The team visited the Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology and met with Syrian students on November 3rd.

The guests were accompanied by Vice-Rector Linar Latypov, Deputy Director of IFMB Marat Mrasov, and Head of the Adaptation Services Unit of the International Office Sergey Tsvetkov.

KFU Syrian community leader, first year postgraduate Azzam Hamad said, “We hope to present our master’s theses and to enroll in PhD programs of Kazan University. We want to be researchers and scientists to bring benefit to our motherland.”

Vice-Rector Latypov advised the students to be active not only in their research but also in culture and sports. He put forth an idea to establish the Syria Day, akin to the already existing Africa Day, where the students can show their cultural traditions and customs. The proposal was met with enthusiasm.

The delegation was content with the excursion and expressed hope that the cooperation between Syria and KFU will continue.

There are currently 65 Syrian nationals studying at KFU. 18 of them are pre-university students, 32 – undergraduates and postgraduates, and 15 – PhD candidates. Syria has a special quota program for those who wish to study in Russia; it is curated by the First Lady. All students are concentrated at two institutes – IFMB and the Institute of Physics.