From 16 to 22 March, seven NEFU students, master's degree students and postgraduates participated in the training program for leading experts in ecology, culture and sustainable development in the Far East and the Arctic Regions, held in Sapporo, Japan.

"During the program, NEFU students together with students of Far Eastern Federal, Pacific, Sakhalin and Irkutsk State Universities attended the lectures on environment and resources, history and culture, living conditions and regional development, the present and future politics and economics of Hokkaido, Far East of Russia and the Arctic. The lecturers were teachers and professors of Hokkaido University. On the last day, students prepared presentations about their universities and regions and also shared their impressions of the program", NEFU Institute of the East said.

The project “Russian-Japanese Education Program Development in the Far East and the Arctic Regions (RJE3)" has been held from 2015 to 2019 with the support of the Ministry of Education of Japan. The project leader is Vice-rector of Hokkaido University, Ms. Tsuneko Mochizuki. The project involves five Russian universities. All participants will complete several stages of training, including main and special subjects, and will receive personal certificates. The parties hope that the group of specialists, trained within this program will be the candidate pool, which will be responsible for the future of not only their regions, but of the planet as a whole.

Four employees were invited from each university to coordinate the future work of the program. North-Eastern Federal University was represented by two employees of NEFU Institute of the East of the International Relations Office and by members of NEFU internal governing board on cooperation with Hokkaido University (Japan) within the RJE3 program. They are Naina Ksenofontova, Director of the Institute of the East, Sardana Gavrilyeva, specialist of the Institute, Tuyara Alekseyeva, Deputy Director of Education Quality Assurance Department and Margarita Terentyeva, specialist of Education Quality Assurance Department.

The next stage of the program will be held from August 26 to September 1 this year at Hokkaido University and will include lectures and workshops. The placement interview is scheduled in early May.