Russian education abroad: RUDN University hosts conference “Ambassadors of Russian Education and Science”

More than 70 people gathered at the conference:

• 13 new Ambassadors of Russian Education and Science from Burkina Faso, Vietnam, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Mozambique, Mongolia, the Republic of Guinea, Sri Lanka and Ecuador.
• representatives of Russian educational organizations from among the founders of the program “Ambassadors of Russian Education and Science”;
• members of the Consortium Council;
• representatives of international services of Russian higher education institutions;
• heads of the main educational divisions of RUDN University.

“Ambassadors of Russian Education and Science” is a RUDN University project that brings together graduates of Russian universities, government and public figures from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the CIS. They voluntarily and gratuitously promote Russian education, brands of Russian educational and scientific organizations, and the Russian education and science system as a whole in their countries.

Head of the Department of External Relations and International Projects of the Center for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation Elena Averkova spoke on key international humanitarian projects:

• “Russian Teacher Abroad” united 28 countries and 245 schools in the Association of Russian Schools Abroad. Its participants are Russian teachers who teach in foreign schools in Russian.
• International school “Interdom” named after E. D. Stasova has trained more than 5,000 foreign students. They return to their home countries taking prominent public and state posts there, and strengthening ties with Russia.

Acting Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation Nikolai Kudryavtsev stressed that Russia ranks 4th in the list of countries where current heads of foreign states and governments got their degrees. He added that currently in Russia there are 77 bilateral and 15 multilateral agreements in the field of mutual recognition of education, qualifications and academic degrees. Another 50 draft agreements are under development.

Ambassador of Russian Education and Science, General Director of the International Coordinating Council of Graduates of Educational Institutions (INCORVUZ-XXI) Kochofa Aniset Gabriel noted important areas of work to promote Russian education and science:

• mutual coordination of projects at the international level with the assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation;
• opening schools and centers for learning the Russian language with the support of Rossotrudnichestvo and Russian embassies in other countries.

The participants of the meeting shared their vision of the development and promotion of Russian education and science abroad. They suggested speeding up the registration of study visas for foreign applicants coming to Russia. The Ambassadors of Russian Education and Science also believe that it is necessary to involve Rossotrudnichestvo and the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation to supply textbooks on the Russian language and literature to Russian schools and Russian language learning centers created on the initiative of foreign graduates of Soviet and Russian universities.

Following the conference, participants outlined a work plan for 2025.