·      Deputy Prime Minister and 20 top educators from Tatarstan tour SMU

·      Delegation discusses collaboration with SMU’s senior management

·      SMU Provost and Deputy President (Academic Affairs) Professor Rajendra K Srivastava receives gift of appreciation

A delegation of some 20 top educators, led by Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Education and Science Dr Engel Fattakhov from the Republic of Tatarstan in the Russian Federation visited SMU on 13 January to learn more about the University, share their own experiences and to discuss the possibility of future collaborations.

SMU Provost and Deputy President (Academic Affairs) Professor Rajendra K Srivastava hosted the delegation, together with Dean, Post Graduate Professional Programmes and Practice Professor Philip Zerrillo; Special Advisor to the President, Tan Siok Sun; Associate Director, President’s Office, Tan Gan Hup and Professor Tan Chin Tiong, Lee Kong Chian School of Business.

Professor Srivastava began SMU’s presentation to the guests with an introduction to the history and schools of SMU; profiling the diversity of the students and faculty members; outlining the multi-disciplinary undergraduate curriculum and growing number of postgraduate, research and professional programmes; and emphasising SMU’s global outlook, reputation and research rankings.

Tan Siok Sun then explained SMU’s status and role as Singapore’s only city university and invited the delegates to share their experience of Tatarstan’s three city universities in Kazan, the capital city. Complementing Ms Tan’s presentation, Tan Gan Hup provided an account of SMU-X – explaining that the concept incorporates a mind-set of collaboration, a curriculum with real-world relevance and a space for faculty members, students and industry partners to interact.

Mr Alishev Timirkhan Bulatovich, Head of the Technical, Vocational Education & Training Department, Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan then reciprocated with an introduction to the university education system there, placing particular emphasis on the routes and support for students to study overseas. Deputy Prime Minister Engel Fattakhov added that the delegation had chosen to visit SMU in the hope of establishing further collaboration and student exchanges.

The final presentation of the day was made by Yulia Sharipova, a graduate of SMU’s School of Economics who is continuing to study at SMU for a Master of IT in Business – Financial Services (MITB-FS). Yulia was born in Russia, raised in the USA and chose to study in Singapore. She gave an inspiring appraisal of the benefits of studying at SMU, including its cosmopolitan composition and outlook, the good balance of theory and practice in the curriculum, providing experience of collaborative project work and presentations, and extensive opportunities for internships. Her inspiring account drew a warm round of applause, questions from the Deputy Prime Minister, and the comment from Professor Srivastava that the best advertisement for SMU is its own graduates.

There was a friendly exchange of gifts before the delegation went on a tour of the campus. Professor Srivastava received a porcelain doll dressed in an intricately embroidered national costume, and he presented the Deputy Prime Minister with an SMU college jacket and pewter tankard, both customised to commemorate a memorable visit.

Main photo: SMU Provost and Deputy President (Academic Affairs) Professor Rajendra K Srivastava (centre) and the Tatarstan Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Education and Science Dr Engel Fattakhov (9^th from left) with members of the Tatarstan delegation and representatives of SMU.

Yulia Sharipova, a Russian-born graduate of SMU’s School of Economics who is continuing to study at SMU for a Master of IT in Business – Financial Services (MITB-FS), sharing her experiences at SMU with the delegation.

The Tatarstan delegation visiting SMU Labs during their tour of the SMU campus.