International Students Set Out on a Search for Dinosaur

16 August 2017

Thirty students from France, Zambia and Russia took part in a National Research Tomsk State University field trip.

Most students are on a double degree master’s programme "Historical and Regional Geology" at TSU, a joint project with University of Lille 1 (France) launched in 2013. The programme is aimed at training specialists in stratigraphy (study of rock layers) and palaeontology (study of fossilised remains of ancient animal and plant life). Lectures for international students are delivered in English; basic Russian study is an option. Graduates are awarded diplomas from both universities.

Practice included study and description of rock strata that formed two to 100 million years ago. The young geologies camped on the bank of the river Kiya in the vicinity of Shestakovo village, Kemerovo Region which has a plethora of rare geological features and animal fossils. It is a regular excavation area where two completely preserved skeletons of psittacosaurus and remains of a sauropod, the largest of all ancient pangolins were recently found. This summer, digs are carried out by Moscow and Kemerovo palaeontologists. The students got acquainted with the researchers and gained an insight into fieldwork.