Regional

Central Asian Students Migrate Seasonally to Find Work to Pay Tuition

With jobs scarce and wages low across Central Asia, many students migrate to Russia during the summer vacation in search of work to pay for the next year’s tuition and living expenses, reports RFE/RL.

It is quite common for university students in Tajikistan and neighboring Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to join migrant laborers in Russia and Kazakhstan during their summer holidays. Sometimes, they cannot immediately get a seasonal job, and so stay on in Russia through September and October, missing the first months of their studies. Those choosing to stay at home find work hard to come by, even in the lowest paying and most menial of jobs, such as pushing a farmer’s cart to the market.

In Uzbekistan, authorities have established a so-called youth social movement, called Kamolot, to “support young people socially and financially.” Kamolot has set up a special student work force to help students find seasonal jobs during their vacations.

Bekzod Mamadqulov, who is in charge of the summer program, told RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service that some 5,000 people signed up for the program when it began last year. This year, he says the program has expanded to include over 20,000 students.

Mamadqulov says members of the workforce earn up to $250 a month “on top of getting a free meal three times a day.” The offer compares favorably with the national minimum wage in Uzbekistan of about US$13 a month.

– RFE/RL
July 7, 2008

Russia

Russia and EU to Develop Joint Study Projects

Russian and European Union educational officials met in May to discuss scientific collaboration opportunities. Following the first meeting of the EU-Russia Permanent Partnership Council on Research, a high level political body set up to create a program of joint study projects, in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, an agreement was reached to develop joint research and co-funding of projects in areas including health, nanotechnologies and new materials.

Formal calls for funding proposals regarding projects on these topics from Russian and EU academic and research groups will be made later this year. The council discussed likely future calls for proposals for joint studies on aeronautics, nuclear fission and space research.

– University World News
June 8, 2008

Business Tycoon to Build Science Foundation

Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia’s fifth richest man, recently announced plans to establish a foundation to support scientific research and innovation. With a fortune estimated at more than US$20 billion, Prokhorov told the annual conference of the Russian Union of Entrepreneurs and Industrialists that stronger links between business, science and the state were key to the country’s future.

“We have to use our advantages, like the high creativity of the population,” said Prokhorov, who made his money in finance and precious metals. He identified Russia’s most challenging problems as energy, the environment, clean water and transportation and suggested that supporting university-based IT parks could be part of the solution.

Renewable energy, hydrogen energy and nanotechnology were all key areas that deserved more support he told the Moscow meeting. The Russian Union of Entrepreneurs – which represents some of the country’s richest businessmen – has drawn up a range of tax breaks they say the state could use to encourage greater innovation in science. The tax incentives are likely to go before parliament soon where most observers expect them to be adopted.

– University World News
July 13, 2008