A project on the socio-cultural adaptation of foreign first-year students has been launched at Derzhavin Tambov State University. This project called “Welcome to TSU!” became the winner of the All-Russian Competition of Youth Projects among Educational Institutions of Higher Education in 2018. The competition was organized by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) and the Resource Youth Center.

The project is aimed at accelerated and effective adaptation of foreign first-year students to life in Tambov.

“Officers of the TSU Department of International Relations together with colleagues from the Medical Institute, developed a whole range of activities for social and cultural adaptation of foreign students who first come to Russia,” said Tatyana Osadchaya, Vice-Rector for International Relations and Foreign Student Affairs. “This academic year more than 500 foreign students from 64 countries of the near and far abroad will become students of Derzhavin University.

As part of the project, foreign students have already participated in master classes in the Russian language, core educational subjects, and in the history and culture of Russia.

“I really liked the Russian language master class. We worked in a group with other students from South Africa. Marina, a Russian student who studies at the Pedagogical Institute helped us. It's great that we communicate with students from Russia,” Ngomane Pricias, a first-year medical student shared her impressions. “I’ve learned a lot of new and important words. Now I am really looking forward to other master classes. I think it will be very interesting. I want to learn how to dance Russian folk dances and learn songs in Russian.”

Within the “Welcome to TSU!” Project, foreign first-year students will be able to take part in a series of intellectual quizzes that will begin on October 10th. They will be held in the format of the games "Voroshilovsky shooter" and "Brain Ring". On October 11, a series of cultural, educational and sightseeing routes “The First Meeting with Tambov” starts. Legal workshops "I and my rights" will begin on October 25. The project will finish on December 5 with a mass festival "Day of the Freshman".