ISSN 0798 1015

Vol. 39 (Number 46) Year 2018. Page 29

International scientific university community cooperation and interaction (theory and experience)

Cooperación e interacción de la comunidad científica internacional universitaria (teoría y práctica)

Yelena Yu. OREKHOVA 1; Lidia K. GREBENKINA 2; Mariya V. BADELINA 3; Natalia А. KOPYLOVA 4

Received: 13/06/2018 • Approved: 26/07/2018

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Methodology

3. Results

4. Conclusions

Bibliographic references

1. Introduction

In modern conditions the ideas of cooperation and interaction as a humanistically significant trend in higher education pedagogics are becoming more and more popular, practical-oriented, acquiring an innovative character. Teachers and students’ collaborative activity in a university is provided by the need to expand the spheres of interaction between teachers and students in intra-mural, external (socio-cultural) and international cooperation. One-sided orientation for the development of students' professional and personal qualities, reflecting only the requirements for their future professional competence, despite their unconditional importance, does not exhaust the whole volume of requirements to develop a modern man and his education. At present the actualization of the global problems of mankind sets the objectives of a universal human significance in education and upbringing: a man is in the center of attention (individual Self-Concept), capable to self-development, self-organization, self-realization and self-regulation in cooperation and interaction with other people, creativity as the highest form of personal self-improvement.

The aim of the work is to characterize the main definitions on the research problem, to determine the significance of the problem, the innovativeness of the content, the forms and methods of interaction, and university teachers and students’ collaborative activity to form a humanistically oriented and competitive personality of a modern specialist.

The study determines the methodological and conceptual foundations and the structural and functional model of forming future specialists’ professionalism in the sphere of cooperation, interaction and a collaborative activity of university teachers and students, as well as a set of pedagogical conditions promoting the organization of effective cooperation in a university and their implementation in the modern context of multilevel education. A further study of pedagogical conditions promoting the quality improvement of highly qualified specialists’ training on the basis of pedagogics of cooperation, a competence approach (FSES of HE 3+) and interactive technologies is foreseen.

The analysis of scientific sources shows that at present in university teachers’ practical activity the target pedagogical affirmations, which meaning is to form a competent-developed creative personality of future specialists, acquire an integrative character and contribute to the effective and economical use of the pedagogical tools in achieving the goals.

When organizing an integral pedagogical process in a university (students’ training and upbringing), we based on a combination of the following methodological approaches: humanistical, cultural, axiological, competence, communicative, person-oriented, system-activity, professionally-oriented, creative, technological, and integrative. All of them are used more often in combination bearing in mind a topic, a purpose and a direction of a research, based on the following principles: humanization, creativity (the ability to creativity), unity of the theory and practice, integration, steadiness and continuity.

The main research methods are: a retrospective analysis and literature review, an observation, a questioning, conversations, an interviewing, a design, a modeling, a monitoring, an experiment.

The ideas of cooperation, interaction and a collaborative activity in a university education are studied by Russian and foreign scientists (teachers, psychologists) and are used by teachers in training and upbringing students, which contributes to the improvement of quality, humanization and humanitarization of the educational process, and the development of a new level of interaction between actors (E.I. Artamonova, E.V. Andrienko, V.I. Andreev, E.F. Zeer, V.P. Deliya, E.V. Korotaeva, V.A. Slastenin, G.K. Selevko and personal works of the authors (Grebenkina, 2018; Grebenkina, 2010).

In modern conditions, as a practice shows, when switching to a three-level university education (Bachelor’s degree program, Master’s degree program, postgraduate training program) and three-level standards of the third generation, more attention is paid to forming the basic professional and general cultural competences directly related to cooperation and pedagogical interaction (Grebenkina, 2010). In our research it was important to determine the essence of the key definitions (“pedagogics of cooperation”, “cooperation”, “interaction”, “a collaborative activity”) and accompanying – related to higher education (“professionalism”, “a communicative competence”, “communication”, “dialogue communication”, “interactive technologies”), to give their characteristics in the context of the problem being studied.

