Italy's Ambassador Hon. P. Terracciano Visited Ural Federal University

15:58, March 19, 2021

Italian diplomatic delegation admired UrFU's success in partnerships with Italy's universities and enterprises

The Hon. Ambassador of Italy Pasquale Terracciano visited Ural Federal University during his delegation's program visit to Yekaterinburg. The Ambassador was welcomed by UrFU First-Vice Rector Sergey Kortov in lieu of Rector Koksharov, and the Director of Ural Institute of Humanities Elvira Symanyuk, joined by Vice-Rector for Science Alexander Germanenko, and Professor Valery Mikhaylenko (who is the founder of the UrFU Dept. of International Relations and one of the most proficient researchers on Italian modern history in Russia).   

"Your Excellency Mr. Ambassador, with great pleasure we welcome you at Ural Federal University - one of the best universities in Russia! Today we have a lot of topics to discuss..." started FVR Mr. Kortov, "...Our university has significant experience in collaboration with Italian academia, also, Italy is one of the most popular destinations for our student and teacher mobility. We invite the Italian side to look into possible ways of cooperation in hosting the Innoprom industrial exhibition this summer," FVR Kortov emphasized.

UrFU side layed out prospects for fostering partnership with the Italian Embassy in Moscow, prompting for enlarging contacts with Italian enterprises and looking to extend ties in the domain of academic mobility.  

The university plans to cooperate with Italy in the cultural, scientific, educational, volunteer and entrepreneurial spheres.

“UrFU has long cooperated with foreign universities, but Italy occupies a special place in this cooperation, since more than 50 Italian universities are our partners. We also have students from Italy and our students willingly study at Italian universities. Not only students, but also employees. At the beginning of 2000, I underwent an internship at the University of Milan and remember this time with great gratitude and love ”, - says the first vice-rector of UrFU Sergey Kortov.

UrFU invited the Italian side to cooperate in several areas - the Universiade-2023, on projects of the Ural Interregional Research and Education Center (technologies related to digitalization, innovative start-ups), scientific and educational exchange and joint publication of articles, in the project on calculating the carbon balance and creating carbon farms.

“We consider the option of scientific cooperation in the field of environmental protection, on the greenhouse gas project to be extremely interesting and fruitful. These questions are very important to us. Italy is leading the G20 this year, with an agenda focused on tackling climate change. Also Italy and Great Britain are co-chairs of the international conference, the attention of which is directed to the fight against climate change, ”explains Pasquale Terracciano.

In addition, representatives of the delegation proposed to open a department of the Italian language at UrFU, invited university students to take part in organizing a cultural program and the work of the republic's stand at the upcoming Innoprom industrial exhibition.