International Scientific Contacts

From the ancient times, science has been developing due to exchange of ideas. In the Middle Ages, Western universities turned into important centers for scientific research and scholarship, with Latin being the language of scientific communication.

In the 20-th century, scientific research has become so important that it is no longer possible to describe any human society without according it its rightful place.

At present, mankind faces a lot of difficult and pressing problems that plague the world- the steady population increase, the diminishing of our resources, the multiplication of our wastes, the damage to the environment, the decay of the cities, and the declining quality of life, which are all interdependent and global in nature. Isaac Asimov, a well- known American science fiction writer, believes that only the scientists can solve these urgent problems on the basis of international co-operation.

According to Isaac Asimov, only the scientists best realize the serious nature of these problems. only the scientists can rise above the limitations of national and ethnic prejudice and speak in the name of mankind as a whole. The nations of the world are divided in culture, but wherever science exists at all, it is the same science, and scientists from anywhere and everywhere speak the same language, professionally, and accept the same mode of thought.

Scientific activity is at present passing through a period of particularly rapid development as compared with other human activities and may, broadly speaking, be said to be doubling in the course of each decade. The number of scientific journals and periodicals which was about 100 at the beginning of the 19-th century should be in the neighborhood of a million at the end of the 20-th century. The explanation is simple. Science is much more complex now. Instruments yield far more information and more space is needed for the interpretation of the results. A large number of these periodicals are international editions, which are published in English, the international language of science.

Nowadays, there are various ways of communication among scientists. The most important ones are the following:

1. Publications in learned journals, national and international, mentioned above. The scope of these is constantly increasing due to the Internet where one can find conference proceedings and other types of scientific editions. Many universities present their research results on their sites. Besides, there is an increasing number of books published.

2. Personal contacts among researchers are of importance. These promote exchange of research staff including exchange of graduate students, joint projects, joint publications, etc.

3. Agreements between universities and other learned institutions on research co-operation. Co-operation between Novosibirsk State Technical University and University of Ulsan (Republic of Korea) is an example of such contacts. This also includes exchange of teaching staff who are generally known as visiting professors.

4. International learned societies, with wide membership of researchers from all over the world. Very often this also includes student membership.

5. International scientific conferences which are conducted by practically every important research organization, with English being the working language. Novosibirsk being a well-known center for scientific research often becomes the venue of various international meetings. NSTU organizes a number of international scientific conferences; among these are Actual Problems of Electronic Instrument Engineering, held biannually; Parallel Computational Technologies (PACT); KORUS Symposium conducted at NSTU every three years.

6. International exchange programs and grants offered by some national and international institutions on the competition basis, the examples being the Fulbright Programs (USA), IREX (international research exchange, USA), DAAD which is the German abbreviation for German Academic Exchange Service, and others. Russian Fund for Basic Research (the Russian abbreviation being RFFI) also offers international grants for joint projects and research.

Summing up, it should be emphasized that the English language has become the language of research communication and mastering the language is of great significance to young researchers. Indeed, research contacts are extending, and it is beyond any doubt that they serve the progress of science and contribute to the benefit of mankind.

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