Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
A working meeting with a delegation from the Ministry of Higher Education of Venezuela was held in the Committee for Science and Higher Education of St. Petersburg. The representatives of the friendly Latin American country were met by the Chairman of the Committee for Science and Higher Education Andrey Maksimov. Representatives of six universities of St. Petersburg took part in the meeting. The Polytechnic University was represented by the Head of the International Cooperation Department Vladimir Khizhnyak.
The Venezuelan delegation was headed by the Minister of People’s Power for Higher Education, Richardo Mujica. The delegation included the Director General of the Directorate of Integration and International Relations, Gasparri Rey, the Director of Bilateral Meetings of the International Relations Department, Jimenez Cubillán, and the First Secretary of the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the Russian Federation, Andrés González.
During the meeting, Andrei Maksimov briefly spoke about St. Petersburg, which is one of the largest scientific and educational centers in Russia. It concentrates over ten percent of the country’s scientific potential, with more than 350 scientific organizations, including about 60 organizations of the Russian Academy of Sciences and other state academies. The human resources potential of science and education in St. Petersburg exceeds 170,000 employees of scientific organizations and universities, including approximately 9,000 doctors of science and 26,000 candidates of science. Andrei Stanislavovich presented the work of KNVS in general and the interaction of St. Petersburg universities with universities in Venezuela, in particular.
Mr. Mujica began his speech by thanking Russia for supporting Venezuela in its fight against the aggressive policies of Western countries and expressing admiration for the courage and fortitude of the Russian people. He recalled that President Maduro had recently visited Russia, took part in events marking the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, and then visited St. Petersburg. Mr. Mujica also noted that Venezuela had adopted a program to develop cooperation with Russia in science and education. In accordance with this program, the number of students from this country in Russian universities should increase tenfold in the near future, from 200 to at least 2,000. A working group has been created at the Ministry to create an interuniversity university network of Venezuelan and Russian universities. It is planned to create joint programs and double degree programs. Priority areas of training are artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and new materials, agro-biotechnology, mining, etc. The issue of creating cultural and language centers in both Venezuela and Russia is also being worked on. The training of highly qualified personnel is also an urgent issue.
Vladimir Khizhnyak spoke about the Polytechnic University and suggested areas of cooperation. He noted that the university has students from Venezuela, but there are not many of them, and our institutes are ready to accept many more representatives of this country in numerous training programs, including in English. Summer and winter school programs may also be of interest to students from Venezuela. Joint supervision of postgraduate students, participation of leading professors in dissertation councils and in the “Visiting Professor” program are also a good start for cooperation.
Mr. Mujica responded positively to the proposal to visit the Polytechnic and conclude a cooperation agreement with the National Scientific University. It was opened recently and enjoys great support from the government of this country. He also noted that there are 25 polytechnic universities in Venezuela and he is ready to assist in establishing contacts with them. The country has adopted a 15-year program to support polytechnic universities.
Mr. Mujica noted that the people of Venezuela remember that back in 1786, their compatriot, the hero of the national liberation struggle Francisco Miranda arrived in Russia and spent almost a year traveling around it. Catherine II granted him the rank of colonel of the Russian army, and he also received a passport of our country. The Empress allocated Miranda a cash subsidy to fight the Spanish colonizers and ordered a military squadron to be sent to the shores of Venezuela. So the friendship between our countries has deep roots and the Ministry of Higher Education is ready to contribute to its strengthening in every possible way.
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