A ceremony was held at the Universiade Village, the University’s largest dormitory complex.

20 of the almost 500 graduates of this year received diplomas cum laude for their excellent academic performance.

Vice-Rector for International Cooperation Timirkhan Alishev commented, “We’d like for students to retain warm memories of the time they spent at our university. Today, we give honors to the best 20 graduates of the Preparatory School.”

The School offers programs in Russian and English language and teaches basics of the subjects that the prep students plan to study in the future.

“Our job is wonderful – when young people arrive to study, they don’t even know the Russian alphabet, and to the time of graduation they start talking and having meaningful arguments. The results are really a pleasant thing for the students themselves and for the faculty,” said Chair of the Department of Humanities of the Preparatory School Darya Ivanova.

Distance learning hasn’t become a hindrance to anyone. According to Associate Professor Yelena Gruzdeeva, those who lived in the Universiade Village during studies were really comfortable and showed great interest towards the process.

95% of the Prep School graduates choose to remain in Kazan and enroll in Kazan Federal University, added Dr. Ivanova.

One of the graduates, Colombian national Sambrano Sinister Frank Sebastian, shared, “This year was really delightful and full with interesting events. I’ve got acquainted with people from different countries and become friends with them. I want to say thanks to our educators who conducted interesting classes. As for language practice, probably the most memorable one was when we went to a grocery shop and spoke Russian for the first time. Before the quarantine, we often visited museums and expos, but our favorite thing is speaking with passersby to practice the language.”

A separate online event will be held to celebrate graduation, where Vice-Rector Alishev and the International Office employees will extend their kind wishes. Graduation certificates will also be distributed in an electronic format.

Source text and photos: Adelina Bikkinina

Translation: Yury Nurmeev