AIEA-2015 was a logical continuation of the ITMO University participation in the XXVI Annual Conference of the European Association for International Education EAIE-2014, held in the autumn in Prague. In the US capital, the top managers in the field of education gathered to discuss the issues of promotion of universities in the world market and resolve strategic issues of international cooperation. As Daria Kozlova, the director of the ITMO University Institute for International Development and Partnership, said, the participation in such events means not only the important experience exchange and familiarity with the new methods of the university promotion, but also the opportunity to meet with strategic partners.
"The AIEA Conference is an effective platform for strengthening the existing contacts. Here I have met all American, European and even some Brazilian partners of ITMO University. In the conference context, disposing to dialogue, we have managed to discuss the pressing issues of our cooperation with foreign colleagues once again."
The conference program was full of various workshops and sessions devoted to specific issues of the universities international activities: recruitment of foreign students and staff, academic exchange programs, the concept of a liberal education and others.
The most interesting topic for discussion, according to the director of the ITMO University Institute for International Development and Partnership, was introduction of English as a foreign language and creation of a comfortable environment for foreign students and members of the teaching staff. The workshop participants examined various models of realization of these objectives, and, as it turned out, ITMO University has chosen the most progressive of them.
"Usually, a university language centre is either a part of the Faculty of Humanities or exists apart. We have integrated it into the international service of ITMO University, thus ensuring the smooth operation of the entire mechanism of university promotion in the international space," says Daria Kozlova.
A special session was devoted to the 5-100 Project as an effective program for increasing the competitiveness of Russian universities. The members of the educational community noted that Russian universities have never been so active and visible, as it is now, so the organizers of the AIEA-2015 conference decided to focus on this project. Stephen Hagen, the vice-rector for ITMO University Change Management , Isak Frumin, the scientific adviser of the Higher School of Economics Institute of Education, Elena Chernyshkova, the head of the 5-100 Project expert group, and some other colleagues spoke about 5-100 Project and discussed the interim results.
Stephen Hagen suggested that one of the main achievements of the 5-100 Project is giving universities an extra incentive to reach the level of world leaders in the field of education. The project motivates the leading universities in Russia to get out of their "shells" and change the focus from local changes in the global development.