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On Thursday and Friday Far Eastern National University FENU opened its doors for presidents of higher education institutions from all over the world by hosting for the first time in history of Russia an executive meeting of an international association of university presidents.

“The meeting takes place in Russia for the first time ever and Vladivostok is more than proud to host such an event,” Viktor Gorchakov, Primorye’s Vice Governor in charge of international issues, told reporters at the opening ceremony on Thursday. Gorchakov stressed that Russian institutions are deeply interested in international cooperation in the field of education.

Vladimir Kurilov, rector of FENU, pointed out that, “The fact that the meeting is held in Vladivostok in FENU shows an increased influence of the university in particular and Russian educational system in general in the international education world.” According to Kurilov, the holding of such a large-scale international event in Vladivostok means that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plan to develop the Russian Far East region has started to be implemented.

The federal government is currently considering a project to create the Federal University in the Russian Far East on the basis of FENU, Kurilov revealed.

The IAUP, founded in 1964 in Oxford, England, is an association of university chief executives from higher education institutions around the world. The primary purpose is to strengthen the international mission and quality of education of these institutions in an increasingly interdependent world.

IAUP includes some 700 universities from more than 100 countries and Russia is presented by several universities. FENU became a member of IAUP in 1996 and Vladimir Kurilov entered the executive committee to represent Russia in IAUP.

According to IAUP President, Professor Pornchai Mongkhonvanit, one of the goals of the meeting in Vladivostok will be discussion of the ways to attract businesses into university activities. “We believe that cooperation between universities and businesses can be useful and fruitful for both sides,” he indicated.

The previous IAUP meeting took place in Istanbul, Turkey.