During internship, I managed to learn a lot about a new technological idea being developed by specialists of the TSU Biological Institute.

   Four master’s students of the International Management program from Uzbekistan, Nigeria, China, and Chile completed their pre-graduate internship at the Tomsk Export Support Center. It resulted in marketing research of potential sales markets for Tomsk companies and a description of the current conditions for doing international business in the countries that students represent.

   Master’s students studied opportunities for exporting Russian goods, services, and technological solutions to Uzbekistan, Nigeria, and Chile. A separate task concerned updating the institutional conditions for cooperation with Russia and China.

   Summing up the results of the internship, Alexander Belyaev – director of the Export support center, noted that the reports of master’s students will be very useful for strengthening the expert direction of the center’s activities, will be included in analytical reports, and will be used to maintain the activity of Tomsk exporters in the foreign market, including when building new trajectories of their exit abroad.

   According to Alexander Belyaev, master’s students of the International Management program have shown good professional training. They took the assigned tasks responsibly and successfully coped with them, demonstrated creativity, the ability to work in an international team and, what is extremely important now, to effectively interact with each other and with the heads of internship in an online format.

   “During internship, I managed to learn a lot about a new technological idea being developed by specialists of the TSU Biological Institute. Their «АЭРОЩУП» project is a unique technology for assessing, mapping and cleaning bottom sediments from oil and plastic debris. It has no analogues in Russian and world practice, and can be interesting in many countries of the world. I studied the possibilities of its application in Chile, where environmental problems are also very relevant. I will be glad if, thanks to my work, the Tomsk team under the leadership of Professor Vorobyov will be able to find partners in other countries and enter new markets for them,” said Master’s student Camilo Andres Sanchez Bozo (Chile).

   Khairatbek Khamdamov (Uzbekistan) added that the tasks of the internship for him were related to the study of prospects for expanding foreign economic and cultural ties between Tomsk and the largest industrial centers of Uzbekistan (Tashkent and Andijan). “In modern conditions, this is very promising for both sides, including from the point of view of attracting young people from Uzbekistan to study in Tomsk, TSU, especially for master’s programs in English. We discussed proposals together, agreed on methods of searching for information, options for presenting our results. We really learned a lot of new things and were able to “pump up” our theoretical knowledge on specific cases”.

   Adedeji John Adebowale (Nigeria) noted that he really enjoyed participating in a real project, looking for cooperation options for Tomsk business in Nigeria. “Tomsk companies are very diverse, their goods and services have a high market potential, which, I am sure, will be demanded by international partners from Africa. I hope that I have also contributed to this process”.

   Zuo Wenjun (China) said that working on the internship report was very useful for him professionally. “I described in detail the system of organizing foreign economic activity in China, the official requirements for cooperation with foreign companies, the institutional framework for exports and imports. The study also allowed me to compare how the business support infrastructure works in Russia and China”.

   It should be noted that the Tomsk Export Support Center actively cooperates with the Institute of Economics and Management. So, every year, as part of the course “Promotion to foreign markets (Asia-Pacific region)”, an online seminar is held at which employees of the Tomsk Export Support Center talk about the work of the center and answer questions from master’s students.

   “I want to thank Alexander Belyaev and his colleagues from the Tomsk Export Support Center for their attention to master’s students, as well as relevant, in-depth, and creative tasks. We very much hope for the continuation and development of cooperation,” notes Olga Nedospasova, Doctor of Economics, TSU Professor, Head of the International Management Master’s Program.