August 13, 2018

“Wings for Life!”, Day 1 – Let’s go!

On August 13, the first International Summer School «Wings for life – the discovery of the world of engineering based on the Tu-144 supersonic aircraft» opened at KNRTU-KAI. Among the participants of this school were students from Germany, China and India. The school is administrated by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Office of International Affairs, the German-Russian Institute of Advanced Technologies and the Department for Laser Technologies. The school will be opened until August 27, 2018.

During the summer school, the participants will have a unique opportunity to attend classes in laser and additive technologies, robotics, as well as Russian and Tatar languages. In addition, our international students will be able to visit the leading enterprises of Kazan, such as the Kazan Helicopter Plant, Technopolis Khimgrad, KAI-Laser, Eidos and the city of high technologies Innopolis. On Monday, the students participated in a special team building training, which allowed them to get to know each other better, make friends and adapt to a new culture.

On the first day, the administrators organized a sightseeing tour around the city on a large comfortable bus. The students saw the Kazan Kremlin, the Volga, Kazan Federal University, the G. Kamal Theatre and other sights of our city. In the evening there was a welcome dinner where the students met their teachers and the administrators of the Summer School.

August 14, 2018

 “Wings for Life!”, Day 2

Today the Director of the German-Russian Institute of Advanced Technologies Alsu Gilmetdinova prepared a presentation for the participants of the Summer School about KNRTU-KAI and the institute that she leads. The Head of the Aircraft Constructions and Equipment Laboratory Alexey Ryabov prepared a lecture on the history of the creation of the Tu-144 aircraft.

The students were very interested in learning about the first and one of two types of supersonic airliners, a sample of which is now installed on the territory of KNRTU-KAI. Our international students were very excited when they learned that they would be allowed to climb onto the plane, see it from inside and take pictures, finding the most unusual foreshortenings and views.

After the traditional Russian-Tatar lunch, the students started their summer studies and studied laser technologies and Russian. According to the students, they really like our city, university and people who greet them warmly.

15 August 2018 

“Wings for Life!”, Day 3

Today the graduate students of the Department for Laser Technologies, Alexandr Gabitov and Ramis Nazarov, showed the participants of the summer school the devices and equipment that are used at this department. The acquaintance began with the robots of the company “FANUC” that are used in the laboratory of KNRTU-KAI. FANUC is the world leader in the field of automation. Our international students were offered to control these devices and write basic programs for controlling robotic manipulators.

The students were very interested in the plasma installation, which is designed for processing powder materials. The participants of the summer school are interested in the research conducted at the Department of Laser Technologies and hope to maintain contacts with the department upon their return home.

After classes, they continued their acquaintance with Kazan, went shopping, bought some souvenirs and tried some national dishes in the Russian-Ukrainian cafe.

16 August 2018

 “Wings for Life!”, Day 4

On the fourth day of the summer school, the participants of the summer school met Ilya Tsivilsky, Ph D, Associate Professor in the Department for Laser Technologies, who gave lectures on additive technologies and methods used in additive production.

Ramis Nazarov, a Ph D student in the Department for Laser Technologies, showed our international students the laboratories in his department. The students were surprised at the amount of professional equipment that allows students to conduct different types of research studies.

In the evening, the participants went on a two-hour excursion to the Kazan Kremlin and saw the Kul Sharif Mosque and the Annunciation Cathedral.

17 August 2018

“Wings for Life!”, Day 5

The fifth day of the summer school began with a visit to the Regional Engineering Center for Industrial Laser Technologies KAI-Laser. Our international students learned about the basics of laser cutting, spraying, cladding and other technologies and the equipment that is used at the center.

The students have been immersed in the study of the Russian language from the first day, and on the fifth day, their teachers set a task for them and asked them to learn a Russian song. However, this task did not frighten our guests and they started working on it boldly!

On Friday evening, after the busy week, the organizers and participants of the summer school decided to have a picnic in the picturesque park Lake Lebyazhie. We hope that it was the perfect ending to the day.

18 August 2018

“Wings for Life!”, Day 6

Ideal roads, lack of traffic jams, a huge IT-park and communication with the mayor of the city via Telegram. We would like to say: ‘Moment, please, stop! You are so wonderful!’ Yesterday we visited the intellectual nucleus of the new city and university, Innopolis, where we had a wonderful introductory tour, took some pictures and had a tasty breakfast.

