Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
In mid-February, a general meeting of the participants of the Russian-African Network University consortium was held online. They summed up the results of their activities for 2024 and agreed on a work plan for 2025. The event was attended by Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia Stepan Sokolov, Vice-Rector for International Affairs of SPbPU Dmitry Arsenyev, Head of the RAFU Project Office Maxim Zalyvsky, Secretary of the RAFU Presidium, Deputy Director of International Cooperation Alla Mazina, Honorary Consul of Mali in St. Petersburg, Associate Professor of the Higher School of Hydraulic Engineering and Power Engineering Issa Togo and more than 70 representatives of 40 Russian universities participating in RAFU.
Stepan Sokolov noted that Russian-African relations have a long history, where cooperation in science and higher education has always occupied a significant place and often became an important link between our countries and peoples. Hundreds of thousands of African students have received high-quality higher education in Russia.
Today, many African countries show a noticeable interest in strengthening and developing cooperation with the Russian Federation. This is evident at various levels: from the willingness to improve the regulatory framework to active participation in international forums and bilateral meetings. However, we cannot stop there. It is necessary to constantly expand the horizons of opportunities and develop cooperation. First of all, with focus countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Niger and Nigeria, Stepan Aleksandrovich emphasized.
A promising direction also seems to be the development of cooperation between the RAFU consortium and the African Union and African universities, primarily in terms of training African teachers.
The activities of SPbPU within the RAFU consortium have become an important vector of development, corresponding to the geopolitical interests of Russia. In a year and a half, we have given new dynamics to cooperation with African countries, expanded the geography of the consortium and made the RAFU brand recognizable in the international arena. We have not only restored the domain and updated the content of the site, but also turned it into an educational portal, posting more than 120 online courses for African colleagues, – noted Dmitry Arsenyev.
This work has already yielded results. The number of participants has doubled, and the geography of cooperation has covered 15 African countries. RAFU participates in major international forums. This year alone, its members took part in such events as the World Festival of Youth and the Congress of Young Scientists in Sochi, the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, the BRICS Education Ministers’ Meeting in Moscow, the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, and many others.
The participants of the general meeting highly appreciated the work of the consortium and Polytechnic University as its coordinator. In 2025, RAFU will continue to work on developing cooperation and expanding the geography of the consortium’s activities on the African continent.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.