The history of the Moscow State Linguistic University began almost a century ago — on July 10, 1930, the first Moscow Institute of New Languages was established in Moscow on the basis of higher courses of new languages, which later, in 1935, became the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages. In 1964, the institute was named after a prominent figure of the French and international workers’ and Communist movements, General Secretary of the French Communist Party Maurice Thorez, and it is under this name that it begins to become a major international brand. In 1990, the institute was transformed into the Moscow State Linguistic University (MGLU). On the eve of the MGLU anniversary, the editorial staff of the «Molecule» met and talked with Irina Arkadyevna Krayeva, rector of the University

MGLU is one of the oldest higher educational institutions in the country. Please tell us what the university is like now and what tasks do you set for yourself for its development in the next few years?

— The upcoming year 2025 is an anniversary year for us — the legendary Inyaz was founded in 1930, and we will celebrate its 95th anniversary with a series of events. The next event is the 25th anniversary of the university’s status as the Basic Organization for Languages and Culture of the CIS member states. This decision of the CIS Council of Heads of Government was adopted on November 30, 2000. In accordance with it, MGLU implements the following strategic directions: training specialists with knowledge of the CIS languages; implementation of educational programs; implementation of advanced training; development and deepening of cooperation; development, testing and dissemination of educational, methodological and scientific research materials; conducting fundamental and applied research.

We are also celebrating the 10th anniversary of the MGLU Pre-University, which educates children from grades 8 to 11 and implements two programs of basic general and secondary general education. The training involves compulsory study of two foreign languages. Over the past few years, students at the Pre-University have had the opportunity to study such oriental languages as Chinese, Japanese,

Korean and Arabic.

With a cultural and historical past rich in traditions, you need to constantly keep a high bar and prove your professional status to the expert community, while not forgetting the need to introduce innovations. It is no secret that over the past few years, there have been open discussions between scientists and others about the need for intensive use of digital technologies, including in the educational process. This is a serious challenge for us.: We take a balanced approach to the digitalization of linguistic education, making the most of it where it is appropriate and useful, and defending those positions that, in our opinion, do not need excessive technologization. Nevertheless, we are trying to keep up with the times, exploring the potential of artificial intelligence, paying special attention to inclusion in its broadest understanding and interpretation, as well as various types of social communication.

Inter—civilizational dialogue with the CIS countries has been and remains one of our key priorities, which is being implemented as part of a set of joint projects aimed at developing humanitarian cooperation in the scientific and educational field. The focus of our attention is also on modern youth. It is extremely important for us that today’s students who receive education at our university, at other Russian universities and outside our country know their past, appreciate the present and take care of the future.

How many languages are taught at MGLU today?

— There are currently 40 foreign languages taught at MGLU, their number is constantly growing in accordance with the vector of development of international cooperation, taking into account the interests of the Russian Federation and its reliable partners. By the way, we teach all the languages of the BRICS member states. We are closely monitoring the geopolitical picture of the world, the ongoing changes in the language policies of different countries, and, of course, we are taking timely measures to ensure that Russia is provided with highly qualified linguistic personnel who speak two or more foreign languages along with their native language.

We pay special attention to the professional component. The key to mastering a profession is a foreign language. This means that future sociologists, political scientists, lawyers, theologians, and cultural scientists receive not only industry knowledge, but are also able to translate it into the languages they study. This gives our graduates a number of advantages.

Please tell us about the number and structure of MSLU faculties.

The University has 7 institutes — the Institute of International Relations and Socio-Political Sciences, the Institute of Humanities and Applied Sciences, the Institute of International Educational Programs, the Institute of International Law and Justice, the Institute of Information Sciences, the Institute of Continuing Education, and the most famous institute — the M. Thorez Institute of Foreign Languages. The oldest faculty after the faculties of Inyaz, which includes the Faculty of German, the Faculty of French, and the Faculty of English, is the Faculty of Translation, where future specialists in the field of interlanguage and intercultural communication receive classical knowledge about the world, language, and language use. We also traditionally retain the faculty of distance learning, which is interesting for certain target audiences. Students have the opportunity to receive bachelor’s degree (4 years) and Master’s degree (2 years), specialty (5 years), as well as postgraduate studies (3 years). Many receive a second higher education within the walls of MGLU, not to mention the wide opportunities for completing a wide variety of advanced training and professional retraining courses.

What changes have taken place in the MGLU program over the past few years, in connection with the geo-political events?