The pedagogics of cooperation in higher education is a humanistic pedagogical line, in which the main categories in relation to other definitions are categories such as “cooperation” and “interaction”, acting as values forming in an integral pedagogical process, and at the same time as factors that unite the participants of an educative activity and putting everyone in a subjective position. In teachers’ opinion, the main sign of the pedagogics of cooperation, corresponding to the objectives of modern Russian education, including higher education, is: a Man as a value and a subject of an integral pedagogical process.

In the most works definitions such as “cooperation”, “interaction”, “a collaborative activity” are closely interrelated, that is, they are practically defined as equal definitions. Category “cooperation” as a more general definition is defined as a collaborative activity, the purpose of which is the achievement of the same goals and results (Soviet Encyclopedia Dictionary, 1985, p. 653). “Interaction” is interpreted by teachers as a philosophical definition that determines the impact of the objects on each other, their mutual certainty and the creation of one object by another (Soviet Encyclopedia Dictionary, 1985, p. 216)]. “A collaborative activity” is considered as a pedagogical situation, when the whole process from the idea appearance to the effectiveness a teacher passes along with students, guaranteeing their personal participation in all stages of work, as subjects’ planned activity to determine the purpose of the work, the choice of means, methods and technologies for its implementation, working on a plan and analyzing the achieved result (Ksenzova, 2004, p. 42).

Social and pedagogical interactions are closely related to these definitions, and are of great importance in the society and educational institutions. Social interaction is seen as the process of the impact of individuals, social groups, institutions or communities on each other as the result of the interests’ realization, as the communication between the work of different specialists who work with a partner. The forms of interaction are mutual information, collaborative activities, coordination, mutual learning, and mutual assistance (Pedagogical Dictionary, 2008, p. 253).

Pedagogical dictionary defines a pedagogical interaction as a personal contact of the subjects of a collaborative activity, in the result of which mutual improvements are made in their behavior, work, relations, and orientations. A pedagogical interaction can be effective if a teacher, taking into account the psychological characteristics of students, carries out communication in such a way that it arises interest, brings pleasure, encourages the adoption of a socio-valuable position shown by the teacher, and gives each student the opportunity to fully realize his/her life position (Pedagogical Dictionary, 2008, p. 183).

Professionalism in the interaction of subjects’ activity is shown, first of all, in the personal readiness of a university teacher and students for professional activities and the productive solution of pedagogical objectives oriented to forming communicative competence, the structural components of which, as V.A. Slastenin thinks, are: “motivational-valuable, cognitive and operational-activity” (Slastenin, 2004, p.13). V.A. Slastenin distinguishes between different types of pedagogical interaction and relations: pedagogical (educators and educatees’ relations); mutual (relations with adults, age-mates, juniors); subject (educatees’ relations with subjects of material and spiritual culture); relations to oneself (Slastenin, 2002).

A professional communicative competence provides the formation of key competences, including the ability to work with different types of communication objectives: to set communicative goals, to determine the situation, to assess the intentions and possibilities of the communicants’ communication, to allocate appropriate communication strategies, to be able to transform personal speech, to be ready for communication and interaction. Its element is pedagogical situations’ analysis, which includes the whole cycle from the birth of the idea to getting the result that a teacher gets through with students, ensuring their personal inclusion to all stages of the activity in solving pedagogical objectives.

E.V. Korotaeva reveals the modern approaches and an algorithm for the organization of pedagogical interactions in an integral pedagogical process (Korotaeva, 2007, p. 113 - 114):

1. Object-objective interaction is characterized by the participants’ passive position of the integral pedagogical process. Interaction is unproductive, because the participants are not interested in achieving a collaborative goal.

2. Object-subjective interaction, where a student is aware of his / her own role in education, actively refers to the process of learning. However, the interaction is not productive, because the subject shows the activity with insufficient volume of knowledge and experience.

