As part of the international student meeting 'Among peers: the image of future partnership as seen by the youth', 90 students from universities of the CIS countries and Russia have visited EkoNiva's tour project in Voronezh oblast. Here, they got acquainted with modern dairy production and met with Stefan Dürr, EkoNiva Group President.

The student meeting has been held for the second time in Voronezh and brought together more than 350 participants from 30 regions of Russia and other countries, such as Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. One of the partners of the event was EkoNiva Group.

The visitors had the opportunity to taste delicious and healthy dairy products from EkoNiva on their arrival on Dobrino farm. The students sampled hard and semi-hard cheeses, milk, sour cream, yoghurts and quark desserts. Further, the guests went on a tour of the cutting-edge dairy facility. The students visited the calf pen, and later, the grazing area for the cows. The young people also learnt about the care, feeding and growing of animals into adults. In addition, the students watched the operation of the rotary milking parlour.

‘I've never seen production on such a scale before and I'm impressed by it. This is a unique tour: the people here are very hospitable, the company uses high technologies, the cows are kept in excellent conditions, they are taken care of by specialists – that's why the milk is so delicious’, says Akmalsher Rakhimov, a student of Tashkent University of World Economy and Diplomacy.

Then, Stefan Dürr met with the students. The lecture on a modern vertically integrated agricultural holding using EkoNiva as an example smoothly flowed into an informal conversation. Stefan Dürr talked about his first visit to Russia and the difficulties of his occupation, answered all the guests' questions and offered some useful advice to the young people.

‘To achieve ambitious goals in your profession, you should learn how to be a leader, understand the basic economic features of your business, continue to grow and acquire new knowledge, and above all, work for the team's success’, says Stefan Dürr.

The organisers of the international student project 'Among peers: the image of future partnership as seen by the youth' are already planning the third forum, which will take place next year, and hope to keep working with EkoNiva in the future.