First Australian Academics to Visit Russian Far East Academy of Sciences

Two Australian academics, Mr Errol Chopping and Dr David Tien, recently visited the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and the Far Eastern National University (FENU) in Vladivostok to establish contacts and foster collaboration with researchers at the RAS and higher degree coordinators in the FENU.

Both Mr Chopping and Dr Tien represented Charles Sturt University (CSU), in Australia. Dr Tien also heads the NSW Section of the IEEE, a professional organisation for the computing and engineering fields, and Mr Errol Chopping is the Chairman of Academic Alliance International, a networking and communication organisation for academics.

Mr Chopping and Dr Tien held seminars with the Head of the Intelligent Systems Laboratory, Institute of Automation & Control Processes at RAS, and meetings with the Director of International Programs and the Director of the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, FENU. In both cases the issues of shared project development, collaborative research and staff & student exchange were discussed and promoted.

`The Russian Academy of Sciences, especially the Institute of Automation & Control Processes in Vladivostok, is well known for the strength of its traditional academic research.' Mr Chopping said. `They are currently working on two major initiatives: the first is the development of extensive medical ontologies which structure and manage medical diagnostic information, and the other is the automatic generation of computerised user interfaces. CSU computer science staff have several research interests which are complimentary to these, especially in the use of Computer Games Technology, and we are now exploring some areas of cooperation.'

`During our visit, we detected growing interests from Russia Far East to work with Australian universities, government organisations and industry.' Mr Chopping mentioned, ‘due to our common European heritage, we share values in education and business dealings, we even have similar constraints in travel and communications due to our remote locations.'

`Currently both FENU and Charles Sturt University are working on expansion processes.' Dr Tien said, `FENU was nominated by the Russian President and Federal Government for a position in the first five federal universities and it is consequently going through a period of expansion leading to the 2012 APEC conference. At the same time, Charles Sturt University in Australia may integrate with two other Australian universities to become the largest inland university in Australia.'

`There are many similarities between Russian Far East and Australia' Dr Tien added. `Vladivostok and Sydney happen to share the same time zone; both Australia and the Russian Far East have a strong European tradition and yet are located far from Europe. As a result, during the meetings many Russian students expressed interests in pursuing their studies in Australia. At the same time, Charles Sturt University would like to provide assistance for these students to come to Australia.'

The meetings held a few weeks ago are already producing outcomes: Mr Chopping and Dr Tien have received scientific publications from the RAS and a joint conference is planned for next year. They have also been offered help by academic staff and post graduate students in Russia to further pursue the collaborations.

The initiative to cement a partnership between Australia and Russian Far East has received support from the Consul-General of the Russian Federation in Sydney, Dr. Tatiana M. Grushko. During a meeting with Mr Chopping and Dr Tien two weeks ago she said `This work in cooperation and academic exchange between Australia and Russia Far East has been very valuable.' Dr. Grushko will also arrange a meeting between Dr Tien and Mr Chopping with the Consulate’s new diplomat, a native of Vladivostok and a graduate of FENU, who is coming to Sydney, Australia in June 2009.

Mr Chopping and Dr Tien expressed their thanks to the people of Vladivostok. They are looking forward to establish a long-term working relationship with Vladivostok and a return trip in the near future to work on student exchange, joint research and running a pre-APEC forum.

Discussions at Far East Academy of Sciences	Meeting at FENU
Seminars at Far East Academy of Sciences	Street Scene Far East

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Last Update: Thursday March 12, 2009