3. Subject-objective interaction as an initiative position of a teacher. The interaction is non-equilibrium, because there are not enough on-coming efforts from the part of students.

4. Subject-subjective interaction in which the aims of the subjects in pedagogical activities coincide. The interaction becomes productive, because it is characterized by mutual valuable attitude to cooperation.

Scientific-theoretical basis for implementing the ideas of collaborative activities in a high school consists of integrated psychological and pedagogical knowledge about the reorientation of the interaction of training and upbringing subjects for professional collaborative activities, subject-subject relations on the basis of humanization and humanitarization. As a result, the main modern innovative conceptual ideas of cooperation and interaction between teachers and students in a high school were considered, identified and disclosed: 

1. A Man as a humanistically oriented and competitive value in modern conditions.

2. The purpose of education is supreme development of each individual. There is a personality, determined through the uniqueness, humanity and individual experience at the heart of all educational processes.

3. The content, forms and methods of education are a key factor in implementation for the main educational programs of a new generation. It is important that the content of education reflects the general values of a student and a teacher, a high level of knowledge, skills and creative abilities.

4. The realization of fundamental (pedagogical, psychological, logical, moral, general cultural, aesthetic) bases of all pedagogical process subjects’ cooperation.

5. One of the most important conditions for improving the quality and successful development of student's potential is self-actualization, self-organization and self-realization of the teacher's personality.

6. The cooperation of teachers and students is an important component in the development of the student's personality.

7. The interaction and cooperation of teachers and students is the most effective and adequate way to reveal their potential and optimize the relationships with the outside world.

8. Cooperation is a system of developmental and developing humanistic relations.

On the basis of the revealed conceptual ideas of teachers and students` cooperation and interaction in a university in an integral pedagogical process, a model (fig. 1) was developed, the stages and specific actions of the practical cooperation organization in a higher educational establishment were determined. Each subject is shown in cooperation from the point of activity, knowledge, behavioral and creative interaction.

Figure. 1
The model of university teachers and students’ cooperation and interaction

Let’s reveal the main components of the model in details.

Intra-mural cooperation at the level of students, teachers, departments, faculties requires an active inclusion into the teaching and educational process of all subjects. It involves: collaborative work of teachers and students in the preparation and conduct of lectures, seminars, laboratory and practical classes; the use of multimedia at the classes; students’ training and participation in university, interuniversity, Russian and international scientific conferences, competitions, academic competitions; the preparation of collaborative creative works of students and teachers; students’ preparation of course and diploma papers; the organization of exhibitions and museums of students’ creative works; the design, organization and conduct of competitions, quizzes.

External cooperation at the level of city, region, country’s socio-cultural institutes, schools, higher educational establishments, enterprises, in our opinion, is important for the university inclusion into the macro environment. It includes: conducting classes, conferences at the basis of the theatres, museums of the city; interaction with schools and orphanages; cooperation with children's creative homes, children's health camps during students’ summer work; cooperation with universities: participation of teachers, students, postgraduates in conferences, academic competitions, forums; volunteer activities.

International cooperation at the level of countries and continents expands the possibilities of the university for its inclusion into the international educational area. This requires: foreign students’ training; internships of teachers and students in foreign countries; teachers and students’ participation in international conferences and competitions; the use of the Internet for Internet-conferences, Internet-academic competitions, Internet-discussions; access to foreign sources of information.

All this was taken into account in the collaborative practical activities of teachers and students in forming general cultural and professional competence of future specialists.

The study also revealed organizational and pedagogical conditions that contribute to the effective implementation of the main components of the structural and functional model of teachers and students’ cooperation and interaction in a high school (intra-mural, external):

1. A pedagogical approach to the cooperation between teachers and students.

2. The organization of collaborative activities of teachers and students in a high school in classroom and extracurricular activities aimed to organizing the interaction of teachers and students, taking into account the individual characteristics of each subject.

3. Professional training of teachers to a personally oriented educational process, which provides the knowledge of pedagogical technologies of effective interaction and cooperation (Grebenkina, 2010).

