Meeting of the Lobachevsky University International Council

The regular meeting of the Lobachevsky University International Council was held on 4 December 2020 in a video conference format. The UNN International Council includes leading scientists, experts in higher education and science from nine countries. The session of the Council was co-chaired by the UNN Rector Elena Zagaynova and President of Maastricht University (Netherlands) Martin Paul.

At the opening of the meeting, Elena Zagaynova thanked the members of the International Council for their contribution to the development of Lobachevsky University, for their ideas and recommendations that helped in the work aimed at enhancing UNN's global competitiveness and in the implementation of the Project 5-100. Martin Paul expressed his satisfaction with the work of the Council that supports the enhancement of Lobachevsky University's international competitiveness and the development of its internationalization. He noted that despite the pandemic international cooperation is actively developing with the help of modern technologies.

Alexander Bedny, Vice-Rector for International Affairs, made a report on the achievements and development prospects of Lobachevsky University. He spoke about the key results of the University's participation in the Project 5-100 and outlined the way forward for the further enhancement of UNN's global competitiveness. Mikhail Ivanchenko, Vice-Rector for Research, told about the main priorities of research development and about the vision for the future of the University as a world-class research centre.

Council members noted the University's significant progress in its work aimed to maximize its competitive position and made some suggestions on issues related to the promotion of the UNN in the international scientific and educational space. The central topics of discussion included some problems associated with the "big challenges", as well as priority issues for the strategic development of the University, the development of networking and interdisciplinary approaches in science and education. These topics are also among the priorities of the Strategic Academic Leadership Programme (SALP) that will be launched in the near future.

The International Council is an advisory body established to ensure the development of Lobachevsky University, in particular, in relation to the enhancement of its global competitiveness among the world's leading centres of science and education.