Friday (23/2) the representative from Tomsk State University (TSU) Russia, Ms. Rizqina Ramadhaniah, S.M., M. A. (the Director of Tomsk Representative Office and its Alumna), visited University Al-Azhar Indonesia (UAI) to socialize about Tomsk city, education, and Russian language. The event that was arranged with the title “Welcome to Tomsk: The Student City of Siberia, involved all the academia from UAI from students, staff, to lecturers.
Before the beginning of the event, there were testimonials from an UAI Alumna who is currently studying in Russia, Diah Pitaloka Margaretta and the Representative of National Research TSU, Elena Shlotgauer, spent their time to share their experiences about study in Russia. Firstly, Ms. Margaretta explained that Majors in Russia are very varied and the education system is very student oriented. I only wanted to learn digital advertising but I was able to learn public relations at the same time. Russia is beyond your expectations. Meanwhile, Ms. Shlotgauer added that as a Russian. She can say that her country is very multicultural and very open to all differences, at TSU there is also a lot of access for Muslims. There are 2 mosques 800 M-2 KM away, there are halal places to eat, etc. Plus, there are more than 3,000 international students which makes studying at TSU even more enjoyable.
On that occasion, Ms. Ramadhaniah opened the event by presenting about TSU’s achievement today. She said TSU is currently ranked in the 4th place as the best university in Russia which offers 21 faculties with more than 1.000 departments in the state. Advancing for its internalization, TSU has also fully English-taught programs with 3.525 international students. Besides studying, she added that learning Russian is also crucial. TSU itself also provides a Pre-Course Department and it is mandatory for every international student to take it. This is very beneficial for the students since they can learn their specialty while gaining new skills in understanding the Russian language.
Moreover, Ms. Ramadhaniah described that TSU also has dorms for international students with a very affordable price. The university guarantees the accommodation of all foreign students with only $15/month. Meanwhile, during the spare time, students will be given the chance not only to fulfill their academic but also non-academic activities such as TSU Sports Club annually holds and organizes over 1,000 events at both the university and city levels: University Health Days, Freshman’s Holiday, Mile of Peace, etc. Variety of clubs: SMT Show students music theater, Mirror dance theater, TSU rock club, TSU-62 jazz orchestra, etc.
To give it a try, Ms. Ramadhaniah instructed on how the academia of UAI registers through scholarships. On the one hand, there is Education in Russia. This scholarship is integrated under the Russian government. Students will be given a monthly allowance, but the selected program must be taught in Russian. On the other hand, there is Open Doors. This is a scholarship provided by the Russian Scholarship Project Association “Global University”. This is more flexible where students can choose whether English or Russian-taught class. Furthermore, the monthly allowance in the initial departure is bigger than the one provided by Education in Russia.
Additionally, Ms. Ramadhaniah emphasized that Russia, specifically Tomsk city, is a very friendly and affordable city. “It also very open to diversity so as Muslim community we do not need to be worried about that. Despite the conflict in European countries these past years, Russia still remained very safe for foreigners. With so much to offer, she believed that there is nothing to be waited for and just prepare for the requirements and good luck. This is a good chance for all of the alumni of UAI” Ms. Ramadhaniah closed her presentation. (TSH)