FSES of HE emphasizes that one of the effective conditions for the organization of effective interaction and cooperation of teachers and students at a university is the use of interactive technologies.

In our experience, the main stages and specific actions of the practical cooperation organization at a university are: the determination of goals and objectives (setting goals, action concurrency, team concurrency, selection of responsible people); work planning (work plan, the determination of the content and methods of collaborative activities’ organization); the preparation and implementation of specific actions and operations on the basis of the contract; the analysis of the educts, the evaluation of participants’ activities; the correction and planning of the subsequent operations and actions. This allows you to include each member of the team to work, contributes to interaction and cooperation, has a creative and mental focus, eliminates the possibility of conflict arising among all participants. We made sure that the classroom and extracurricular active forms of training and upbringing (dialogues, discussions, blitz-games, the analysis of situations and solving pedagogical problems, competitions of innovative projects, presentations, the preparation and protection of a portfolio, the development of creative self-development programs for students, etc.), organized on the basis of FSES of HE taking into account the modern educational and methodological complex, interactive technologies, as well as possible, contributes to the professional and personal growth of future teachers. While preparing for and having interactive lessons a teacher together with his/her students develops a plan and exercises it during the teaching and educational process constructing a way for a student to achieve certain goals and objectives in training and upbringing. Teachers also maintain so-called “vertical” relationships. For example, senior students may organize and participate in training sessions and extracurricular activities of junior students, which allow to develop professional skills successfully, change a student’s social status, form an adequate self-esteem of their own development. Involvement in pedagogical activities allows students to adjust their motivational sphere, they develop the motivation to succeed in their future profession, demonstrate activism and moxie, strengthen the awareness of their professional choice being correct and usually establish the aspiration to continue working in the field of education in a school or a university. 

It’s worth mentioning that in the modern world pedagogical interactions between teachers and students are founded on the organization of thought-out dialog-based communication, collaborative activity during training sessions, scientific and extracurricular practices while using contents, interactive forms and methods of teaching and upbringing and also organizing independent work of students.

Let’s look at specification of the implementation of the model on the international level in details.

The necessity of solving the problem of high-grade integration of the domestic high school into global education space pushes forward international scientific cooperation and cooperation of universities. Today’s realities show that world-level universities can’t exist without international involvement neglecting the scientific processes of education internationalization. In modern constantly changing world interactions between Russia’s universities and foreign educational institutions expand educational possibilities and increase competitiveness of educational services’ market and also benefit the modernization of education in general and higher education as well.

International scientific cooperation in the field of education is an exchange of lines of the activity among specialists from different countries; it can also be referred to as the forms of interpersonal, intergroup and individual connections sustained by international and national scientific communications of a general purpose (such as grant policy, special periodicals, scientific practical conferences, internships, group and personal connections for experience exchange).

Nowadays “as a rule, professional scientific connections maintained for international cooperation are usually significantly less spread and stable than international connections because of communication barriers in the form of various obstacles that limit the access to foreign and international sources of information. Under such circumstances national scientific communities become relatively detached social systems which have their own specific intellectual priorities and that’s why the interest of specialists in maintaining professional connections with their foreign colleagues turns out to be quiet limited. One of the other important factors that determines parameters and directions of the professional connections between separate national scientific communities is the inequality of their statuses that results in some countries being “centers” of global science or in other words sources of scientific and technical information while other countries are “peripheries” that consume this information. This kind of asymmetrical professional connections allows more developed countries to drive their partners in international scientific cooperation away from advanced research and make them non-independent or even exploit their material and labour resources indirectly” (Sociological Dictionary, 2017).

According to Bologna Agreement of 1999, the main objectives of international scientific cooperation were formulated by domestic universities. The most important of them are: the introduction of a three-level system of education in all countries (Bachelor's degree program – Master's degree program – Postgraduate training program); the mobility increase of students, teachers, researchers; ensuring the convertibility of diplomas; the creation of a credit system as a means of increasing the mobility of international cooperation subjects; the organization of information support, cultural and educational exchange; the development of cooperation in order to improve the quality of education.

