Participants of the InteRussia internship programme for foreign Russianists visited the Gorchakov Foundation

The Gorchakov Foundation hosted a meeting between participants of the Russian language internship programme and Tamara Skok, head of the international "Modern Russian" project and director of innovative linguistic projects at the TV BRICS media network. 

The participants of the event, who are undertaking an internship in Russian studies at the A. S. Pushkin State Institute of Russian Language were introduced to the resources of the "Modern Russian" project, a unique educational space comprising several multimedia platforms linked by the common theme of developing interest in the Russian language and culture.

Under the auspices of TV BRICS, the project implements large-scale educational events in the form of international thematic teleconferences and videoconferences with foreign universities that have departments of Russian studies. This fact was of great interest to the participants of the meeting: the postgraduate students and teachers expressed their willingness to cooperate in this format. 

Tamara Skok told the young scholars about the history of the "Modern Russian" portal, which provides accessible and varied media content on various Russian language topics: from topical issues of teaching Russian as a foreign language to master classes in Russian for the media and teleconferences, from language and country studies educational resources to a collection of proverbs and sayings about language and speech. At the same time, the project's audience is constantly growing, its geographical range is expanding, and the growing demand for high-quality materials on the subject of learning and teaching Russian sets the task of constant development.

In addition, the trainees interacted with the staff of the Gorchakov Foundation. Sergey Orlov, leading specialist of the Gorchakov Foundation, welcomed the participants. During his presentation, he briefed participants on the activities of the Foundation. 

"We are open to your suggestions for projects that will promote dialogue with Russia and Russian non-profit organisations, civil society, or promote the Russian language in your country. To better understand the opportunities to support the non-profit sector in Russia and international projects, twice a year we hold training events for NPO leaders and managers. We are glad to see such great interest in the InteRussia Russian language programme, and we hope to continue cooperation after the programme ends, including on projects related to the promotion of the Russian language abroad," he said.

Lyana Dymova, coordinator of scientific programmes at the Gorchakov Foundation, spoke to the interns in more detail about the Foundation's activities within the InteRussia internship programmes.

"The InteRussia internship programme took place for the first time in 2021. In less than three years, we have expanded the range of specialities and internships, as well as the geography of the project. One of the most popular and sought-after (more than 500 applications were submitted for 25 places this time) is the internship programme for foreign Russians, which was successfully launched in 2022 and is implemented by the Foundation together with the Pushkin State Institute of Russian Language and Rossotrudnichestvo. In addition, our regular partners and friends TV BRICS and the Modern Russian portal joined the internship from the very first days," she said.

During the programme, participants have the opportunity to learn about the most significant and promising achievements of Russian scholars in the field of philology, to take part in expert sessions at universities, media holdings, think tanks and public organisations, and, most importantly, to work under the guidance of scientific consultants, who are the leading academic staff of the Pushkin State Institute of Russian Language. This time the foreign specialists were also lucky enough to attend the International Kostomar Forum, which brings together leading Russianists from all over the world. 

The outcome of the internship is a scientific article written by each participant, co-authored with the supervisor of the research area and accepted for review by a highly ranked scientific journal publisher. Moreover, participants may receive a grant from the Foundation at the end of the programme. In this way, the internship provides a wide scope for developing multilateral cooperation. 

The meeting was attended by professors and graduate students from universities in China, Serbia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam, Iran, India and Greece. They expressed their willingness to cooperate with the Modern Russian project and TV BRICS in order to learn more about the Russian language space and to strengthen professional and cultural ties. 

Photo: Gorchakov Foundation