2013 SU Update: Volunteer Training Centre opens in Kazan

KAZAN – The Kazan 2013 Volunteer Training Centre was officially inaugurated at Kazan State Medical University (KSMU), April 9th. The event was attended by Deputy Director of the Health Care Department of Kazan Marat Gataullin, Advisor to the Director General and Chief of Staff of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate Larisa Sulima, KSMU Rector Alexey Sazonov and other officials.

In his welcome speech Alexey Sazonov urged the students attending the event to join the Kazan 2013 volunteering movement, stating that KSMU was assigned an important part of training medical volunteers for the 2013 Summer Universiade. “Kazan has an excellent chance to justify its title of Russia’s third capital after staging the best ever World University Summer Games,” he said.

For her part, Larisa Sulima noted that the Kazan 2013 Games organizers have great expectations for KSMU volunteers. “Today is a historic moment. It’s the opening of the Volunteer Training Centre. Quite soon you are to take a Hippocratic Oath and I hope that the first contribution you are going to make as specialists will be your involvement in the 2013 Summer Universiade,” she stated.

During the event there was a presentation of the Kazan 2013 volunteers training programme delivered by Volunteers Department Director of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate Liliya Barieva. “Nearly 20,000 volunteers will be working at the World University Summer Games in Kazan,” she said.

Marat Gataullin presented the medical volunteers training programme. He revealed that future healthcare workers would be working in sports venues, medical facilities and spectator areas. “One of the most important areas of medical volunteers work is the Universiade Village which is to accommodate over 13,000 athletes and delegates during the Games. A Medical Centre will open this September and the Municipal Students Health Centre will move there”, the Deputy Director of the Health Care Department of Kazan summed up.

The event also featured a report made by KSMU hospital physician Aisylu Valeeva who shared her experience of volunteering at the 2011 Winter Universiade in Erzurum.

The event aroused keen interest of students and they were actively involved in discussion. First of all they asked how volunteers training would be organized, how volunteers would be supported, whether there were any other areas for volunteering apart from medical assistance and whether it was possible to postpone an exam period due to the 2013 Summer Universiade. According to Alexey Sazonov, the 2013 summer exam period will be discussed on the federal level and will concern all Kazan universities and institutes.

(Source: Media Department of Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate)