Tomsk State University: Head of the TSU Confucius Institute receives a medal

Irina Shvedova, head of the TSU Confucius Institute, was recently awarded a medal by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education. The award was established in 2021 to celebrate the work and personal contributions of heads of Confucius Institutes that demonstrate consistently high results.
The global network of Confucius Institutes includes 500 centers, based in universities, and more than 1000 classes that promote the Chinese language and culture around the world. TSU’s Confucius Institute was created 13 years ago with the support of Shenyang Ligong University. Currently, partner universities implement multiple joint cultural and educational projects.
Under the guidance of Irina Shvedova, the TSU Confucius Institute became one of the main Russian platforms for teaching the Chinese language to about 1000 people aged 3 to 60. It is one of the major Siberian centers of additional teacher education. Five years ago, it was declared one of the best in the world.

“The pandemic notwithstanding, the Institute continues its work,” says Irina Shvedova. “All groups began classes this year in hybrid format because the teachers from China can’t come to Tomsk yet. We use new proven technologies that allow us to maintain the quality of education. Language learning is one of the areas where the online format is not a disadvantage. There are benefits to it: we can easily organize communication with native speakers, and our students can study with us from everywhere.”

Since October 1, Kindergarten №49 has had Chinese language classes under the program “From the cradle to TSU”. On October 15, TSU Confucius Institute with Shenyang Ligong University began a Chinese language intensive course that will last until November 4, with 120 participants from all over Russia. On October 30, the TSU Confucius Institute will hold the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK, HSKK), and the results will be evaluated by the Chinese Ministry of Education.
The Chinese language is growing more and more popular both worldwide and in Russia. The TSU Confucius Institute answers this demand by launching several new projects a year for those who wish to learn the language of one of the most ancient cultures.