TOMSK, Nov 2 – RIA Tomsk. Tomsk State University (TSU) plans to open a master program for studying of Siberia and the Arctic in 2016, the head of the program, the director of the center of superiority of TSU BioClimLand Sergey Kirpotin told RIA Tomsk.
"Studying of the Arctic is one of priorities of national and world politics. In the conditions of climatic instability it is the most key region for researches and the most hot spot of warming on our planet. <…> Undergraduates will gain profound knowledge about history of researches, climatic, hydrological, geobotanical, soil, landscape conditions of Siberia and the Arctic", – he told.
According to Kirpotin, TSU scientists formulated the concept of Western Siberia as natural megainstallation. "It was highly appreciated by experts in the Russian Federation and abroad and will become a basis for development of large international network projects. The undergraduates who are trained according to this program will be able to see with their own eyes the changing Siberia and the Arctic and to make their small contribution to large-scale researches", – the scientist explained.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate Terry Callaghan, the leading researcher of the National center of scientific researches (Toulouse) laboratory Oleg Pokrovsky, professor of permafrost laboratory of Institute of geophysics of University of Alaska Vladimir Romanovsky and others will be teachers.The network university UArctic, Observatoire Midi Pyrénées (France), Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University (Poland) and others can become potential partners of the program. Graduates of a bachelor degree of natural-science and some humanitarian specialties (journalism and management) will be able to apply for the program.
Students will be trained on the basis of laboratories of the BioClimLand center, scientific research institute of biology and biophysics, chemical, radio physical and geological and geographical faculties of TSU. Students will pass summer practice at research stations of higher education institution. They will investigate the landscapes which are transformed as a result of climatic and anthropogenous changes.