The opening ceremony of Russian Center of the University of Valencia took place on April 5, It became the 116th Russian Center in the world and the second one in Spain. Rector of the University, Professor Maria Vicenta Mestre Eskriva, Russian Ambassador to Spain Yuri Korchagin and the Executive Director of Russkiy Mir Foundation Vladimir Kochin took part in the celebrations. Deputy Head of Government of Valencia Community for International Relations Joan Calabuch also attended the ceremony. Representatives of various faculties of the university, the university administration, city public, Spanish students studying Russian, and Russian students studying in Valencia came to the opening of the Center.
In her speech, Maria Vicenta Mestre Eskriva noted that the activities of Russian Center will be aimed at the development of Russian research throughout the university and promoting relations with Russian universities, in which University of Valencia is very interested. It is expected that the Center will become the basis for expanding Russian language studies.
Yuri Korchagin recalled that the opening of Russian Center in Valencia was a continuation of the work begun by Russkiy Mir Foundation 4 years ago in Granada. The year of mutual Russian-Spanish scientific, cultural, technological and youth exchanges starts at the end of 2019. Opening of the Center can be considered as part of this year’s program, and it was also originally planned that it will begin in May of this year.
Vladimir Kochin thanked the leadership of University of Valencia for the assistance provided in preparing for the opening of the Center. He thanked the Embassy of Russia and personally Yury Korchagin for their assistance and attention to the work of Russkiy Mir Foundation. He emphasized the importance of expanding contacts between educational institutions and youth exchanges, because young people find a common language very quickly, and these relations are very important from the point of view of prospects for relations between nations. The Executive Director of Russkiy Mir Foundation also expressed hope that Russian Center will become a permanent “window to Russia” for students, university professors and residents of Valencia community.
University of Valencia (quick reference)
University of Valencia is located in the third largest city in Spain with a population of about 830 thousand people.
It is one of the oldest universities in Spain and one of the leading educational institutions in the country. It is fourth in the ranking of Spanish universities. The university was founded in 1499, currently about 60,000 students study there. More than 5,600 professors, teachers and technical staff work at 18 faculties and 92 departments. Most of the courses are taught in Spanish, some in Valencian and English. One of the four largest university libraries in Spain is located at the University..
The university conducts a large research work, possessing a large scientific park. The university has 18 research institutes.
University of Valencia received the prestigious Ability Award as the best public institution in Spain in 2012. It was recognized as the best university in Spain in the field of Erasmus programs in 2013.
The university actively develops international contacts not only within the European Union, but also beyond its borders. Among its Russian partners are leading universities in Russia, such as Moscow State University, MEPI, Novosibirsk State University, RANEPA, and others. The main areas of cooperation with Russian partners are natural and exact sciences and medicine (71 areas of cooperation in total).
Russian language is taught at the Department of Slavic Languages at the Faculty of Philology, Translation and Communication.
Russkiy Mir
