News in Press-centre

The final of the All-Russian Competition “I am a Professional” in the field of “Oriental Studies”, students of Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) scored the most points in the categories of Chinese Studies (bachelors), Korean Studies (masters) and Japanese Studies (bachelors). 19 medals were won, 7 of which were gold. Orientalists of FEFU have won 6 medals, among which 4 are gold.

The direction “Oriental studies: Chinese studies, Korean studies, Japanese studies” was first included in the competitive program of the Competition “I am a Professional” at the initiative of FEFU. The co-organizers were the Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg State University, Kazan University, Northeast, and Siberian Federal Universities. The new direction, at the registration stage, attracted almost 8,000 students from all over the country. But only 70 of the best participants from 15 Russia’s universities reached the final round at FEFU.

“In our country, there are 3 main oriental centers: Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Vladivostok (FEFU). But it so happened that Moscow and St. Petersburg are the pillars of precisely classical Oriental Studies. And the Institute of Oriental Studies in Vladivostok from the very moment of its formation in 1899 has been a center of practical oriental studies. We are focused on the use of acquired knowledge of the language, economy, and politics of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. I believe that it was such an approach to teaching that helped our students show good results”, said Evgeny Pustovoit, Director of the FEFU Institute of Oriental Studies - School of Regional and International Studies

Polina Onikienko, a 4-th year student, not only received a gold medal but also won first place in the direction of Oriental Studies. She scored the highest number of points in Japanese studies - 569. This result was the best in all areas.

“Professional Competition is not a test where you can learn answers to questions. You must have a wide range of knowledge and erudition. It helped me a lot that I read a lot in Japanese (news, fiction, articles). I also gained a lot of oral experience during the annual internship at Waseda University, which I got through the FEFU exchange program. It helped me a lot to cope with the presentation in the final”, said Polina Onikienko.

The winner of the “gold” and the largest number of points in Korean studies (524) was the first-year master student Kairat Postoev.

“In the final stage of the Competition, the internships I had previously completed in the Republic of Korea helped me a lot, where I got acquainted with the customs and traditions of this country. As well as classes with teachers and native speakers in the walls of the native FEFU”, said Kairat Postoev.

High results were also demonstrated by Yulia Trufanova (gold), Yulia Lamasheva (gold), Evgeny Kazakov (gold), and Valeria Chistobaeva (silver). Another 17 representatives of FEFU became winners and winners of the Oriental Studies direction.

The Competition “I am a Professional” is a large-scale practice-oriented competition for Russian students. Tasks check not only the theoretical knowledge of the participants but also applied professional competencies. Among the organizers are 26 leading universities of the country and more than 300 Russian companies, as well as the All-Russian Association of Employers “Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs”.