Yakutia faces the world

The University of the Arctic is a network of more than a hundred universities, colleges and centres which are situated in the north of the republic. It was officially opened on June 12th, 2001, in Rovaniemi in Finland in order to promote education and the exchange of knowledge among northerners. Its motto is 'Shared voices'. Read more...

The University of the Arctic is a network of more than a hundred universities, colleges and centres which are situated in the north of the republic. It was officially opened on June 12th, 2001, in Rovaniemi in Finland in order to promote education and the exchange of knowledge among northerners. Its motto is 'Shared voices'.
The Sakha State University joined the University of the Arctic in 1998. It shares its resources, opportunities and experience with other member- institutions to create higher education curricula which are relevant and accessible to northern students. Thus, the basic circumpolar studies programme was created in cooperation with scientists from the different Arctic universities of Russia, Canada, USA, Greenland, Norway and Finland according to ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) standards. The goal of the programme is to enable students to gain a broad knowledge and understanding of history, ethnography, economy and politics, science and culture, languages and literature, together with the traditions and values of the circumpolar north. The programme consists of four courses: introduction to the circumpolar world, people and cultures, land and environment and contemporary issues of the circumpolar world.
The circumpolar studies programme is taught on-line in English by instructors from different universities in Canada, the USA and Norway and by the traditional, on-campus method at the Universities of Bodo (Norway), Northern British Columbia (Canada), Saskatchewan (Canada), Akureyri (Iceland) and at the Sakha State University (Russia). At present, more than 150 students study on-line in different Arctic countries and more than 250 students are taught on campus. It supplements the basic programme of higher education institutions. For instance, those students who study foreign philology, applied mathematics and information science at the Sakha State University and who have taken all the courses in the circumpolar studies programme, will receive a diploma from SSU in Foreign Philology or Mathematics and a certificate from the University of the Arctic in Circumpolar Studies.
Another programme set up by the University of the Arctic is the North to North programme. This allows students to study at another of the northern universities for one or two semesters. About a hundred undergraduate and postgraduate students from Yakutia have studied at universities and field schools in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, the USA and Canada with this programme.
The Sakha State University hosts the U.Arctic Russian Information Centre and the U.Arctic thematic research network: The world image of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic. It also runs a summer school 'Summer in Siberia', which attracts students from the different Arctic regions.

The National Committee of the Sakha Republic for UNESCO was established at the beginning of 1991. Since then, many activities in the spheres of education and culture have been held in the Republic with the participation of UNESCO. Read more...

The National Committee of the Sakha Republic for UNESCO was established at the beginning of 1991. Since then, many activities in the spheres of education and culture have been held in the Republic with the participation of UNESCO. They have proved to be productive and mutually beneficial - the world was introduced to the scientific achievements, culture, traditions, applied and contemporary arts of the republic, while the republic made good use of UNESCO's experience and expertise. International conferences on topics such as 'Shamanism as religion: genesis, reconstruction, traditions' (1992); 'The languages, culture and the future of the Arctic nations' (1993); 'National school: concept and development technologies' (1993); 'The problems of health care and preventive methods applied by indigenous peoples' (1994); 'The methodology of multicultural education' (1995); 'Tolerance, mutual understanding and consent' (1996); 'Vargan: traditions and the present' (1996); 'St Innocent (Veniaminov) - the enlightener of Alaska and Yakutia' (1997); 'Olonkho in the context of epic heritage of the world' (2000); 'The musical ethnography of the Tungus-Manchurian peoples' (2001); 'Museum and society: dialogue at the borderline of the centuries' (2001) and others, were organised in Yakutsk with UNESCO's support. As a result, numerous programmes on the preservation of indigenous culture, traditions and languages, recommendations for the prevention of alcoholism, drug abuse and smoking among children and teenagers, and strategies for the prevention of inter-ethnic conflicts have been worked out and implemented. The UNESCO-associated schools project includes more than 7,000 schools at different levels - pre¬school institutions, primary, secondary and vocational schools and professional teachers' development programmes. All of them share the UNESCO ideals of ensuring peace in the world and are aimed at preparing the younger generation for a complicated, changing world. The associated schools network develops and implements innovative educational approaches, technologies and teaching materials. Eleven schools in the Republic have been awarded UNESCO- associated school status. They include the Sakha- French school, the Sakha-Belgian school, the Verkhoyansky, Kyndyajsky and Berdigestyahsky gymnasiums, the 16th, 26th, and 38th secondary schools in Yakutsk, the 2nd in Suntar, and the Lensky Krai Physics and Mathematics Forum. UNESCO also supports nomadic schools, which operate in remote reindeer camps inside the arctic circle. The nomadic schools project is aimed at the preservation of the traditional ways of life of the indigenous people of the north.
An association of UNESCO clubs from the Sakha Republic has been set up. Its members take part in youth forums and conferences, which unite young people from different countries. Since 2002, the UNESCO Student Information Centre has been working at the Sakha State University. Its aim is to promote the principles of democracy, world culture and civil responsibility among young people.