The main areas of international cooperation are: the cooperation in the field of scientific research, the activities aimed at raising the level of international scientific research; the exchange of domestic and foreign universities’ teachers, the organization of training and internships for teachers; international student mobility and academic exchanges, the expansion of the range of dual and multiple programs (the graduation of several higher education institutions) of Master’s degree program and Bachelor's degree program, as well as the practice of dual postgraduate and doctoral programs; holding international scientific conferences, forums, seminars and roundtables, publishing collaborative scientific woks and conducting scientific research works on international projects; cooperation with partners in organizing access to databases and electronic libraries; international relations in the sphere of educational services’ export; improving the quality and efficiency of international activities, etc.

In the practice of international scientific cooperation of the university community, various forms of interaction are being realized. Monitoring the expansion of international cooperation forms represents an important level in the development of the educational services’ sphere, expands the sphere of interests and practical results in science, teaching and methodical work, personnel training, encourages the staff members to the world culture, develops a person’s ability to assess phenomena and events from another person’s point of view, other cultures, another socio-economic formation. The development of international cooperation allows not only to train specialists at the high level, but also contributes to the integration of the domestic educational system into the world educational area.

The realization of the noted objectives and ways in the Russian education modernization and the organization of the scientific cooperation at Russian universities such as foreign students’ training and upbringing, teachers’ internship at different universities, participating in international conferences, meets some problem situations (the transition to the third level of education, the system of double diplomas, the credit system, etc.) associated with the requirements of FSES of HE and the continuous improvement of basic educational programs, and requires the creation of the necessary conditions aimed to the development of international cooperation and academic mobility in domestic universities.

Let’s consider the experience of various types of international scientific cooperation in the conditions of humanitarian and technical universities on the basis of the structural and functional model.

The department of Pedagogics and Management in Education of Ryazan State University named after S.A. Esenin (RSU named after S.A. Esenin) systematically carries out multi-faceted cooperation with the pedagogical departments and other subdivisions of the Russian universities (Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Volgograd, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg, Yelabuga, Izhevsk, Kirov, Kolomna, Smolensk, Tula, Orel, Yaroslavl and other Russian cities), near abroad (the Republic of Crimea, the Republic of Belarus, the Ukraine, Kazakhstan) and far abroad (the Baltic countries, Bulgaria, China, Great Britain, Germany, Poland, Norway, etc.) countries. The activities with the international participation of teachers and students (collaborative scientific full-time and correspondence conferences, forums, roundtables, student competitions, academic competitions, etc.) are conducted. The results of the scientific research are published in the collections of scientific works. So, in 2017 scientific articles of scientists and practical people from the universities of Russia, Norway, Britain, the Republic of Belarus, the Ukraine, etc. were published in the collection named “Professional and Personal Formation and Development of a Specialist: History and Modernity” (Professional and Personal Formation and Development of a Specialist 2017).

The interesting and innovative experience of universities’ international cooperation has developed in Ryazan State University named after S.A. Esenin through the International Academy of Pedagogical Education Sciences (IAPES). The most important aims of the Academy are: to promote international cooperation in the field of science, technology, education and culture, as well as to develop pedagogical science, continuous education; to coordinate the activities and unite the efforts of scientists from different countries, to create conditions for conducting effective research works. 

The main forms of IAPES international cooperation are: “the organization of highly qualified foreign teachers and well-known professors’ invitation, professional development of teaching staff, conducting educational practices for students and teachers, international exchange of teachers, postgraduates and students, conducting collaborative research with foreign universities, the interchange of scientific information and pedagogical technologies, holding scientific conferences and seminars, collaborative publications of monographs, scientific articles, methodical manuals to introduce innovative technologies in teaching and educational process, the internship of scientific staff” (Novikova, 2015, p. 16 - 17).

