International Cooperation

The Department of Economics at the Urals State University has been developing solid international relations.  There are many forms of cooperation with the international academic society.

Collaboration has been established with universities in Germany, USA, Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy.  It made possible an ongoing exchange of lecturers and students. Within these projects Professor Wolfgang Luck, Technical University of Munich, Germany, has been regularly lecturing students at the USU since 1992; lectures devoted to the most important issues of contemporary economics have been delivered by the Professors Jan Kmenta and John Jackson (Michigan University, USA), Professor R. Erickson, (Columbia University, USA), Professor Michael Beenstock (Hebrew University, Jerusalem), Professors Daniel Munich, Sergey Slobodyan and Vyacheslav Vinogradov (Centre for Economic Research and Graduate Education, Charles University, Czech Republic).

Internships of our lecturers in the foreign universities are aimed at improving the quality of education at the Department of Economics, USU. In 1998-2001 within the framework of Tempus-TACIS program, financed by the European Union a number of our faculty members went to Ghent University (Belgium): Dr. Sc. Econ., Prof. Nesterova D. V., Cand. Sc. Econ., Ass. Prof. Popova L. N., Cand. Sc. Econ., Ass. Prof. Kulakova T. V., Ass. Manets T. V., Senior Lecturer Romanova N. A. and others.  Internships at the William Davidson Institute in Michigan, USA were also devoted to improving the courses taught at our Department and to developing new academic programs; it was carried out by Dr. Sc. Econ., Prof. Dunaev O. N., Dr. Sc. Econ., Prof. Nesterova D. V., Cand. Sc. Econ., Ass. Prof. Bogolyubova N. P., Dr. Sc. Econ., Ass. Prof. Kadochnikov S. M., Cand. Sc. Econ., Ass. Prof. Maltseva I. O., Cand. Sc. Econ., Ass. Dyachkova A. V., Cand. Sc. Econ., Ass. Mariev O. S., Ass. Krutikov D. V. A course 'Corporate management', unique for the Russian universities and institutes appeared in the curriculum of the Department of Economics, USU, in many respects thanks to the participation of Cand. Sc. Econ., Ass. Prof. Ruzhanskaya L.S. and Ass. Krutikov D. V. in the Russian-Canadian program on corporate management and in the series of seminars within this program at the Schulich School of Business (Canada) in 2002-2004. Cooperating with the Western universities the Department of Economics, USU, contributes to their research and education too. For instance, Dr. Sc. Econ., Prof. Kadochnikov lectured on the issues of foreign direct investment in transitional economies of Central and Eastern Europe at the University of Osnabrueck, Germany, within the framework of Tempus-TACIS program. Cand. Sc. Econ., Ass. Prof. Sabiryanova K. Z., has received a doctoral degree at the Kentucky University, USA, and is currently working as a lecturer and researcher at the Michigan Universtiy, USA.

Students of our department study in the leading universities of Europe and USA on regular basis. More than 30 students have had internships at the universities in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, since 1990, the time when student foreign internships started. The participants of exchange programs have opportunities to take courses and to receive exam certificates; their results are taken into account while awarding the Urals State University diplomas. After graduation from the USU many students continue their education at the universities, where they have had their internships.

We should mention that the high level of education, provided by the Department of Economics, USU, enables our students to enter Master and Doctoral programs of the Western universities and to be successful students there. For instance, the following students received MBA degrees: Kadochigov D., who graduated from our department in 1996 (The University of Toulouse, France); Lapkina A., who graduated in 2002 (Rotterdam University, the Netherlands). Semikina A., Esin P. (graduated in 1998), Plotnikova T. (graduated in 2004) and others are currently participating in the Doctoral program of the Centre for Economic Research and Graduate Education, Charles University, Czech Republic. Several other graduates of our department have been admitted to the doctoral programs of the Ghent University (Belgium) and Rotterdam University (the Netherlands).

The Department of Economics, USU, has participated in several institutional projects together with its Western partners. One of the joint programs was a project with the Universtiy of Northern Carolina, USA, aimed at developing and improving principles of distance education in the field of business management. This project was carried out in 1999 - 2000 by the lecturers of the Chair of Theory and Practice of Management Dr. Sc. Econ., Prof. Grebenkin A. V., Cand. Sc. Econ., Ass. Prof. Popova L. N., Cand. Sc. Econ., Ass. Prof. Haritonova Y. A. It resulted in developing methodological teaching materials, allowing to apply modern approach in teaching business disciplines.  

The Department of Economics, USU, is  cooperating most intensively with the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan, USA, and the Centre for Economic Research and Graduate Education of Charles University, Czech Republic. In 2001-2004 we received two grants of the USA State Department Agency for International Development (USAID) for realizing projects aimed at establishing long-term collaboration between our institutions. Regular exchange of lecturers has enabled us to gain vast experience in education processes management in the modern market economy, to improve the department structure by providing effective cooperation of various servises and subdivisions, and to increase the quality of education. Besides, the joint scientific activities made it possible for the representatives of our three institutions to realize the following research projects: 'The effect of foreign investment on product differentiation', 'Functioning of labour market in transitional economies', 'Efficiency of enterprises in transition towards market economy'. One of the results of joint activities with William Davidson Institute at Michigan University, USA, was establishing the Russian-American Economic and Business Institute - USU in 2003, where the Master program in 'Applied Economics', new for Russian universities, is currently being realized.

Today the Department of Economics, USU, continues to extend and intensify international contacts in different fields of its activities: scientific, educational and institutional. 

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