Monday, February 11, 2008

LIVE BLOGGING THE RUSSIAN CONFERENCE

I am attending the Russian video conference at George Mason University which was advertised in an earlier post. The event began at 11:00 AM and although originally began as a small group has increased in size. A good turnout for a video conference. I'll be posting in the comments section.

15 comments:

Ian Dunois said...

There have been some troubles with the video conference.
This is one of the first times the Russian Cultural Center has used Skype in an actual conference. It had worked on a trial run a week ago at the same time. There have been a few more universities in Russia who wish to do the video conference with George Mason University which is praised as a great university in the United States.

Ian Dunois said...

Video conference resumed at 11:27 although troubles pursued with no audio from the Russian end.

Russian students are interested in the point of view of Mason students on the opinion of the economic decline.

Such as the real estate crisis.
Many nations view the U.S. economic status as something they should copy.

Ian Dunois said...

Jaime and I have been responded to their questions in the best abilities. When asked about the real estate market and how it would the world should take the downfall of it, Jaime and I have claimed that the housing market is only a problem because government interference caused an increase of the housing market whereas the commodities were needed in other sectors of the market.

Ian Dunois said...

Jaime and I had raised the question with their political institutions in Russia, do they feel their vote matters?

Ian Dunois said...

Two different students had responded. One had addressed her political issues and the other had attempted to answer the question to if votes matter in Russia.

His reply was that taking a poll among his friends; he does not understand how the outcome of votes can be as they had claimed.

Ian Dunois said...

Russian: American mortgage crisis hurts the Russians as they see a great rise in the real estate. Mortgage rates in the U.S. is declining and in Russian they are rising.

Ian Dunois said...

Rebecca a foreign language student from GMU asked the question what are the best programs in Russian university.

They had responded that the Russian Universities were best known for their art and cultural classes.

We have transferred the video conference to another University in Russia

Ian Dunois said...

Speaking of the other University both sets of students of both universities are interested in studying economics... the question asked is why are so many students studying economics in Russia?

Russia:
Professor from Russia is currently changing their economy into a modern economy. They hope that in learning economics they can learn english so that they can participate in more seminars overseas.
Student from Russia:
Russian nation needs more specialists within the economic profession. The students would like to fulfill that need.

Return question: What would you like to do after you receive that economic degree.

Russia reply: Will devote our career to industry. as the city is a great big industrial city.

Ian Dunois said...

Rebecca asks:
Do alot of Americans attend their university?

Russian reply:
There used to be many students from foreign nations, but presently there are none.

Ian Dunois said...

Russian question: What is the most valuable field to study at George Mason University?

Mason Students reply:
That many students attend Mason for its location. It is just south of Washington D.C. and holds many different degree types that are held valuable by the area such as engineering, law, economics, I.T.

Ian Dunois said...

the Russian students invite the Mason students to a gathering of students at their university. I can not spell the name of the university but I can give you the information if you need it.

Ian Dunois said...

Russian question:
Are there many Russian Students attending Mason?

GMU Student reply:
There are numerous students with Russian backgrounds, Russian immigrants (students and professors), and many students studying the Russian language.

Ian Dunois said...

The Video Conference comes to an end.
They are asking for suggestions to improve the conference.

Ian Dunois said...

This is the first of a series of events to connect U.S. universities with Russian universities.

Efrutik said...

Good day everyone,

I would like to extend my gratitude to Ian and Jaime for their excellent work this morning. Everyone is very appreciative of their expertise and knowledge in the sphere of economics. Our colleagues in Washington, DC and Russia have enjoyed your input and you have done well to represent the GMU community as well. Thank you once again and we hope to cooperate more on this form of initiatives in the near future.

Sincerely,

Erata Yitbarek
GMU Russian Club
eyitbare@gmu.edu