The South Ural Association of International Students at South Ural State University is active in social media. It helps to maintain friendly relations and corporate spirit in this difficult time for the whole world.
The South Ural Association of International Students has been on Instagram for more than three years now (https://www.instagram.com/p/B-jgTsUId9r/?igshid=fgl3pj83a2yz). Students from 56 countries share news and information on current events organized by the members of the Association there.
The administrator of the page is the student of South Ural State University from Turkmenistan Gulnara Khodzhieva. She says that during the time of distant learning all students need special support. In order to stay active, she regularly conducts surveys for international students.
“I have conducted several surveys, for example, “Which Country Are You From?”, “What Languages Do You Know or Would Like to Learn?”. Students answer the questions very actively. A contest for the best photo has been held recently. The winners were awarded souvenirs with the SUSU logo. We have also had a live broadcast with the students from Kazakhstan, who were singing songs and playing guitar,” says the student.
She also noted that she had launched the #утросАИС column recently, where she posted various motivating quotes every morning. According to Gulnara, it is very important for students to be inspired and not to lose positive attitude.
A student from Sri Lanka Sanjana Prabod takes photos and videos for Instagram. In the South Ural Association of International Students he conducts volunteer activities. Sanjana started his hobby two years ago when he came to live and study in Chelyabinsk. He notes that there is nothing complicated in his hobby: he takes photos with a common camera, and all his videos are made and edited with the application on his smartphone.
“I love creating various videos that can provide any useful information or advice for the audience. I usually shoot videos about student life in Russia and at SUSU in particular. I shoot video greetings in different languages. But now in the period of the coronavirus infection I try to make videos, which tell about the way we help and support each other. All international students, not only from SUSU, but from other universities as well, cannot return home and they miss their relatives. Here we stick together, and I am happy to share these inspirational videos”, says Sanjana.
According to the administrator of the Instagram page, now they are shooting a video with the active members of the South Ural Association of International Students, after which they will conduct surveys on various topics and hold contests. In the future, the students plan to have their YouTube channel, the concept of which is still in development.