INRTU International Students – Finalists of WOW! RUSSIA Competition
International students studying Russian at the Department of Russian Language Didactics of the Baikal School of BRICS at INRTU took part in the WOW! RUSSIA competition. Participants created media materials about their life, studies, and cultural experiences, posted them on social media in their native languages, and shared their personal experience of receiving an education in Russia.
In total, the competition received over 900 applications fr om international students representing 32 countries. Following the selection stage, 85 finalists were invited to attend the WOW! RUSSIA media workshop. Among them were three INRTU students: Jiolefack Nongni Lauraine, Ziqian Zhang, and Mukhtar Ibrahim Ladan.
The media workshop took place on April 8-11 at the “Senezh” Management Workshop. The ANO “National Priorities” and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation organized the event. Over the three days, students attended lectures and hands-on training sessions led by experts from Russian leading media outlets, including RT, NTV, and the VK Company. The educational program focused on modern media technologies, artificial intelligence, cross-cultural communication, personal brand building, and engaging global audiences.
“It was an exciting trip and an extremely informative event. I learned lots of new things and met students from many other countries and universities,”
said Jiolefack Nongni Lauraine, a student of the Preparatory Russian language course.
Participants also visited VK’s headquarters, wh ere they gained insight into the company’s digital ecosystem and internal operations.
Additionally, country presentations and collaborative projects enabled students to exchange personal experiences and ideas.
“We didn’t just learn useful things. It was a great chance to see how ideas come to life and to meet the amazing people who make them happen. I made friends from all over the world and left with new skills, and most importantly, with a much deeper, more nuanced understanding of Russian culture and its people,”
said Ziqian Zhang, commenting on her participation.