The history of the olympiad in the Sakha Republic goes back to the 1960s, when the first specialised mathematics, physics and chemistry groups were opened in a number of schools. Soon after, the first specialised mathematics and physics schools in Verkhnevilujsk and Yakutsk were established. Read more...

The history of the olympiad in the Sakha Republic goes back to the 1960s, when the first specialised mathematics, physics and chemistry groups were opened in a number of schools. Soon after, the first specialised mathematics and physics schools in Verkhnevilujsk and Yakutsk were established. These schools took a new approach to education and aimed at gifted children. The students of the specialised schools were encouraged to take part in the distance courses offered by the leading Russian higher education institutions - Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow State University and Novosibirsk State University. The results were striking - the students and graduates of the specialised schools won awards at the various regional and all-Russian olympiads and some were immediately enrolled at the universities above without entrance examinations. The local newspapers were also involved in extending the olympiad movement. The olympiad tasks in mathematics, physics and chemistry for both Russia and the republic were published in the papers, with the result that dozens of school children who were particularly gifted in mathematics and the sciences were identified. In 1994, the first international summer school, (Tuymaada) was held. It was followed by the first Lavrentiev readings, in the form of conferences, workshops and olympiads for young researchers, students and schoolchildren. The readings paid tribute to the academic, Mikhail Lavrentiev, president of the Siberian branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, who made a significant contribution to working with talented children. Well-known Russian scientists were invited to lecture and to chair discussions at the readings as well as at the Tuymaada. Nowadays, olympiads are held on various subjects - mathematics, physics, computer science and programming, chemistry, biology, geography and foreign languages. Special attention is paid to the use of new information technologies. The Sakha Republic Ministry of Education collaborates with the Sakha State University to organise Internet olympiads. This type of olympiad enables schoolchildren from all parts of the republic to compete in various subjects without leaving their villages and towns. The finalists are invited to attend the Tuymaada international summer school and to take part in the final stage of the olympiad. The Tuymaada International Olympiad has become one of the most successful educational projects. It usually takes place at the 'Lensky Krai' Physics and Mathematics Forum about sixty kilometres from Yakutsk. The venue is well-equipped with computers and tele-conferencing facilities. The participants come from Russia, Kazakhstan, Byelorussia, Rumania, Germany, China, Mongolia and Korea. The teams from the Sakha Republic usually get excellent results and demonstrate a good knowledge of mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing. Some of them also go on to perform successfully in the Russian national teams.

The Youth Eco-Forum is the environmental programme of the Northern Forum, a non-profit, international organisation set up by the northern states. The aim of the Forum is to promote ecological education for the young people of the northern countries. The Forum is hosted by a different member country each year. The first Forum was held in Alberta (Canada) in 2001, the next Forums were in Hokkaido (Japan, 2004) and Akureyri (Iceland, 2005). Read more...

The Youth Eco-Forum is the environmental programme of the Northern Forum, a non-profit, international organisation set up by the northern states. The aim of the Forum is to promote ecological education for the young people of the northern countries. The Forum is hosted by a different member country each year. The first Forum was held in Alberta (Canada) in 2001, the next Forums were in Hokkaido (Japan, 2004) and Akureyri (Iceland, 2005).
The Fourth International Youth Eco-Forum was held in August 2006, in Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia). The theme of the Forum was 'Oil and the environment' and it was aimed at teaching young people to take care the fragile northern nature by involving young people in nature-protection activities and guiding them towards choosing nature protection-related occupations.
Preparation of the participants in the forum from the Sakha Republic was carried out by the Republican Ecological and Biological Station at the Sakha Ministry: the work was headed by the station's deputy director, Nickolai Zhirkov. School and regional contests were held, which resulted in live projects being recommended for the Forum. Five high school students from different regions represented the Sakha Republic at the Forum: Afanasiy Timofeyev (Yakutsk), Yana Popova (Churapchinsky region), Ekaterina Zarovnyaeva (Kobyaysky region), Maria Myreyeva (Lensk) and Tatyana Ivanova (Yakutsk). The theses of the participants were published in the
international bulletin in both English and Russian. The Sakha State University was represented by Nikolai Tarkayev. Ekaterina Evseyeva from the non¬profit, environmental education organisation 'Eyge' in Yakutsk represented international Arctic youth. Students from four other countries participated in the Forum - Japan, Canada, the USA and Iceland; seven northern regions of Russia took part in the Forum as well, bringing the total number of participants to 181 people. The programme was very interesting; it included museum tours, excursions to protected sites, a visit to the Kamennoye oil deposits and to an exhibition called 'Preserve the Blooming World'; the students were told about the activities of the ecological organisations at the Khanty-Mansiysky schools. They also had workshops on nature use, business games, ecological actions and cultural programmes.
The students learned a lot about the work of ecological organisations in Russia and other Arctic countries. They also made a lot of friends.