On January, 25 in MEPhI and Kolomenskoe park a grand celebration of the Student’s Day was held, in which more than 600 people took part. The event started from the solemn ceremony of handing in first grade books to the Pre-university students. Then everyone could take part in different sports competitions, organized by university sections. Youth played Ping-Pong, darts, did weightlifting, arm-wrestling. There was also an improvised biathlon where participants used snowballs instead of bullets. There were also field shooting, Nordic walking, tug of war. MEPhI sambo athletes, masters of sport and candidates to the Russian national team, organized exhibition performance. A surprise of the day was the flashmob, in which participants of the event represented huge letters from university’s name.

 Apart from intensive sports program, the guests’ attention was drawn to the representatives of historical fencing section, dressed in armour. In general, the atmosphere of the event helped transfer to another epoch: Old Russian costumes of presenters, horse riding, knights’ tournaments. Despite the cold weather (minus 11 degrees Celcius), organisers and participants were pleased with the event.

Alexander Gubanov, MEPhI student, organizer:

• All MEPhI sports sections were represented at the festivity, including our one, arm-wrestling. We wanted to give a chance for students and schoolchildren try this sport and compete with best sportsmen of the section.

Anna Burykina, MEPhI student:

• I liked everything: good music, energetic presenters, a lot of sections. The weather was bad, though: it’s too cold today. I tried darts, but it was hard because of the frost.

After the cold participants came to the university, where there were an intensive concert program, table football, air hockey and tasty things. Best university students were awarded diplomas and prizes for active participation in scientific and cultural life of MEPhI, success in studies, and sports achievements. MEPhI Pro-Rector in Education E.B.Vesna and Head of the Youth Policy A.K.Turchaninov handed in the awards. The military training department prepared the demonstration of light weapons.

Unversity foreign students also took part in the event. For example, Saeda Nukhul Akar Sultana, student of Bangladesh preparatory department, sang a Bengal folk song.

The key event of the day was the meeting of MEPhI administration representatives, headed by rector M.N.Strikhanov, with the best students of the Pre-university. The visitors learnt about MEPhI history, its successes and achievements, positions, which university holds in Russia and abroad, peculiarities of organization of the educational process, and got acquainted with institutes, strategic academic units. “We have a serious task to become one of the best universities of the world. Now it’s time of university’s active development. We enhance the system of double degree diplomas with strongest foreign universities, raise student mobility, and you can take part in all this if you try,” Mikhail Nikolaevich told students, expressing his wish to conduct such meetings on a regular basis. In the end, each student received an invitation to become MEPhI student, which will give benefits for enrollment.