Craig’s building bridges with Russian University

Aug 28 2008 by Margaret Shaw, Hamilton Advertiser

AN Uddingston man is set to chalk up an academic first.

Craig Shevlin (27) and three other students are going to study in southern Russia.

The four students will also become the first Scottish students to participate in an exchange programme with a Russian institution. They will be studying at the State University of Civil Engineering in Rostov-on-Don.

A male and a female student from each institution have been selected to take part in the three-week exchange. All four students, who are in their final year of study at their respective institutions, have been selected because of their dedicated approach to their studies.

Craig, an HND civil engineering student at Stow College, and the three other students will head out to Rostov on Sunday. They will stay at the State University and spend their time on the exchange taking part in a range of civil engineering activities.

Craig was selected to take part in the exchange in recognition of the hard work he put in at college and the top marks he achieved last year. He commented: “I’m really looking forward to heading out to Russia - if slightly nervous! It’s exciting to be chosen as one of the first Scottish students to take part in a Russian exchange.

“I’m really looking forward to learning more about the differences between our two cultures and seeing how they do things over there. I’m sure there will be lots we can learn from them.

“I’m enjoying studying civil engineering at Stow and looking forward to graduating and finding a job next year. I’m hoping to find a job in consultancy and to continue my studies to work my way up to chartered status from there.”

Earlier this year, Stow College welcomed two students from the Rostov-on- Don State University of Civil Engineering, who spent four weeks studying civil engineering at the college. They also experienced time on placements with various industry partners including Laing O’Rourke, Glasgow City Council and Scott Wilson Railways, to learn about the realities of the Scottish construction industry.

Stow College signed an agreement with the prestigious Russian university last year, and there are hopes that the exchange programme will grow from strength-to-strength over coming years. The agreement, which is the first ever in the UK between a college and a Russian university, is designed to allow both institutions to learn from one another. Rostov-on-Don State University benefits from the opportunity to learn about European health and safety codes and regulations, and Stow College benefits from access to the academic rigour at the second-largest civil engineering university in Russia.