The programme began with a presentation from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Campus France. This event was particularly interesting for the students, post-graduates, and professors of Tomsk universities. Vladislav Belov, Deputy Director of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a moderator of the meeting, emphasized the themes to be discussed, which were “City and Campus”, “Smart Business”, and “Between the Past and the Future: How to Combine Cultural Heritage and the Economy of Knowledge”. The open space format provided all the participants who are involved in the issue on different levels with the opportunity to talk. Therefore, students and experts were able to discuss the issue together. That made the atmosphere less formal and more productive.
The participants of the roundtable “Above the Borders: Collaboration Between Universities in the City” talked about the importance of interaction between universities in creating a positive image of a university city. The roundtable gathered representatives of four Tomsk universities. Professor Michelle Debrenne, Head of the NSU French Center, moderated the event.
The opening of the Festival of German Films attracted many Tomsk students. The first thing to see was a French and German film Michael Kohlhaas. Young people of Tomsk always show great interest in modern European cinematography.
The participants spent the second part of the day at the TSU Research Library.
The Research Hall of the Library was full of people who were interested in exchanging contacts. Potential partners in educational and scientific areas could discuss ideas, and proposals, and agree on future collaboration.
A roundtable to discuss the results of the Third Habitat Summit in Quito (Ecuador) was held in the Small Hall of the Library. The theme was New Urbanistic Challenges: Does Tomsk have Opportunities to Become a University City?
Nicolas Buchoud, Founding Principal of Renaissance Urbaine and President of the Grand Paris Alliance, was a key speaker. He reported on the results of the Summit as a participant. He acknowledged that the Summit is one of the most essential global events on urban planning. It takes place once every 20 years and sets principles for city planning for many years ahead. He emphasized that universities must play a leading role in city planning activity.
Nicolas Buchoud talked about the problems that modern cities face at present. The most significant one is that it is very difficult to plan anything today because the situation changes too fast. Therefore, urbanists must learn to think differently and to foresee the future in order to catch new trends that will become popular in 20 or even 30 years.
The urbanist pointed out that TSU should take part in international events. It will help the University to be open to changes and to develop a more effective ecosystem. The concept of cities has dramatically changed over the last several years. TSU should use its potential to study how the world is changing. The University has an opportunity to influence various urbanistic processes.
At the end of the Forum, the participants gathered in the Big Hall of the Library to sum up the results. Ivan Ivonin, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, Vladislav Belov, Deputy Director of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Olga Kolesova, Assistant Manager of the TSU Laboratory for Comparative Research on Historical Urbanism, addressed the audience. The participants collected certificates from the organizers of the Forum.
