RAFU signed agreements with leading universities in Algeria

The 12th meeting of the mixed intergovernmental Russian-Algerian commission on trade, economic, scientific, and technical cooperation was held in Algeria under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Patrushev. Polytechnic University, as a coordinator of the consortium ‘Russian-African Network University’ (RAFU), took part in the meeting as a member of the delegation of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, headed by Deputy Minister Konstantin Mogilevsky.

Konstantin Mogilevsky held a meeting with the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Algeria, Kamel Baddari, where further steps to strengthen cooperation were discussed. The focus was on academic exchanges and scientific cooperation.

Many young Algerians are interested in Russian education, including mathematical and technical specialties, so educational cooperation between our countries has the broadest prospects, said Konstantin Mogilevsky.

Dmitry Patrushev stressed that the dialogue within the framework of the Russian-Algerian intergovernmental commission has proved its effectiveness and has become a key mechanism for cooperation in a wide range of areas.

Algeria is one of Russia's leading trading partners in Africa. At the meeting, the commission signed inter-university agreements in the field of academic exchanges and joint educational programs between St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) and a number of Algerian universities, including Ouari Bouamedienne University of Science and Technology, Abdelhamid Ibn Badis University (Mostaganem), National School of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and Abou el Kassem Saadallah University. In addition, three Algerian universities joined the Russian-African Network University consortium.

Representatives of RAFU and Politech, Head of the RAFU Project Office Maxim Zalyvsky, Secretary of the RAFU Presidium, Deputy Head of the International Cooperation Department of SPbPU Alla Mazina, and Professor of the Graduate School of Mechanical Engineering of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Materials, and Transport Hamouda Khaled presented the activities of the consortium and the university in the universities of Algeria.

The National School of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology held a conference for students and staff of the university, presented the main educational programs of SPbPU, the features and methods of admission to Russian universities (quota of the Government of the Russian Federation, international Olympiad ‘Open Doors: Russian scholarship'), and discussed the development of educational and scientific cooperation between the universities of RAFU. The participants of the conference asked questions about Master's and PhD studies, scientific cooperation, development of academic mobility, and joint short-term programs (summer and winter schools).

Students of the National School expressed interest in cooperation with SPbPU within the framework of student associations or international student projects. An agreement was reached on mutual participation in the 'Visiting Professor' program in nanotechnology and related disciplines.

Algeria is an important partner for Russia, and the history of our cooperation is very rich. Interaction between the universities of the two countries is developing thanks to the support of Algerian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Kamel Baddari. He graduated from a Russian university and speaks Russian very well.

"Today the educational bridge between Russia and Algeria is taking new forms. Thanks to RAFU consortium activities, education is transformed into a tool for co-development, where knowledge infrastructure is created, where engineering solutions are born in the dialogue of cultures, and graduates become architects of the sustainable future of their countries." said Dmitry Arseniev, Vice-Rector for International Activities of SPbPU.