IAPES conducts various forms of a scientific research: discussions, scientific and practical conferences, meetings, academic competitions, competitions, which “are the reflection of modern education, giving the opportunity to comprehend the universals of culture, acquiring a worldview character in its essence” (At our Visiting Е.I. Artamonova, 2015, p. 9). The general annual meetings on the results of the work became traditional, as well as international scientific conferences based on the problems: “Professionalism of a Teacher: Essence, Content, Prospects of Development” (March), “Europe and Modern Russia. Integrative Function of Pedagogical Science in a Single Educational Area” (August), “Pedagogical education: challenges of the XXI century” (September).

For example, in August 2016, the XIV International Scientific Conference of the same name (“Europe and Modern Russia. Integrative Function of Pedagogical Science in a Single Educational Area”) was held in Lisbon (Portugal). The purpose of the conference was to establish cooperation between scientists in order to solve the problems of education and upbringing successfully. During the conference theoretical, methodological and technological approaches to the modernization of Russian higher education, associated with the integration into the European educational space were discussed. At the conference the following issues: value priorities of education in the XXI century; the quality of continuous pedagogical education; the innovative design and construction of educational content; the upbringing work (traditions and innovations); the technological quality of education; the physical culture and healthy lifestyle were also discussed (Europe and Modern Russia. An Integrative Function of Pedagogical Science in a Single Educational Space, 2016). The materials of the conference were published in the collection of scientific works, both in Russian and in English.

In March 2017 the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Professionalism of a Teacher: Essence, Content, Prospects of Development” was held within the annual General meeting of IAPES based in Moscow State Regional University. Once again, at the conference one of the relevant problems of the consolidated scientific researches of the individual and collective members of the Academy and universities, reflecting the scientific potential and called to become “the carriers of the ideas of the Russian society renewal on the basis of preserving and multiplying the best traditions of Russian education and the world experience” was discussed (Teacher’s Professionalism: the essence, content, perspectives of the development, 2017, p. 2). 

Undoubtedly, holding international conferences and other forms of collaborative activities brings together the scientific community of different countries, facilitates the mutual exchange of the experience and innovative development of pedagogical education. The Academy is interested in expanding scientific cooperation. The Presidium supports the initiative initiatives of the collective branches of the Academy and in every way promotes their growth and strengthening of mutual relations. Scientists, teachers and students of Russian Ryazan universities take an active part in various scientific events organized by IAPES. During the years of scientific cooperation under the guidance of IAPES, a number of collaborative events were held in Ryazan: international scientific and practical conferences, roundtables, competitions, students’ academic competitions. So, in September 2008, the visiting session of IAPES presidium was held in RSU named after S.A. Esenin, at which the results of the collaborative research activities were summed up, and the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Ways to improve the quality of upbringing work in educational institutions” was held (September, 19-20, 2008). As a result of the conference, a collection of scientific papers “Ways to improve the quality of upbringing work in educational institutions” was published (2009). Within the conference, a roundtable “Modern problems of upbringing” was held. As a result of the conference, a resolution was adopted and materials were published in the academic scientific and methodical journal named “Pedagogical Education and Science”. In our opinion, each issue of this magazine represents a fund of scientific knowledge and experience of higher educational institutions’ scientists. Any innovative scientific and pedagogical research and the experience in the development of the national education are reflected in the main headings of this journal. The rich experience of scientific schools and the results of pedagogical activity of the scientific communities of educational institutions, scientists, teachers from different regions of our country (for example, “The Region in Close-up: Ryazan”) are widely represented in the column named “Region in Close-up” (The Region in Close-up: Ryazan, 2012).

In 2014, a comprehensive scientific study was conducted in RSU named after S.A. Esenin on the problem named “Modernization of modern pedagogical education in the conditions of Bachelor’s degree program and Master’s degree program”. 6 planned international and All-Russian scientific and practical conferences were held classified as IAPES. The results of the research were presented in the collections of scientific papers.

