Academic mobility

PSPI and the University of Göttingen.

      There is much talk and write about academic mobility, the need to recognize it, but to take real steps to implement it is somehow difficult. But it is not difficult when employees of Kazakhstan and Western European universities share common research interests, long-term cooperation and simply sincere friendships. One of the areas of scientific interests Head of the Department of General Biology, the candidate of biological sciences Bulat Zhumadilov - dendrochronology. For several years he worked on the project as part of Kazakh-Mongolian-German expedition, leaving together with German colleagues-botanists in Eastern Kazakhstan. And scientists from Germany have decided to come to us - to give lectures and conduct workshops with students and staff of PSPI.

 

 

September 22, 2014 at the Department of General Biology of Pavlodar State Pedagogical Institute were visitors from Germany: Sc.D. Hoymaa Dulamsuren (ChoimaaDulamsuren) and Sc.D. Marcos Andreas Hauck of the University of Georg-August in Göttingen (Germany) - the staff of the Division of Plant Research Institute plant Albrecht von Haller (GeorgAugustUniversityofGöttingen, AlbrechtvonHallerInstituteofPlantSciences, DepartmentofPlantEcology). The main research interests Dulamsuren - geobotany and ecology of plants, Marcos - lichenology and the cycling of matter in the biosphere.

It should be noted that Ms. Dulamsuren visit our Institute is not the first time - it was here in April 2013, when we showed the guests a museum of natural science departments of the faculty, classrooms, interactive equipment. So she came to us as an old friend, happily welcoming the familiar staff of the Institute. Hoymaa perfectly fluent in Russian (as in his youth studied at a Russian school in East Germany), lectures are in Russian, giving appropriate explanations to the presentations in English. This is especially liked the students and teachers of multilingual groups and was a good speech practice.

What our guests say in his lectures? On the circulation of substances in the biosphere, the role of different groups of plants in this cycle, the actual scale of the current ecological crisis, projections of sustainable human development.

Greenhouse effect and global warming in recent decades say very much, stating that denying the phenomenon. Global warming and the accumulation in the atmosphere of greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide and water vapor), according to Ms. Dulamsuren, it does not debunk the myth, but a reality.

But is harmful greenhouse gases, and whether they should be present in the atmosphere? In fact, they need - the very existence of life in general (otherwise temperature on Earth to keep to minus 15 degrees, which is not very favorable for the majority of the body), and without them life is unlikely to be there. Water vapor and carbon dioxide are the conventional products of respiration, rotting, burning and appear in the atmosphere by natural life processes.

However, the work of the set of means and forest fires (most of which are man-made) lead to the transfer of carbon into a gaseous state and its accumulation in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide in large quantities. And are harmful in overdose any medicines or vitamins and greenhouse gases in large quantities does not begin to play a positive and negative role. We asked: "Is the plant can not cope with carbon dioxide, tying it back into organic matter through photosynthesis?". Alas, in its calculations, an amount of carbon dioxide can not absorb even the equatorial forest, the taiga and the entire biomass of ocean algae. Oxidation of organic compounds much faster than the absorption of carbon dioxide the plants. And do living organisms, including plants, are a potential source of carbon dioxide - when forest fires and wildfires will continue on the same scale. Where is the exit? Apparently, to reduce the scale of technogenic oxidation of organic compounds, and one of the ways - it is the development of environmentally sound (and economically viable) energy sources - wind and solar. Mass rotting organic residues - is also a significant source of greenhouse gases and waste heat. And often it is not the result of decay of natural processes and our mismanagement, so useless and prevent spontaneous decomposition of organic waste is important not only economically, but also from an environmental point of view. And so that our future generations have been the bread and clean water, we need to be wiser than our generation and something to give up frills, and most importantly - a rational disposition of all organic material taken from nature.

On 24 September a trip biology students of senior courses in cooperation with German scientists and teachers of PSPI in Chaldai boron. For visitors it was a great opportunity not only to admire the scenery of the region, but also to collect the required scientific data. It turns out that in order to determine the age of a tree by tree rings, it is not necessary to cut it: you can use a special drill to do some drilling and to obtain a sample (core), which is clearly visible annual growth of wood. And for the students and staff of PSPI this tour was the continuation of the application of lectures: they have mastered the technique of producing core of coniferous trees and counting the tree rings. And it needs not only the right to work a drill, but also to choose the most optimum drilling direction - from west to east. Why is that? Because the direction from north to south can give is not quite accurate results: on the north side of the growth of wood may be smaller than in the south. And the students, divided into groups, themselves chose to study the largest pine tree - the oldest living witnesses of the past. Conifers most durable, and their annual growth can learn about the many events of the distant past, closed our limited duration of human life. Reconstruction of climate, obtaining information on forest fires, mass outbreaks of pests and plant pathogens - this is not a complete list of what can give us dendrochronology in its applications. Therefore, Ms. Dulamsuren fair to say that the primary cutting of old trees is impractical not only economic, but also from the scientific and ethical point of view. Figuratively speaking, to destroy the strong tree only because of his advanced age - is still contributing to the death of respected veterans. Old trees were and are living witnesses of the past, you only need to get skillfully and properly discuss the information stored by them.

And on September 25, an official meeting of scientists from Germany, the rector of PSPI, Ph.D., professor Nurgali Rahimgalievichem Arshabekovym. Unfortunately, he could not meet with Western visitors on the first day of their arrival, being a business trip. And here is the first head of PSPI and foreign experts were formally introduced to each other. The guests expressed their appreciation for the warm welcome and care of the domestic environment and provide excellent opportunities for work. Nurgali Rahimgalievich thank Professor M.Hauka Ch.Dulamsuren and for taking the time and opportunity to come to our institute, to prepare interesting lectures and presentations to our students. N.R.Arshabekov stressed that the current visit of German scientists - it's really real, and not a formal academic mobility of university teachers and researchers.

 

And, of course, the Rector and staff of the Institute together with foreign guests discussed plans for joint cooperation - particularly in the business, focusing on the short term. University of Göttingen will be happy to take on training of both students and staff of our university, including teaching modern research methods. But the main condition - the knowledge of the German language in which classes are conducted at the university. Although the planned training PhD students in English, the foundations of which know our Kazakhstani students and teachers. At the same time our guests and colleagues from PSPI stressed that this problem is easily solved with the help of our language center, which is waiting for wanting to study the European languages ​​perfectly. The main thing - the desire to organize a permanent and constructive dialogue between our countries, the scientific and higher education institutions.