KU, Russian Centre to introduce Russian language classes

The University of Karachi (KU) and the Head of the Russian Centre for Science and Culture in Karachi on Friday mutually decided to initiate Russian language classes on the campus next year.

KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi and Russian Centre for Science and Culture in Karachi head Natalia Zhadovets agreed to introduce Russian language classes on campus following a discussion.

Iraqi requested Zhadovets to share the proposal and course outline for the programme. He intends to present it to the relevant platform to obtain permission to commence the classes in January 2024. Zhadovets assured that the documentation would be shared with the KU administration by the next week. He, along with officials from various Russian universities, including Moscow Polytechnic University, Moscow State University Linguistic University, MIREA-Russian Technological University, Ural Federal University, University of Tyumen, and the Russian Centre of Science and Culture, visited the campus.

They met with the KU vice chancellor, deans, chairpersons, and faculty members from various departments. The discussions included academic collaborations, student and faculty exchange programs, joint supervision for PhD and post-doc programs, publication of joint research journals and research papers, and cultural exhibition events on both campuses.

The Russian delegation welcomed the proposal to establish an Urdu department in Russian universities, believing it would facilitate a better understanding of Pakistani culture and history for the Russian people, allowing them to learn more about Pakistan and its people. Subsequently, the delegation held separate meetings with teachers from the arts and science faculties in their respective dean's offices and visited different departments and centres at the varsity.