Opening of SPbPU-RAFU Information Center in Morocco

On December 4, 2024, within the framework of the RAFU and Politech days in Rabat (Morocco), the official opening of the “Information Center of St. Petersburg Polytechnic University and the consortium ‘Russian-African Network University’ (RAFU) took place. The ceremony was held on the site of the Center for International Cooperation of the “Russian-Moroccan Alliance” (RMA).

The official opening ceremony was attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Morocco Vladimir Baibakov, Head of the Russian House in Rabat Alexander Sen, Senator of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco Abdellatif El Ansari, President of the Association of SPbPU Alumni in Morocco Omar Sabri, Honorary Consul General of the Russian Federation in Agadir and Ambassador of Russian Education and Science Abdellatif Abid (a 1983 graduate of Polytechnic), as well as ambassadors and consuls of other African countries and rectors of leading Moroccan universities.

The main goal of the center is to develop scientific and educational partnerships with Moroccan universities, to promote Russian education on the African continent, to teach Russian language, and to prepare applicants wishing to enter SPbPU and other Russian universities of RAFU.

The opening of the Information Center is a landmark event not only for Moroccan universities. The popularity of Russian education in Africa is also the result of the large-scale work of the RAFU consortium. In addition to Polytechnic, the RAFU consortium in Rabat was represented by V. I. Ulyanov (Lenin) St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University “LETI,” M. K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University, and Russian State University for the Humanities.

President of the Alliance Said Zuhir welcomed the guests of the event and thanked the universities of RAFU for the implementation and success of this initiative, which is in harmony with the policy of diplomatic relations between King Mohammed VI and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin: The Center for International Cooperation has taken on the task of contributing to the strengthening of Russian-Moroccan relations at all levels. We started with the sphere of higher education, which will be followed by others: culture, economy, and investments.

The Information Center is fully equipped with the necessary equipment for training, information materials about the Russian universities of RAFU, and methodological literature, and it has unlimited access to online educational resources that can be useful in the learning process.

The objectives of the SPbPU-RAFU Information Center are to attract African students to study in Russia, to improve the quality of language training of foreign applicants, to develop joint educational programs and research projects, and to develop academic mobility programs. The Center will help applicants to get acquainted with Russian universities participating in RAFU and make a more informed and correct choice of future specialty. Here they will be able not only to get information about training directions and admission procedures but also to learn in detail about grants and scholarships in Russia.

The partners signed an agreement on the entry of the Russian-Moroccan Alliance and three Moroccan universities into the RAFU consortium.
 
Dmitry Arseniev, Vice-Rector for International Activities of SPbPU, thanked all the participants and guests of the ceremony: “Today we open the information center of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University and the consortium ‘Russian-African Network University’ on the site of the representative office of the ‘Russian-Moroccan Alliance’ in Rabat. This event is another confirmation of how actively cooperation between Russia and Morocco is currently developing. Together with the Alliance, we plan to develop and implement in this center programs of preparation for studying in Russian universities. And we hope that the information center will become a new step in strengthening Russian-Moroccan scientific and educational cooperation.