Social life and students’ activities at OSU

Education and culture are the major interests of the Orenburg State University. OSU Faculty of Social Specialties (FSS) was opened at OSU in 1994. The main faculty's objectives are to develop students' creative abilities and to introduce students to cultural, sporting and athletic activities.

The FSS offers a supplementary degree program through its 9 departments: drama and film directing, sports, ballroom and popular dancing, guitar playing and singing, popular and folk singing, fashion-show, prose and poetry reciting and tour guides. More than 500 students make up the FSS student body.

The Palace of Culture "Russia" was included into the OSU infrastructure in 1997. It houses Students’ Center with its artistic groups, hobby clubs and studios. OSU students play leading role in such well-known artistic groups of "Russia" as Fashion-Show "Crystal", folk-dance group "Zhemchuzhinka" (Pearl), circus team "Entrez", modern choreography ensemble and many others.

The Students' Center creative and artistic groups participated in many international contests and festivals and received many awards including Grand Prix.

Members of the Students' Center help to organize different kinds of celebrations at all OSU departments (Open University Day, professional holidays, Victory Day, New Year's Day, etc).

In the Palace of Sport "Penguin" students can practice aerobics, volleyball, synchronous swimming, triathlon, heavy athletics, football, ice-hockey, basketball, judo, and table tennis.

An OSU ice-hockey team organized in 1998, football, basketball and women's volleyball teams participate in prestigious championships. A young perspective ice-hockey team played successfully in the second league of the All-Russia championship during 2002-2003 seasons that resulted in its promotion to the first league. Palace of Sport "Penguin" offers heavy athletics, heavy weight lifting and power triathlon facilities. In 2001 and 2002 weight lifters won the second place at All-Russia inter-university competitions.

OSU trains Candidates and Masters of Sports in wrestling, boxing, weight lifting, and power triathlon. Among OSU judoists there are winners of All-Russia championships of 2002 and 2003, as well as winners of Russian Masters' championship of 2003.

The swimming pool "Penguin" being the largest in Orenburg is used to its full capacity. Students' classes are conducted in the daytime, and in the evening it houses sections of free and synchronous swimming.

It is OSU’s established policy is to complement education with sports. It is not by chance that physical training has become obligatory for students of all departments. OSU supports young athletes financially; it sponsors sports events, and acquires new sports facilities. OSU sports complex is open for wide public.

The OSU Sport Complex offers students a fair chance to go in for sports and achieve high results.

 

Oxford

Oxford is a unique and historic institution. As the oldest English-speaking university in the world, it lays claim to eight centuries of continuous existence. There is no clear date of foundation, but teaching existed at Oxford in some form in 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167, when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris.

In 1188, the historian, Gerald of Wales, gave a public reading to the assembled Oxford dons and in 1190 the arrival of Emo of Friesland, the first known overseas student, initiated the University's tradition of international scholarship. By 1201, the University was headed by a magister scolarum Oxonie, on whom the title of Chancellor was conferred in 1214, and in 1231 the masters were recognized as a universities or corporation.

In the late 17th century, the Oxford philosopher John Locke, suspected of treason, was forced to flee the country. The 18th century, when Oxford was said to have forsaken port for politics, was also an era of scientific discovery and religious revival. Edmund Halley, Professor of Geometry, predicted the return of the comet that bears his name; John and Charles Wesley's prayer meetings laid the foundations of the Methodist Society.

The University assumed a leading role in the Victorian era, especially in religious controversy.

From 1878, academic halls were established for women, who became members of the University in 1920. Since 1974, all but one of Oxford's 39 colleges have changed their statutes to admit both men and women. St Hilda's remains the only women's college.

Oxford is an independent and self-governing institution, consisting of the central University and the Colleges.

The Colleges, though independent and self-governing, form a core element of the University, to which they are related in a federal system, not unlike the United States. In time, each college is granted a charter approved by the Privy Council, under which it is governed by a Head of House and a Governing Body comprising of a number of Fellows, most of whom also hold University posts. There are also six Permanent Private Halls, which were founded by different Christian denominations, and which still retain their religious character. Thirty colleges and all six halls admit students for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Seven other colleges are for graduates only; one, All Souls, has fellows only, and one, Kellogg College, specializes in part-time graduate and continuing education.

Oxford's current academic community includes 78 Fellows of the Royal Society and 112 Fellows of the British Academy. A further 100 Emeritus and Honorary College Fellows are Fellows of the Royal Society and 145 Emeritus and Honorary College Fellows are also Fellows of the British Academy.

The University of Oxford has more academic staff working in world-class research departments (rated 5* or 5 in the RAE 2001) than any other UK university.

Moscow State University

One of the oldest Russian institutions of higher education, Moscow University was established in 1755. In 1940 it was named after Academician Mikhail Lomonosov (1711 - 1765), an outstanding Russian scientist, who greatly contributed to the establishment of the university in Moscow.

Moscow State University is a major traditional educational institution in Russia, it offers training in almost all branches of modern science and humanities. Its undergraduates may choose one of 57 qualifications, while doctoral students may specialize in 168 different areas. The total number of MSU students exceeds 40,000; besides, about 10,000 high school students attend various clubs and courses at MSU.

MSU is a centre of research science famous for its major scientific schools. There have been 11 Nobel Prize winners among its professors and alumni, out of 18 Russians who have received the prestigious prize so far. Many more MSU scientists have been awarded various Soviet and Russian prizes for their achievements, among them 60 Lenin Prizes and 120 State Prizes, over 40 MSU scientists having received the State Prizes over the last decade, 6 of them this year.

Moscow State University comprises 29 faculties and over 350 departments, 15 research institutes, 4 museums, the Science Park, the Botanical Gardens, The Library, the University Publishing House and printing shop, a recreational centre and a boarding school for talented children At the moment the University Computer Centre represents more computing power that any other educational institution in Russia. There have been major changes in the curricula, with over 200 new academic programmes added.

The University's scientific potential creates a unique opportunity for interdisciplinary research and pioneering work in various branches of science. The recent years have been marked by achievements in the fields of high-energy physics, superconductivity, laser technology, mathematics and mechanics, renewable energy sources, biochemistry and biotechnology. In humanities new problems arise while studying various aspects of sociology, economics, history, psychology, philosophy and the history of culture. On average 800 doctoral and 200 higher doctoral degrees in various fields of science and humanities are awarded at MSU every year.

As training highly qualified specialists has always been the main goal, the faculties and departments constantly revise their curricula and introduce new programmers. The stress is on student's ability to work independently and meet employer's requirements. In the curricula for science faculties more classes in the humanities have been included. The University offers individual programmers combining classes at different faculties.

Moscow University has well-established contacts with the most distinguished universities in the world, exchanging students and lecturers with the leading universities abroad.

In January 2005 Lomonosov Moscow State University celebrated its 250th anniversary.