HSE University-St Petersburg Presents Track on Latin America at Festival in 'Sevkabel Port'
On July 13, HSE University-St Petersburg participated in the festival of Latin American countries in 'Sevkabel Port' covering the history, culture and traditions of the region. The festival gathered 12 heads and representatives of diplomatic institutions of the Latin American countries in Russia and citizens of St Petersburg. HSE University-St Petersburg presented the interdisciplinary track on Latin America. It unites courses of three educational Bachelor's programmes in Political Science, Economics and Media Communications. The regional track will become a new stage of cooperation between HSE University and Latin America.
The festival of the Latin American countries has been held in St Petersburg for the second time at the initiative of the St Petersburg Committee for External Relations. This year, it hosted the Foreign Ministry Representative Office in St Petersburg as well as 12 heads and representatives of diplomatic institutions of Latin American countries in Russia.
Hector Isidro Arenas Neira, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Colombia
I am truly happy that St Petersburg citizens are so keenly interested in the culture and history of Latin American countries. I am sure that such festivals will help to bring our countries closer together and establish strong relations in various spheres, including the economy and education. Russia and Colombia have a very long history of cooperation in the sphere of education. Annually, the Russian government allocates state-funded places in the universities for our students. However, among the Colombians, fee-paying places are also in demand because students know about the good level of Russian education. Now, there are about 1500 of our students getting an education in Russia.
Recently, I visited HSE University-St Petersburg in the framework of the HSE University St Petersburg International Partners’ Days, and I was very glad that it hosted the representatives of our university La Sabana. HSE University and Universidad de La Sabana are developing joint research programmes in the sphere of physics and IT. I also believe that cooperation in the realm of economic education has potential because, in Colombia, specialists in this sphere are in great demand. The world is in crisis, in part due to climate change, and we need young specialists who will help all spheres of economics to adapt to these changes.
During the festival, HSE University-St Petersburg presented a new interdisciplinary track on Latin America. It unites courses of three educational programmes: 'Political Science and World Politics', 'International Bachelor's in Business and Economics' and 'Media Communications'. Students can immerse themselves in the peculiarities of regional politics, economics and the media sphere as well as learn Spanish. It is planned that students will be able to go on an academic mobility programme in Latin America, undertake an internship and participate in summer and winter school held at partner universities.
Yury Kabanov, Senior Lecturer of the Bachelor's programme 'Political Science and World Politics'
At HSE University-St Petersburg, an interest in Latin America is increasing, and new partnerships with Latin American universities appear. In particular, this year, the Bachelor's programme 'Political Science and World Politics' have launched a track covering this region. But starting from a new academic year, HSE University-St Petersburg will start an inter-programme, interdisciplinary track. Students will not only get to know politics and international relations but also figure out how to run business with Latin American countries and how media systems are structured in the region. This will help to create a community of students who are interested in Latin America at HSE University. Through this interest, we will develop students' competencies which are necessary for effective and efficient cooperation with the region in various spheres. We hope that our colleagues from Latin American universities will also share their expertise with HSE students via the visiting professor programme.
Natalia Khazieva, Co-Head of the programme 'International Bachelor’s in Business and Economics'The region of Latin America is very ambitious from the point of view of economics, politics and communications. Lots of Russian companies strive to enter this market with goods, technologies and services despite of geographical remoteness. However, the companies themselves underscore that they lack specialists who would understand the specifics of the Latin American countries, engage in the search for partners and know how to negotiate. That's why we keep up with the times and open a new educational track in our programme. For the cooperation, we attract Russian and Latin American companies which are ready to share their competencies with the students.
The region of Latin America is very ambitious from the point of view of economics, politics and communications. Lots of Russian companies strive to enter this market with goods, technologies and services despite of geographical remoteness. However, the companies themselves underscore that they lack specialists who would understand the specifics of the Latin American countries, engage in the search for partners and know how to negotiate. That's why we keep up with the times and open a new educational track in our programme. For the cooperation, we attract Russian and Latin American companies which are ready to share their competencies with the students.
At the festival, guests could immerse themselves in the atmosphere of a Latin American carnival, try local cuisine and attend workshops in salsa and rumba, learn the history and traditions of the Latin American region. Besides, the festival became a platform for business networking. For instance, the Bachelor's programme 'Media Communications' has established contact with the ambassador of Colombia Hector Isidro Arenas Neira and the representatives of the Centre for the Spanish Language and Culture ‘Adelante’.
The academic supervisor of the programme Mikhail Tyurkin highlighted that the development of cooperation with Latin American universities is a priority direction right now. For example, in September, they will start working on a joint media project with the Panamerican University in Mexico with which HSE University-St Petersburg negotiated the cooperation in December 2023. The project will tell about small peoples of Russia and Latin America bound by common roots. Besides, starting from the next academic year, the programme will launch a new track 'Global Communications and International Journalism'. The students of this track will study media systems of various regions, including Latin American.
Mikhail Tyurkin, Academic Supervisor of the Bachelor's programme 'Media Communications'
I believe that Russia needs universal media specialists with international competencies who are ready to create media content which will do much toward bringing our country and Latin America together. We are far only in terms of geography but very close in culture and spirit. Academic ties with this region will be our peculiarity, our competitive advantage—not just of HSE University but of HSE University-St Petersburg.
Today, we have attended a wonderful festival—it feels like we have used a teleport and happened to find ourselves in Brazil, Mexico or Peru. The sun is shining brightly, there are sea and beach nearby, we can hear the sounds of upbeat songs and dances. However, such festivals are also very useful: I have got to know the ambassador of Colombia, the representatives of the school ‘Adelante’ and other potential partners. I hope this networking will come in handy in the future for implementing our joint projects.