At present, Ryazan department of IAPES has become an active participant in visiting foreign international scientific and practical conferences on the common problem “Europe and Modern Russia. An Integrative Function of Pedagogical Science in a Single Educational Space” held in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Poland, France, Great Britain, Finland, Italy, Bulgaria, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Portugal. The international pedagogical problems are thoroughly discussed and the results of cooperation and interaction, the integration of scientific achievements in the field of education and culture are summed up at these conferences.

In September 2017 the VIII International Scientific and Practical Conference “Pedagogical Education: Challenges of the 21st Century” was held in RSU named after S.A. Esenin and Academy of Russian Federal Service for Punishment Execution, dedicated to the memory of the well-known pedagogue-researcher, an Academician of Russian Academy of Education VitalIy Alexandrovich Slastenin.

Another example of cooperation can be the interaction of the Russian Federation with the People’s Republic of China in the field of culture and education.

As it is known, at present, Russian-Chinese cooperation and interaction is characterized by a wide range of directions, including intensive contacts at the highest level: trade-economic, humanitarian, educational and cultural. So, in 2001, an agreement was concluded between Russia and China on good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation. 2006 was declared the year of Russia in China, 2007 is the year of China in Russia, 2009 was declared the year of Russian in China. 2010 was the year of Chinese in Russia, 2012 was the year of Russian tourism in China. 2013 was the year of Chinese tourism in Russia. Both countries actively cooperate in the fields of science, education and culture. Books of the Chinese authors are published in Russia, the works of many Russian writers are translated into Chinese and published by numerous circulations. Student exchange is also developing rapidly.

An example of RSU named after S.A. Esenin active cooperation with Chinese universities is the interaction within the existing Scientific and Educational Unit (SEU) of “Confucius Institute of RSU named after S.A. Esenin”, established in 2010 on the basis of an agreement with the General Directorate of Confucius Institutes. The aims of SEU “Confucius Institute of RSU named after S.A. Esenin” scientific cooperation are improving the quality of education in RSU named after S.A. Esenin through the development of scientific contacts of RSU named after S.A. Esenin scientists with the colleagues from Chinese universities; the research in the field of Chinese language and culture teaching methods; the mutual study of Chinese and Russian languages by subjects of activity on the basis of the created courses and internships on Chinese and Russian languages and cultures within the active cooperation of the divisions; training future teachers of English and Chinese languages, translators from English and Chinese with getting diplomas at the university; the organization of events on Russian and Chinese cultures; the scientific researches in the field of Chinese language teaching together with specialists of Foreign Languages Institute of RSU named after S.A. Esenin and a partner-university – Changchun University.

An indicative event was the creation of the first cultural and educational center named after S.A. Esenin in Changchun in province Jilin (China) in May 2017.

Consequently, the development of cooperation between Russia and China has many prospects, including the educational sphere.

No less interesting and useful experience of pedagogical interaction and a variety of collaborative activities is formed in other universities of Ryazan. For example, one of the areas of collaborative international activities of universities can be the exchange of students for getting knowledge abroad. So, from 2012 there is a cooperation agreement between Ryazan State Radio Engineering University (RSREU) and a language school of Great Britain – British Study Centers. British Study Centers is an award-winning professional company that includes a group of year-round English language schools for adults, as well as children’s centers operating during the holidays throughout the UK. The main goal of the school is to provide sufficient conditions for learning English. The quality of education at the school meets international standards. British Study Centers is accredited by the British Council for teaching English as a foreign language, is an active member of the English UK, the national Association of accredited English language centers. Twice a year, RSREU students attend the school to learn English, improve their language, intercultural communication, business communication skills.

