University Students Can Resume Expeditions to Uzbekistan

12:31, December 1, 2022

Historians agreed on cooperation with Samarkand universities [photo report]

Students of the Ural Federal University will once again be able to go on expeditions to Samarkand. Employees of the Laboratory of Natural Science Methods in Humanities of the Ural Federal University, who visited the ancient city in late November, agreed to resume research internships. The trip took place with the support of the Priority 2030 program.

The laboratory staff signed a cooperation agreement with the State Museum- Reserve of Samarkand. They also agreed to conclude agreements with one of the oldest universities in Uzbekistan and Central Asia - Samarkand State University - and the coordinating center of archeological research in the region - Institute of Archaeology of Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences.

"The purpose of our trip is to continue joint research projects involving Ural Institute of Humanities of the Ural Federal University students as part of museum and archaeological internships in Samarkand after a break of more than three years due to COVID restrictions. Since 2010, we have organized student expeditions to this ancient city six times. Our students had museum internships and took part in excavations. When we came to Samarkand for the first time, we were even the subject of a TV report on Uzbek television. Our Uzbek colleagues told us that we were the first group of students who came from Russia since 1989. You could say we are the discoverers of a modern time. We were very pleased," recalls Rustam Ganiev, Head of the Laboratory of Natural Science Methods in Humanities at UrFU.

This time the laboratory staff was able to agree on the participation of UrFU students in both excavations and expeditions, as well as on student exchanges. In the scientific sphere, cooperation is also expected: exchange of materials, finds, contacts, and joint research projects with colleagues from Samarkand and Tashkent.

"We look forward to seeing students of different fields of study who show a desire to go to Samarkand. We are planning unopened expeditions, and we would like to start in the coming season. I am sure it will be interesting for students. For example, Samarkand Archaeological Institute has a very interesting museum, it keeps a lot of unique and useful material for historians. It would be wonderful to show it to our students," says Anton Kochnev, Junior Researcher at the Laboratory of Natural Science Methods in Humanities.

In addition, the laboratory specialists agreed with representatives of the Silk Road International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage about the possibility of internships for Ural Federal University students in the field of tourism and hospitality.

"This is an ultra-modern university in Samarkand. They have everything, right down to the tourism laboratory, where hotel rooms, including suites, are reproduced. In other words, you can study hotel business and service directly at the university, where there are only foreign lecturers who teach international standards of hotel business. Colleagues from the university are interested in student exchanges and are willing to host our students. The reciprocal step depends on us - how interesting it could be for our university," says Anton Kochnev.

The news article was translated by UrFU International Marketing Office
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