headmaster of the Yuri Gagarin Russian-Tajik School, noted that it is a great honor for the school to host an event by MGIMO – the first Russian university which the Russian-Tajik School signed a partnership agreement with.
Elizaveta Rudenko, Head of International Marketing at MGIMO, shared information about the University’s educational programs and student life. Alexander Chekov, lecturer at the Department of International Relations and Russia’s Foreign Policy, delivered a lecture “The 21st Century: Era of Stability or Instability?” and presented the School of International Relations. Victoria Sosnitskaya, public relations specialist at the International Marketing Group, conducted an interactive quiz “Strategic Partnership between Russia and Tajikistan”. At the end of the event, Mirodil Mukimov, a 1st-year master’s student in “International Security”, shared his experience of enrolling and studying at MGIMO and performed a modern musical composition “Youth”. The most active participants received memorable prizes from the “MGIMO International” souvenir collection.
On April 10, the project game “Russia – Tajikistan: Trajectories of Interaction” was held at the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Dushanbe. The event was organized by the International Marketing Group together with the Center for Scientific Diplomacy and Youth in Science of the Institute for International Studies at MGIMO. About 50 schoolchildren and students interested in international relations and the development of cooperation between Russia and Tajikistan took part in the game.
Opening the project game, Andrey Patrushev, Head of the Rossotrudnichestvo Office in Tajikistan, noted that the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Dushanbe has more than once become a venue for such educational projects and is a reliable partner of MGIMO in developing youth scientific cooperation. Sergei Markedonov, leading researcher at the Institute for International Studies and Editor-in-Chief of the “International Analytics» journal, delivered a lecture on contemporary integration processes in the CIS region.
During the game, participants were divided into three groups, that worked on potential projects on the global, regional, and post-soviet tracks of Russian-Tajik cooperation. The work of the young researchers was coordinated by invited experts and MGIMO representatives: Andrey Zlydenny, a graduate of the University and TASS correspondent in Tajikistan; Sergei Markedonov, leading researcher at the Institute for International Studies; Alexander Chekov, lecturer at the Department of International Relations and Foreign Policy of Russia at MGIMO; Yaroslav Askov, analyst at the Center for Scientific Diplomacy and Youth in Science of the Institute for International Studies. The students were also assisted in developing their projects by Nikita Tikhonov, Chairman of the Student Scientific Society, Arseny Chugin, activist of the Student Scientific Society, as well as Egor Zinoviev and Nazar Kurbanov, young researchers at the Institute for International Studies.
At the end of the game, the following projects were presented to the expert jury: strategic energy partnership program between Russia and Tajikistan; an alternative Erasmus+ academic exchange program in the CIS region; ranking system for the level of language training of migrants; tourist media project “Guides of Friendship”; International Center for Diplomacy and Sustainable Development in Dushanbe; and a transit hub between our two countries. The expert jury highly appreciated the level of elaboration and originality of the projects and expressed hope for the implementation of the initiatives presented. All participants were awarded certificates and memorable prizes.
We express our gratitude to the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Tajikistan, the Rossotrudnichestvo Office in Dushanbe, and the Yuri Gagarin Russian-Tajik School for their assistance in organizing and holding the “MGIMO Days”.
School of International Relations