— Linguistic education can only develop and cover new spaces. Regardless of the current geopolitical picture of the world, we continue to provide training in all previously announced languages and introduce new languages, including Oriental ones, which will be in demand now and in the future. The multipolar world, the formation of new international unions and associations, and their constantly changing configurations require us to be flexible in making decisions about the discovery and inclusion of a particular language in the palette of languages and cultures studied. We are in constant contact with employers and actively participate in the work of various interdepartmental commissions in order to ensure the relevance of linguistic education and contribute to the achievement of our goals and objectives. All this allows us to update educational programs, taking into account extralinguistic circumstances, improve the content of existing programs and offer different options for additional education programs.

We note that Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and French are particularly popular among today’s school graduates, there has been a steady interest in Arabic, Portuguese has become in demand, and among European languages, we emphasize the interest in German and Italian. Of course, everyone continues to learn English.

How is the university’s international cooperation being built now?Is there a way for the university to develop cooperation with the Gulf countries?

— We are focused on a multipolar world in which every country and every culture has a place. We respect our partners, which is why we are actively developing cooperation with 30 countries around the world and with more than 80 universities with glorious traditions and a stable reputation in the expert community.

We are currently working on issues of humanitarian cooperation with Oman and the UAE, and we see

possible prospects and fruitful cooperation in the field of science and education,

academic exchange and promotion of Russian as a foreign language.

How many students/teachers from the Gulf countries are currently at MGLU? Are there departments for students from Arab countries?What faculties are in demand among them?

— The Arab states of the Persian Gulf are very diverse. Cultural specificity

finds its expression in language, literature, music and other fields. Of course, in the course

of teaching Arabic language and culture, it is necessary to take into account some features of the dialects that have had a significant impact on the Arabic literary language.

At the university, we traditionally teach a language that will be more or less understandable to residents of Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. You can communicate in this language, read literature and the press, listen to the radio, and watch television programs. Specialization, in our opinion, should be carried out later during the internship in the country of the language being studied.

Many students complete internships, including in Arabic, for example, in Qatar or Oman. It is the practical application of the acquired knowledge that makes it possible to master the elements of spoken language and everyday communication adopted in each specific country.

At the moment, we employ native speakers of the Arabic language and culture from other countries of the Arab world. We hope that in the future, as humanitarian ties with the Gulf Region develop and deepen, teachers from well-known and reputable universities from the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf will also be involved.

So far, the number of students from these countries is not too large at the moment, it is only a few, but we are developing cooperation with this region, and their number will constantly grow and increase every year. After all, students also need to get used to the fact that there are now new players in the educational software market that can compete with American and European universities.

How can a student from the UAE enroll in MGLU?

— Today, the rules for admission for all foreign citizens are basically the same, they can be found on all official resources of both the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia and universities. Information can also be obtained through Rossotrudnichestvo. It is safe to say that anyone who wants to receive a high-quality Russian education, study the Russian language and culture, and master a sought-after profession can get comprehensive information from open Internet resources, websites of Russian universities and government agencies responsible for education and science. The procedure is quite simple, it involves filling out a questionnaire, attaching a package

of documents and an interview.

By the way, many universities, and our university is no exception in this sense, have a preparatory faculty, which makes it possible to learn the basics of the Russian language and feel quite comfortable as a first-year student.

MGLU has a goal to create a full-fledged expert consulting center by 2032. How is this work progressing now?

— MGLU sets a goal to acquire the status of an expert consulting center in the next decade. First of all, we are talking about the creation of language and cultural centers, scientific laboratories, educational and expert centers that already carry out expert activities and provide consulting services on a wide range of humanitarian issues and problems.

All these activities are carried out in accordance with the long-term development Program of the university and according to the developed roadmaps. Of course, we strive to meet all the targets that we are able to achieve.

Among the goals of the university set by you as rector is the creation of an endowment fund. How important is this for MGLU?

— It is important for any university, whether it is a reference university, an industry or research center. Of course, sponsorship requires the selection of the highest priority projects and scrupulous reporting, but this is one of the ways to solve the university’s pressing problems.

We are proud of our graduates who provide sponsorship to our university. I would especially like to highlight those graduates who support the students of our university by establishing personalized scholarships.

Students show their talents in the field of theory and practice of translation, which gives them the right to participate in the S. F. Goncharenko and M. D. Litvinova Scholarship competition.

As rector, I am glad to have the support of the MGLU staff, who took the initiative to establish the Rector’s award. The competition among students is very high, but it provides an opportunity to prove themselves, show their real achievements and receive high appreciation from the university community.

We are constantly working with our graduates, we invite them to mutually beneficial cooperation. And it works!