The Learned Cat Made Over 3,000 Predictions: How RUDN University's Week at the International Youth Festival Went

Student atmosphere, a digital avatar, the “Lamp of Ideas” art object, and the Learned Cat handing out predictions — within a week, RUDN’s stand became not a display case with brochures, but a grand story of a grand university, told across 48 square meters.

Four zones — four scenarios of student life

All zones of the stand operated continuously from the first to the last day of the festival:

• “The Dorm Room” — university daily life with a touch of humor, guarded all week by the mascot of student life, the Learned Cat.
• “The Coworking Space” — a space for board games and live interaction, where guests from different countries got to know each other.
• “The Card Catalog” — a library with facts about the university as a place of strength, stories of student life, and the continuity of generations.
• “The Kitchen” — an interactive refrigerator that allowed visitors to “cook” dishes from various regions of the world, earn the title of “Best Dorm Chef,” and watch humorous videos of foreigners trying Russian cuisine.

Multimedia installations attracted the most guests

Predictions from the Learned Cat. The younger brother of the sculpture that has resided in RUDN’s library since 2018, was petted on his student cap over 3,000 times during that week — and just as many times the cat predicted what lay ahead for guests.

What the Learned Cat’s predicted:

• In the new year, your horizons will expand: you will master Latin American dances, learn to write Chinese characters, and play African drums.
• In the new year, you will discover what it means to be part of something bigger. A university is a space where ideas become events, and events become traditions.
• “You will find order in what seems like chaos.” The S.M. Nikolsky Mathematical Institute of RUDN University studies complex mathematical systems and develops models for finding patterns in physical, biological, and other processes.

The “Lamp” Art Object. Guests shared ideas on how to make the world a better place and uploaded them via a touch panel. Each idea lit up the lamp and triggered a welcome animation for its author.

“Digital Avatar.” Visitors could see themselves in traditional attire from Latin America, Asia, Africa, or the Middle East. Each image assembled key elements of the region’s traditional clothing — resulting in an unusual costume.

The Refrigerator in the “Kitchen” Zone. The title of “Best Dorm Chef” spread around the world in a week: guests from all corners of the globe eagerly selected a dish, received a recipe, and proudly tried on this title.

The menu was designed so that everyone could find something familiar — or discover something entirely new. From Asia — “Troubles Are Over,” from Latin America — the delicate “Angel’s Hair,” from the Near and Middle East — a dish with the telling name “Kiss,” from Africa — the spicy and vibrant “Chakalaka,” and from Russia and the CIS — “Tetyory,” a dish from Arkhangelsk that most guests had never heard of before. Recipes were studied, photographed, and taken home — perhaps to cook someday.

The Board Game “Situations and Memes.” Over the week, players from all over the world laid out cards, recognized themselves in various situations, and eagerly tried on the role of an internet hero.

Among the cards — “When a Foreigner Tries Russian Food for the First Time,” “What Does a Student’s Perfect Study Day Look Like?”, “When You Finally Get a Joke in Russian After Three Days,” “What Do Foreigners Do on the First Sunny Day After a Long Winter?”, “What Goes Through a Student’s Mind a Minute Before an Exam?” The question “What Does an International Student Take Away from Russia After Graduation?” made guests think the longest — and they answered in different ways, but always with a smile.

A celebration that lasts all year round at RUDN

Behind every installation was the real life of the university. RUDN is the leader in internationalization among Russian universities: over 42,000 students, postgraduates, and residents study here, of whom more than 13,000 are foreign citizens from 160 countries. The campus is home to over 500 peoples and nationalities. Over 66 years, more than 200,000 people have graduated from the university, and today they work in 170 countries around the world. For a week, the IYF was a celebration of international friendship, and at RUDN it is celebrated every day.

On 48 square meters, we managed to create a fragment of dorm life, warm interaction in the coworking space, a journey to different countries, dishes with unusual names, and national costumes from various regions of the world — and all week long, guests came up to us wanting to taste this slice of university life. Thank you to everyone who visited our stand and became part of this story.

Elena Apasova
Vice-Rector for Strategic Communications, RUDN University

“I felt like a real Latin American!”: What guests of the stand say

“The board game ’Situations and Memes’ directly reflects student life. So do photos in national costumes! I felt like a real Latin American!” — Amir, Palestine.

“It’s very warm and welcoming here, a pleasant atmosphere, and the stand itself is organized aesthetically and beautifully. What I liked most was the prediction installation — it’s like finding out your fate for the day,” — Ruhi Tushete, Mauritius.

“We saw how a chicken dish is prepared from simple ingredients in the ’kitchen,’ and we played games. I had no personal connection to RUDN, but I decided to learn about the university because many of my friends already study in Russia at various institutions,” — Ayush Thakur, India.

“I liked the concept of the stand. Especially how they communicate with foreigners here! Everyone is very kind. I like that different cultures are gathered in one place: national costumes, dishes, and even a dorm,” — Joshua, Argentina.

“The stand is very interesting and positive, I really enjoyed the meme games — it’s fun. I left my idea in the ’Lamp’: I wished that everyone always had a good day,” — Pratham Gupta, India.

“I met different people from different countries. I remember well how I lived in the dorm and how warmly the teachers treated me — I have only fond memories of my alma mater,” — Rodrigue Cecilio Coffi Kakpo, Benin, RUDN graduate.

“I liked the digital avatar and the opportunity to see myself in a Chinese costume,” — Sunita Patil, India.

“I pay attention to unconventional ways of conveying information. The interactive lamp caught my eye. Everyone has lots of ’toys,’ but you have something interesting — you feel like to coming over and reading,” — Valeria, Russia, Nizhny Novgorod.