On the way to Sviyazhsk, we stopped by the 12th International Festival of Historic Vehicles, which was held at the ski resort Sviyazhsk Hills. The exhibition featured the GAZ-21 Volga, the GAZ-M20 Pobeda, the GAZ-13 Chaika, the Ford Model T, the Zundapp KS750 motorcycle and other exhibits.

Then our students continued their acquaintance with the culture of our republic on the island of Sviyazhsk. The guide told the participants of the summer school about the history of Sviyazhsk, the architecture of the churches and the historical exhibits presented in the museum. At the end of a long day, we had dinner at a Russian-Tatar café, and after a short rest, we took a ferry to come back to Kazan. Our ferry journey was very enjoyable!

19 August 2018

 “Wings for Life!”, Day 7

Even on weekends, the participants of the summer school are active and enjoy spending their free time together. On Sunday, we rented the bikes and set off on a bicycle tour around the city of Kazan and its surrounding areas. The total distance of the tour was 42.5 km.

During the bike ride, we visited the colorful Temple of All Religions. The next point of the route was a quarry in the area of Lake Lebyazhie, which is quite popular among locals. On a hot sunny day, after the 20km bike ride, some fun water activities, swimming in a clean and cool lake, nice songs and funny stories in Russian, English and German were a real lifesaver.

Despite the difficulties of the route and the bike tires that were punctured three times, the day for the students of the summer school turned out to be very exciting and unforgettable. We successfully completed our bike ride and felt both happy and tired. The participants of the summer school also could not help stopping by the 8th building of KNRTU-KAI, which has become like a second home to them for two weeks.

20 August 2018

 “Wings for Life!”, Day 8

Monday mornings can also be kind and exciting. We know that for sure. Today we visited the legendary Kazan Helicopter Plant. This is one of the enterprises where our graduates have been working successfully for 78 years.

The Russian helicopters that were manufactured in Kazan have gained more than 50 million flight hours around the world. For the entire history of this plant, more than 12,000 Mi-4, Mi-8, Mi-14, Mi-17, Ansat helicopters and their modifications have been delivered to about 100 countries.

21 August 2018

 “Wings for Life!”, Day 9

Today the participants of the summer school visited the ancient city of Bolgar, which used to be the capital of Volga-Kama Bulgaria and one of the largest cities of the Golden Horde. Our international students drove over 300 km, saw more than 1,600 exhibits, got acquainted with some Tatar holidays and sang songs.

The students saw the White Mosque, which is one of the largest and most beautiful mosques in  Tatarstan. They also visited the Bread Museum where they had a chance to learn more about the lifestyle of people who live in Tatar villages. Our foreign guests were very excited to learn more about a new culture and experienced many positive emotions.

24 August 2018

 “Wings for Life!”, Day 14

According to the Russian song, «There is only a moment between the past and the future. This exact moment is called real life». Six months ago, we started planning our summer school, held endless meetings and discussed how this should happen, and today this has already happened. Today was the last official day in our summer school. Despite this, the day was full of exciting events. The participants of the summer school visited Technopolis Himgrad and held a concert, which was part of the lesson «The Lesson of Friendship». During this lesson, we heard the participants’ brief stories about themselves in Russian, which was sort of a test for our international students. This test showed what they learned in their two-week Russian classes.

«The Lesson of Friendship» was an exciting journey into the culture of Tatarstan, Russia, Germany, China and India. Everyone really liked the German, Chinese and Russian songs that the participants and organizers of the summer school sang. The elementary level students sang the children's song «Antoshka» for the first time and acted out the story about this lazy boy. The students who are more proficient in Russian sang Lyube’s song «Horse». The faculty and organizers of the school also took part in the concert. Elvira Mulyukova and Rose Shakirova, who taught Russian to our students, sang chastushki, which are short humorous Russian folk songs. The coordinator of the school Leila Bakirova recited G. Tukay's poem «Tugan Tel». Everything was unexpected and new to our guests.

Alexandr Snegurenko, the Head of the Office of International Affairs, congratulated our students on their graduation, played the guitar and sang the Beatles’ song ‘Yesterday.’ Everyone sang with Mr. Snegurenko, too.

We also heard M. Lermontov’s poem «The Cliff» recited by a German student, learned a German dance and saw many other performances. All the performances were amazing. We would like to thank all the participants and organizers for such an interesting event.

In the end, Alexandr Snegurenko and Alsu Gilmetdinova, Director of the German-Russian Institute of Advanced Technologies, and the representatives of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) K. Ulbrich congratulated the students and presented the certificates and gifts.