University of Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Astrakhan State University has become the only higher educational institution in South Russia to become one of the 16 Russian universities that form the University of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (http://www.sectsco.org/RU/) is a regular regional international institution founded in June 2001. Its members are Kazakhstan, Russia, Kirgizia, the People’s Republic of China, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Its observers are Mongolia, India, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

In 2008, Ministers of Education of the participating countries met in Astana (Kazakhstan) and decided to launch a network university. This is not a single institution with a particular address, but a union of top universities of the participating countries with an agreed curriculum. A student enters any basic university of the SCO University in their home country and studies there during a period of time. After that, they may continue their studies at any other basic university of the SCO University in any participating country. Each and every student must spend at least 30 % of their educational process in another basic university located in another participating country.

Studies at the SCO University are related to the most demanded fields: Regional Studies, Ecology, Information Technologies, Power Engineering, and Nanotechnologies.

ASU is one of the three Russian basic universities to provide a top-level master program in the field of Information Technologies. It cooperates with Novosibirsk State University and the Saint Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics. Our main tasks are as follows:

• Promotion of exchange programs for students and faculty;
• Activation of cooperation in the field of scientific researches and education;
• Introduction of modern educational techniques and know-how;
• Setup of mechanisms to acknowledge equivalence of diplomas of education by the SCO participating countries and the world educational community.

In 2010, Astrakhan State University and Karaganda Economic University launched their joint master program “Information Systems” as a part of activities performed by the SCO University.