The students are trained in accordance with their level of language proficiency from elementary to advanced, receive the appropriate certificates of international importance. Ryazan students study English in groups together with guys from Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, China, Japan, etc. It should be noted that all groups are international. There are almost no two students from the same country, so all students communicate only in English. Students improve their skills in the following sections: speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, a dialogue of cultures, intercultural interaction. Training is conducted by teachers who are native speakers, that is an important component in learning a foreign language. Another important fact is the mastery of a foreign language in the “language environment”. Students, arrived to school, where the only common language is English, speak only English, communicating with teachers and classmates, and it contributes to the development of a communicative competence. Classes at British Study Centers are based on communication and interaction, held in a lively, interesting and friendly atmosphere. In the course of classes, the issues related to the culture, customs, traditions, cuisine of different countries and continents are discussed. The people share their national traditions, recipes of the Russian cuisine, sights of their country, and at the same time, they find out many new and interesting things about traditions and customs of other countries. Some lessons are held in the city’s museums, where teachers talk about the famous canvases, students share their impressions about paintings and artists, and share them during excursions while checking out local sights, interesting districts, markets and etc.

We are convinced, that those types of business travels help students to acquire new knowledge, to get new contacts, charge with courage to develop knowledge for the future, get experiences and English language skills, such travels help to broaden horizons, enrich life and cultural experience, and motivate oneself for more accomplishments.

In order to broaden an informational area, it is important to use the Internet to its maximum capabilities and to conduct Internet-conferences, Internet-academic competitions and Internet-discussions. It is possible to create a community of graduates in pedagogical sciences that focuses on preserving traditions of Russian schools within the Bologna educational system, that are ready to communicate within themselves and with professors from various universities if any consultancies are needed, a community that shares opinions and experiences. Then, every postgraduate could talk with a professor of any different university, country, get a valuable opinion about some issues.  The creation of the dissertational foundation, a magazine called “European postgraduate newsletter” in an electronic and a printed format for Russian and European postgraduates will help with finding out about any work, different points of views about some issues. The communication of postgraduates with foreigners helps with learning the world’s science language (English). The organization of postgraduates’ hot line will provide with opportunities to establish “open” scientific discussions. “Denser” informational space might be the result of this – the inner European integration with the help of IT-communication systems aimed at creating the global scientific informational space. This informational space stands as a factor of Russian pedagogue postgraduate courses integration into European educational area.

Thus, the key and accompanying research definitions such as: “pedagogics of cooperation”, “cooperation”, “interaction”, “a collaborative activity”, “professionalism”, “a communicative competence”,” communication”, “dialogue communication”, “interactive technologies” has been reviewed and analyzed in the article.

The main innovative conceptual ideas of university teachers and students’ cooperation and interaction have been defined and disclosed. The main university practice cooperation organizational stages have been found with the help of the structural and functional model. The main organizational and pedagogical conditions that provide the organization of effective interaction in a university were identified.

The work experience of humanitarian and technical universities to organize the international science cooperation and collaborative activities is presented in details. The international scientific cooperation is different both by its contents and by its forms. It is an organization of long-term innovative educational interaction based on the agreement foundation, collaborative scientific activities experience exchanges between scientists and teachers from different universities of different countries. It is a form of interpersonal and intergroup professional and cultural connections that are supported with the means of international and national educational centers. In general, scientific and professional connections, supported within the international cooperation, create the development and strengthen friendly relationships, establish national and international contacts, that improve the quality of our national education and experiences in international communication. Contact expanding, scientific interaction with the use of the Internet and educational space of Russian and foreign universities are envisaged in the perspective.

At our Visiting Е.I. Artamonova // Infant Education Institution Management. 2015. №10. P. 6-17.

Europe and Modern Russia. An Integrative Function of Pedagogical Science in a Single Educational Space: Material of the XIV International Scientific Conference, August, 12-21, 2016, Lisbon. М.: IAPES, Yaroslavl: Remder, 2016. 512 p.

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1. Department of Foreign Languages, Surgut State University, Surgut, Russia, elena8778@mail.ru

2. Department of Pedagogy and Educational Management, Ryazan State University named after S. Yesenin, Ryazan, Russia, grin17.66@mail.ru

3. Department of Natural Sciences and Humanities, Tyumen Industrial University, Tyumen, Russia mvbadelina@mail.ru

4. Department of Foreign Languages, Ryazan State Radio Engineering University, Ryazan, Russia