TSU students became participants of international dialogue

TOMSK, Apr 3 – RIA Tomsk. Tomsk students have for the first time participated in one of the largest international business forums organized by students – World Business Dialogue. It is carried out in Cologne for already 19 years. There are students of Tomsk State University (TSU) among participants of 2018, and among organizers – the graduate of the Tomsk gymnasium.

They told RIA Tomsk what was discussed by participants of the international dialogue and how Cologne students received guests from Russia.

Five days for global changes

As it is reported on the forum website, its organizers are students of the University of Cologne. Annually the forum unites talented youth and outstanding people from the world of business, policy and science. Together they study various global tendencies.  "Digital Organization" became the subject of the forum in 2018.

In five days of the forum students plunged into digital subject by means of experts in the field of innovations and technologies. This is, for example, the creator of Gmail in the Google company Bill Duane, management board members and top management of the companies Bayer, Ford, Henkel, Siemens and others.

About 900 participants registered at the forum of 2018 in total, from them 300 – students from 70 countries. The Russian delegation totaled more than 30 people. Tomsk was represented by students of the Department of international relations of HF TSU – Surkura Surtayeva and Varvara Kozlova.

Rights of women and workshops for future diplomats

Surkura Surtayeva tells:

"It is possible to become the participant of the forum, having submitted the application on its website and having undergone competitive selection. Varvara and I did it. The application was approved.

There were many children from Moscow among delegates with whom we got acquainted prior to the forum. Acquaintance to the others took place during registration. There were delegates from all corners of the world – from Nicaragua to Australia.

Each participant got the individual schedule at registration taking into account his interests. This plan was very well compiled. Everything is considered: time for acquaintance to culture, the city, for work, lectures, meetings and rest.

We were acquainted with the city and the country in the first days after the main lectures. I especially remember the event Köln à la Menü. It is a visit to local students. They told about the culture, treated with traditional dishes. Frankly speaking, I never had such experience when for the first dish I go to one house, for dessert - to another.

There was a set of important information and useful training in the main part of the forum. For example, we created the digital platform for different segments of the population on one of workshops, including for physically disabled people and for the women who are on a maternity leave.

I have for the first time tried in the sphere of IT technologies. It was the seven-hour stream of the ideas, thoughts, opinions, knowledge from different spheres and the different countries at one table for the solution of one task. We discussed the term papers in breaks.

Besides workshops we still had closed discussions. I had an opportunity to participate in a discussion with the famous German analyst Hans Peter Frohlich. We discussed a role of economic analytical centers and influence of political thinking on economy.

Also I waited for Bill Duane's lecture. He was interesting, shared his experience with humor and very simply explained complicated things.

The closed meeting with Catherine Menges – the executive vice-president for personnel of the Henkel company was remembered. She has never told "no" or "but" in the speech. In my opinion, she perfectly unostentatiously motivated. We discussed issues of career development, quality of the leading female and open vacancies in Henkel with her.

Also discrimination of women at employment was discussed among many problematic issues. Students and top managers of the large companies actively put forward and supported the idea of equal opportunities for the sexes for professional realization and work. I hope that the number of women who are denied employment due to gender is decreasing year by year.

In general the forum helped to learn a lot of things and to understand, from nuances of submission of applications for a competition of grants to employment opportunities in foreign firms. I estimated the opportunities and knowledge".

With world leaders at one table

Varvara Kozlova tells:

"Communication with unique experts is the main thing at the forum. Just imagine, at one time there were Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates, Joseph Stiglitz and others. I managed to communicate to professor Werner Meliss, Dean of the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Science of the University of Cologne: we discussed concepts of development of the universities, necessary changes in educational process, relationship of teachers and students, innovations for training.

Workshop with the representative of one of the most prestigious grants of the world – Schwarzman Scholars became one more interesting meeting. This program is focused on development of future generation of leaders and support of talented students of various international universities. This year the grant provides payment of two years of training in a magistracy in the Chinese National Tsing Hua University.

The forum in Cologne is an excellent occasion to visit Germany and to see the Cologne Cathedral which is executed in Gothic style, is the highest in Europe and is a part of the World cultural heritage of UNESCO. A pleasant bonus is that delegates of the forum can visit several museums free of charge. For example, we were in Museum Ludwig where Pablo Picasso, Vladimir Burliuk, Emil Nolde's pictures and others are stored.

Last forum will be remembered as the productive dialogue between youth, experts and representatives of the different countries helping to understand each other, to work well together and find a common language.

Similar actions take place in Tomsk too. For example, week of workshops and seminars with representatives of the European universities were organized in TSU at the end of last year where the advanced directions of science and issues of non-competition, and cooperation of universities of Tomsk for raising of appeal of our student's city at the international level were discussed".

Welcome

Earlier RIA Tomsk reported that since 2016 the official ambassador of the forum in Russia is the graduate of the Tomsk gymnasium No. 29 Eric Khugayev. He studies at the University of Cologne, helps with the organization of the forum and interaction of team of the event with the Russian students.

Eric Khugayev tells:

"World Business Dialogue is a search of interesting interlocutors, unexpected questions, daring ideas, opposite opinions, expansion of the horizons of thinking. Here they listen and hear everyone without any exception, and the famous speakers load with energy and inspire on new fulfillments.

Several years ago there was a minimum of the Russian participants at the forum. And now there are more than 30 of them! And at once two of them are students of TSU, one of the leading Russian universities! I look forward to the forum of 2019 to receive a new portion of the drive. Also I invite to join us new Tomsk students".