The Bronze Scholar in Polotsk will celebrate International Students' Day for the first time

November 16, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The bronze schoolboy will celebrate the International Students' Day for the first time together with students of Polotsk State University. The monument opening will take place on October 17 near the former cadet corps, where the university's Faculty of Information Technologies is currently located, PSU Vice-Rector for Educational Work and Social Issues Vikentiy Tsygankov told a BELTA correspondent. The sculpture of a medieval student is a tribute to the first higher education institution in Belarus, which was the Polotsk Jesuit Collegium founded by Stephen Báthory in 1581. The height of the newly minted student is 1.8 m, and the weight is 400 kg. According to Vikentiy Tsygankov, the medieval scholar will become a good mascot for Polotsk students and will give rise to many superstitions during exam sessions. It is worth noting that the authors of the idea - the university administration - decided to immortalize not only the schoolboy but also the modern student in metal. Unlike medieval Europe, when only men could study at universities, now there are more and more young ladies in universities, so the image of modern students should be embodied by a sculpture of a girl. It will be installed near one of the new buildings of PSU - in Novopolotsk. Polotsk University is perhaps the only educational institution in Belarus whose faculties are located in two cities. In Polotsk, the first officially declared cultural capital of Belarus, the country's history and culture are treated with respect and awe. About two dozen sculptures and monuments remind of the glorious past. Among them are monuments to legendary figures - Euphrosyne of Polotsk, Francysk Skaryna, Prince Vseslav Bryachislavich nicknamed Sorcerer, and there are also unusual ones, such as the sculpture of a cunning merchant or a composition in honor of the Belarusian letter "ў". The Polotsk schoolboy will take a worthy place among these attractions. -0-