On July 27, the 3rd Arctic Summer School of the North-Eastern Federal University named after M.K. Ammosov and the Northern Forum International Organization was opened. The event is held online with the participation of students from seven countries of the world.
This year, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Arctic Summer School is being held online for the first time. In total, 14 people have applied from countries such as France, Norway, Germany, Canada, USA, Great Britain, Sweden. “The coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly affected the international activities of universities and the internationalization of education. Summer schools for foreign citizens are held online this year. Our lecturers will get in touch with the participants to for lectures in the evening in Yakutsk due to the time difference” commented the Vice-Rector for International Cooperation of NEFU Vladlen Kugunurov.
13 regions of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) are included in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation, which means that 49% of the territory of Yakutia is included in the Arctic region. “The Arctic Summer School for foreign students is held with the aim of drawing attention to the problems of the Arctic and to Yakutia. Moreover, the interest among the participants is great even in the format of the online school. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we have already held the Arctic Summer School 2019 and the Arctic Winter School 2020. Both previous schools have generated the same huge interest among graduate and post-graduate students from Western and Asian countries. With full-time participation, in addition to lectures, the participants of our Arctic schools have the opportunity to visit the Lena Pillars Nature Park, the Ethnographic Museum “Druzhba”, the countryside, etc. In future plans for the coming years, we have a visit with the students of the Arctic School to the real Arctic territories of Yakutia. The lecturers of the Arctic School are specialists and experts from Yakutia, as well as invited experts. And, of course, acquaintance with the activities of the international organization "Northern Forum" became a tradition. It is gratifying that in the future our students write about us in their homeland,” explained Daryana Maximova, Deputy Executive Director of the Northern Forum.
As part of the Arctic Summer School program, participants get acquainted with the problems of regional development of the Arctic, including the example of Yakutia, as well as with the problems of sustainable development and the indigenous peoples of the North and the Arctic. And of course the school attracts participants who are interested in the sustainable development of the Arctic and the North and therefore it is an excellent opportunity to make useful contacts for further joint projects and scientific cooperation, says Daryana Maximova.
The Online Arctic Summer School 2020 lecturers are specialists from the Northern Forum and North-Eastern Federal University, experts of P.I. Melnikov Institute of Permafrost, Siberian Branch of RAS, the Ministry for the Development of the Arctic and Peoples of the North of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), the Ministry for External Relations and Ethnic Affairs of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), the Ministry of Ecology, Nature Management and Forestry of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Sakha, Center for Strategic Research of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Invest Yakutia Agency, University of Aberdeen (Great Britain), Development Corporation of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Arctic State Agrotechnological University, Arctic State Institute of Culture and Arts, Secretariat of the Arctic Indigenous Peoples Council, Expert Center “Project Office for the Development of the Arctic” (PORA) and other organizations.
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The Online Arctic Summer School 2020 is held from July 27 to August 7, 2020. The first Arctic Summer School was held in 2019, and the Arctic Winter School was held in February 2020. Last year, students from South Korea, Argentina, Germany, USA and Japan participated. In addition to lectures, the participants were able to visit the sights of Yakutia - the Nature park "Lena Pillars", the Ethnography Museum "Friendship", as well as strategic points of development of the region, such as the Zhatayskaya shipyard, the railway station "Nizhny Bestyakh".
