The Sri Lankans want to read Gorky and Dostoevsky in the original

As part of the XIV Eurasian Economic Youth Forum, USUE rector Yakov Silin met with a delegation from Sri Lanka. The key topic of the negotiations was the opening of the Russian Language Center at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

The Russian Language Center will contribute to the development of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The international project is getting ready to launch. The advertising campaign will begin very soon. The organizers plan to recruit at least 15 students for the first year of studies. The memorandum of understanding on additional general education programs in Russian and English signed the day before will facilitate the implementation of the project.

 “We will send to the Center not only teaching and learning materials but also fiction, so that the Sri Lankans can get acquainted with our culture through books,” USUE rector Yakov Silin suggested.

The dean of Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Shirantha Heenkenda, supported the idea, noting that most of all Sri Lankan students were interested in the works of Dostoevsky and Gorky.

 “At the English language department of our university, there is a special section where we teach Russian literature. Besides, students of the Department of Tourism study Russian. More and more young people are thinking about doing master’s programs in Russia,” the professor added.

The joint project of USUE and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura is endorsed by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sri Lanka to Russia, Janitha Liyanage.

Representatives of universities discussed opportunities for cooperation in joint research. Particularly, partners from Sri Lanka took an interest in the scientific journal Food Industry. At the end of the meeting, the members of the delegation from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura presented the USUE rector with Sri Lankan masks. The souvenir will be kept at the university Museum.