International collaboration of the University has a long history.
One of the most important directions of ASTU International collaboration involves education programmes for international students. Specialists training for foreign countries has been carried out at the University since 1955. Many international graduates of the University made their way up in the countries they came from and are now at the head of state or private industrial enterprises, engaged in commerce or achieved a success in other types of business.
The University is among 19 Russian Universities that were granted a license issued by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation to conduct preliminary training of international students. The graduates of the Faculty of International Student Preliminary Training could continue their education in our University as well as in other educational institutions of the country.
At present, students from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, North America take various degree courses at the University. The number of such students increases annually.
The University offers the following education programmes to international students:
Preliminary training according to the curriculum developed at the Faculty of International Student Preliminary Training for engineering, natural sciences, ecological and medico-biological disciplines;
Short-term and long-term (up to 2 years) courses of the Russian language;
Complete courses of training designed to earn certified specialist diploma, Bachelor’s or Master’s degree;
Postgraduate course for Ph.D’s degree (Candidate’s degree)
Senior Doctorate;
Different types of probation training.
Since 1955 the University has trained over 3000 specialists for 75 countries of Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, about a hundred of them received the degree of a Doctor of Philosophy.
In addition to providing training to international students, the University participates in various exchange programmes and sends students and faculty to various educational institutions of Europe, North America and Asia.
The University’s teachers and researchers are invited by foreign counterparts to deliver lectures and conduct joint researches, as well as to take part in international conferences, symposia, exhibitions and other scientific meetings. The students of the University have their probation at the establishments of higher education and at the enterprises of France, the USA, Germany and Iran.
The operational center of the Russian branch of the International Institute of Ocean (with the headquarters on Malta) is located on the premises of the University and provides for developing links between the University’s and world scientists.
The University is awarded the Vietnam Order of Friendship for the achievements in training highly qualified specialists for the Republic.
Achievements in the training of international students as well as the reputation gained by the University among foreign countries encouraged the University to initiate the establishment of the Association of the Universities of the Caspian Region Countries in 1996. The permanent headquarters of the Association is situated in ASTU. The Association’s activity is intended to the implementation and development of international, educational, scientific and cultural programmes in close collaboration with the other countries of the Caspian Region. In all types of its activity the Association takes into account economic, ecological, ethnic and cultural peculiarities of the Caspian Region Countries.
The main directions of the Association’s activity are the following:
Developing a unified system of higher education for different majors and specialization of higher vocational education, as well as postgraduate and doctorate courses;
Studying the ecology of the Caspian Sea zone affected by natural and anthropogenic factors;
Improving the technology of the Caspian sturgeon artificial breeding;
Developing methods of recultivation of aquatories and soils contaminated by oil products;
legal aspects of environmental protection in the Caspian region countries;
history of the Caspian region nations.
Implementation of the Association’s programme has already produced some positive results:
the International Open Distributed Caspian University with the headquarters in ASTU is established;
the International collection of papers «The Caspian Sea: Science, Education, Technologies» was published;
Optional courses of English, French, Spanish, German, Persian and Kazakh were introduced in ASTU for those willing to learn these languages.
International Scientific Conferences of teaching staff and students are annually convened by one of member-universities in order;
The International Student Sports games are held on a regular basis by the Caspian Universities;
