I realized a great opportunity to participate in the PIFI program and, having received a grant, visit the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing. The staff of Professor Bi Yuhai’s laboratory and Professor Bi himself treated me very warmly. Before this, I had visited CAS several times, but all those visits were short-term. This time I had the opportunity to observe how the system works and to be engaged in it. I was really impressed by the well-equipped laboratories and facilities of CAS’s Institute of Microbiology. The staff is well organized and it was very pleasant to see how many young researchers and students are in the institute.

PIFI helped me to explore a small piece of China with its amazing traditional culture and modern heritage. I climbed the Great Wall, enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the Forbidden City and explored old palaces.

The institute is in an awesome location, just next door to the Olympic Forest Park and the Bird’s Nest. I took the time to admire the beauty of the city’s museums, forest parks and illuminations every evening when I got home after a busy day. Sometimes, I couldn’t believe that my location is in the city center, not far from CAS, on account of the beautiful nature that surrounded me.

As a Professor of Novosibirsk State University, I communicate a lot with students in my classes and it is always a big interest to talk to future scientists, to get to know more about their hobbies and plans for the future. On my visit to Beijing I had the great opportunity to communicate with Chinese students during workshops and outside of the lab. We discussed and designed articles together in the office and talked about scientific issues while drinking coffee in a café. I was happy to help with recommendations to improve their manuscripts or to share my experience in my field of scientific interest.

I was also given the chance to participate in several interesting workshops that are useful for future collaborations. Throughout my journey I met many people from different research and business areas, which gave me the chance to extend the cooperation between my institute and CAS, as well as to deepen and establish a lasting network with fellow Chinese colleagues.

Through spending time with my Chinese colleagues, both in the office and by visiting some wonderful sights at the weekend, I learned more about Chinese traditions and the way of life of ordinary people. Some facts are similar to Russia, but other traditions surprised me. I tasted the different cuisine of China while eating out at different restaurants, at which new projects were discussed and new scientific points for joint research were found. I believe that my visit to Beijing and CAS will lead to fruitful and stable collaboration and it is only a beginning of long-term joint scientific interest and friendship.

Source: Marina Gulyaeva,

Institute of Microbiology,

Chinese Academy of Sciences