VolSU and Zaozhuang University continue strengthening cooperation within the “Cultural Bridge: China and Russia” teleconference

As part of the Years of Russian-Chinese Cooperation in Education 2026–2027, an international teleconference titled “Cultural Bridge: China and Russia” was held at Volgograd State University on October 26, 2026, in partnership with Zaozhuang University (China). The event was aimed at strengthening academic ties and developing cultural dialogue between the two countries.

The event was attended by students from two institutes of VolSU (the Institute of Philology and Intercultural Communication, and the Institute of History, International Relations and Social Technologies), who are studying Chinese.

Welcoming remarks to the participants were delivered by Liu Qian, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of International Education at Zaozhuang University, and Yulia Klinkova, PhD in Philology, a staff member of the International Office at VolSU.

The interactive program of the teleconference brought together the creative traditions of the two countries. Students from both universities, under the guidance of Yulia Borovitskaya, PhD in Pedagogy, Associate Professor of the Department of Pedagogy, Psychology and Social Work, mastered the technique of painting horse figurines in the Gzhel style. Chinese colleagues conducted a calligraphy master class under the guidance of Nie Zihao, a faculty member from the School of Fine Arts and Art Design.

Special attention during the meeting was given to academic mobility programs. VolSU students who had studied at Zaozhuang University, as well as Chinese students who had come to Volgograd, shared their experience of studying at a foreign university and their impressions of immersing themselves in a different cultural environment.

The teleconference became a logical continuation of the systemic partnership between the two universities. Currently, Olga Korobova, PhD in Philology, Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Language Communication and Language Education at VolSU, is at Zaozhuang University under the “Visiting Professor” program for the purpose of studying Chinese and exchanging experience with Chinese colleagues.

Notably, Olga Korobova became the first visiting professor from Volgograd at Zaozhuang University. The Chinese character she wrote during the calligraphy master class will be transferred to the museum collection of the Chinese university as a symbol of Russian-Chinese friendship.