Speech of the Head of the Federal Agency for Education
Mr. G.A. Balykhin at the leading higher school institutions
of Russia and China forum

“The role of international cooperation in the Higher Education Quality Increase”

Dear rectors of the leading Higher School Institutions of Russia and China!

First, let me on behalf of all the present professors of the MoscowStateUniversity to congratulate heartily Mrs. Chen Zhili, member of the State Council of PRC, on conferring the highest award of the University, the honorary degree of professor of the MoscowUniversity. With all my heart, dear Mrs. Chen Zhili, I congratulate you on this award. Using the occasion, I would like to express gratitude from Russia’s educational community, from the Ministry of Science and Education, from the Federal Agency for Education for your longstanding work for strengthening and developing the cooperation between our great countries – Russia and China. For many years, you are at the head of the Chinese part of Sino-Russian commission for education, culture, health and sports, renamed this year the Sino-Russian commission for humanitarian cooperation. Many thanks for your outstanding contribution in friendship, cooperation and neighborliness between Russia and China.

Dear rectors! Today we open the 2nd Sino-Russian Rectors’ Forum. As you know, the 1st Forum was held in PekingUniversity, during the “Year of Russia in China”. I think it will be a good tradition to hold these Forums in the biggest institutes of Russia and China. On behalf of the Ministry of Education and Science, Federal Agency I heartily greet you and congratulate on opening of the 2nd Rectors’ Forum. I wish the Forum fruitful work.

Dear friends! Relations between Russia and China are advancing dynamically. Signing in 2001 the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Neighborliness and creation in 2000 Sino-Russian Commission on Cooperation in Humanitarian Sphere gave an additional impetus to these relations. The 8th session of the Commission was held in St-Petersburg at September 3, jointly presided over by Mr. A. Zhukov from Russia’s government and Mrs. Chen Zhili from China’s government. At the session, the results of conducting the “Year of Russia in China” (2006) and “Year of China in Russia” (2007) were summed up.

At the session, all the scheduled events were appraised highly. In my opinion, the most important decision taken at the session is to make the significant events of the two “Years” standing. I mean Rectors’ Forums, Festival of Students’ Creative Work, linguistic contests and other events with the biggest response. Mrs. Chen Zhili in her splendid speech told us that the Commission had endorsed the proposal to declare the “Year of The Russian Language in China” in 2008 and the “Year of the Chinese Language in Russia” in 2009.

I would like to congratulate the MoscowUniversity and its rector, Mr. V. Sadovnichiy, on the opening of Confucius Institute. Confucius Institute is, actually, a cultural, educational and research center, which does more than just gives opportunity to study the Chinese. Besides it gives opportunity to understand centuries-old culture, philosophy and traditions of the Great China, get to know the present-day life of the People’s Republic of China, its successes and achievements. The Institute will train and certify teachers of the Chinese language and, the most important thing, it will be the place for contacts with our Chinese friends.

That is why, once again, I congratulate you on the opening of Confucius Institute at the venue of the MoscowUniversity.

Dear friends! Dear rectors!I hope that our Forum is the place where we can share our experience and new ideas, discuss problems, which make the hard work of rectors more complicated.

I would like to express my confidence in our ability to solve the problems in the higher education field, which were singled out in the integral plan to develop the higher education for 2005-2008. First, I would like to attract attention of rectors to the necessity to reach an agreement to increase the number of students, post-graduates and probationers on state grants, which visit Russia and China under the inter-State agreement. I think that if we reach an agreement to increase the number to about one thousand during the next two years, it would be a big success in our cooperation in the field of higher education.

I want the Forum to discuss in details the problems of founding of joint post-graduate studies. Examples of Peking and MoscowUniversities are model. Yesterday an event on occasion of five-year activity of the joint post-graduate study was held at the MoscowStateUniversity. It is a good example to be supported by Russian and Chinese rectors.

I would ask you to discuss another problem – that of joint training of bachelors. As you know, this training is being carried out now by several institutes in Russia and China. Unfortunately, it is not enough and we have to increase this form of training manifold.

I hope you would discuss the problems related to development and implementation of scientific projects. We have good examples of cooperation in the field. Participants from the Russian side are the MoscowUniversity, the MoscowStateTechnicalUniversity, and the Moscow University of Energy, from the Chinese side – ZhezhuangUniversity. Actually, we talk about creation of technoparks, establishing Sino-RussianCenter for application of the achievements of science and technology to production. I believe that it is the very problem for the leading universities to solve.

Dear friends, I think that within the framework of the 2nd Rectors’ Forum we must discuss the problems which are actual for several years. Among them, the creation of joint grants’ fund and the establishment of joint Sino-RussianUniversity, proposed by President of Russia.

The most important things I would like to attract your attention to are the increase in quality of the Higher Education, making it more fundamental and training of highly qualified specialists, which would be competitive at labor market. Mrs. Chen Zhili has rightly said that the emphasis must be placed to innovative development of the Higher Education. As you know, at the relevant national project there is a special clause – to assign specific institutes to realize innovative projects. I would ask you to discuss these problems, too.

Dear friends, sorry for not saying at first that the PRC’s Minister of Education Mr. Chou Tsi and PRC’s Ambassador in Russia Mr. Lubu Chang are attending our Forum. I would like to greet them heartily.

I wish the 2nd Sino-Russian Rectors’ Forum successful and fruitful work. I am confident that the results of Forum’s work will strengthen cooperation between our countries, above all, in humanitarian sphere. I think these results will help to determine joint actions aimed to modernize the Higher Education in Russia and People’s Republic of China.

Best wishes, good luck, the 2nd Forum of Rectors of Russia and China!

Long live the Sino-Russian Friendship!