BNRU Welcomes Colleagues from Vitebsk

Professor Oleg Polukhin, Rector of BNRU, greeted Professor Anatoly Shchastny, Rector of Vitebsk State Medical University (VSMU), and Dr Maxim Savchuk, Vice-Rector for International Relations and Work with Foreign Citizens at VSMU.

The meeting was also attended by Dr Vladislav Kuchmisty, the Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, Professor Vladimir Kulikovsky, the Director of the Medical Institute, and Dr Irina Spichak, head of Pharmacology, and Deputy Director for International Activities at the Medical Institute.

Professor Polukhin greeted his guests and stressed that official relationships are not built without a degree of personal understanding. He gave a brief history of the university, outlining our recent achievements. The Rector was keen to underline the significant role the Medical Institute plays in the university's development, pointing out that for the last twenty years, its assets have grown appreciably, allowing scientific research to be carried out in many fields, saying,

“Today we are working to transform basic Clinical Departments into Clinics that will allow us to more deeply integrate into the healthcare system of the Region, and help to improve the level of training of future doctors. You already have experience in this area, and we are very interested in copying your success. We consider you strong partners, and we will do our best to make our cooperation profitable to both parties.”

Dr Spichak reported on possible areas of university cooperation, which include joint educational programs, training of foreign students in intermediary language, academic mobility, and exchanging scientific research.

Professor Shchastny in his turn thanked our Rector for the opportunity to visit BNRU, and invited him to VMRU. He pointed out the versatility of education shown at our University, as befits a classical university, and echoed our Rector's opinion on the importance of interuniversity cooperation, saying,

“When you arrive at a classical university, you immediately notice the rich diversity of courses on offer which include disciplines in arts and humanities, technical and vocational studies, medicine, and teaching. Here, medical students have an excellent opportunity to conduct scientific research where medicine and science converge. And in this regard, it is important for us to cooperate with your university. As for academic mobility, it is simply a question of acting on our wishes.”

At the conclusion of the meeting our guests toured the university campus, visiting the Medical Institute and its various Departments, the Pharmacology of Living Systems Scientific Research Institute, the Regional Simulation Centre, and also found time for sightseeing in Belgorod.