Philadelphia, PA- Mid-Atlantic Russia Business Council (MARBC) is delighted to host a delegation of faculty, students, and administrators from Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics, and Informatics (MESI). The leadership of the 40- member delegation includes the first-vice president of the university and the head of the international department. The MESI delegation will participate in a variety of events focused on furthering communication and cooperation between Russian and American universities, including meetings at Temple University, and at other area colleges and universities.

Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics (MESI) is one of the leading universities in Russia, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in economics, information systems, statistics, management, and business administration. The university prepares highly qualified economists, managers and specialists in IT, computer-sciences, statistics, economics, finance and banking. An innovative, educational, and scientific complex, MESI includes a student population of 10,000 students plus 150,000 regional students participating in the MESI Open and Distant Education system. The university is active in pursuing international co-operation opportunities as a participant of the Bologna process to allow academic mobility among European universities, and was the first Russian University certified according to the European System of Quality Management.

Unsurprisingly for a university with a tradition of international involvement and which has educated more than 2700 foreign students since 1949, MESI has a large alumni population outside Russia. The group is planning a reunion during their visit to Philadelphia with alumni now living in the United States and Canada.

MESI is also particularly active in promoting educational technology, citing innovative educational techniques and the use of modern information technology as central to educational program and important elements in the learning process. MESI was one of the pioneer universities in Russia in the introduction of distance education systems to the study process and maintains its leadership in usage of e-learning technologies. Significant credit for the development and implementation of the e-learning system at MESI belongs to the university's president, Vladimir P. Tikhomirov. Dr. Tikhomirov also serves as president of the Association of Economic Universities of the Russian Federation, the Eurasian Association of Distance Education, and the International Academy of Open Education.

MARBC looks forward to welcoming the MESI delegation.

For further details, please contact Val Kogan, Mid-Atlantic-Russia Business Council, by phone:

(215) 708-2628, email: val@ma-rbc.org, or visit the MARBC website at: http://www.ma-rbc.org