Saint Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine participates in the project to establish the Polytechnic University of Bandiagara in Mali

As part of the agreement signed on the accession of St. Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine to the Russian-African Network University (RAFU), the university welcomed a delegation from the Republic of Mali.

The main negotiations focused on the implementation of a training program for Mali in the field of veterinary medicine, as well as the creation of joint programs for the professional development of Malian professors and scientists in related fields. Representing SPbSUVM were Kirill Plemyshov, Rector of SPbSUVM; Georgy Nikitin, Vice Rector for Research and International Relations at SPbSUVM; and Ekaterina Lyutik, Head of the International Relations Department at SPbSUVM. Representing Mali in the negotiations were Prof. Yakuba Dao, coordinator of cooperation between universities in the Republic of Mali and the Russian Federation; Ousmane Guindo, rector of the newly established Polytechnic University of Bandiagara (Mali); Ali Kansai, lecturer-researcher at the Polytechnic Agricultural Institute, responsible for the creation of the Faculty of Agriculture for Semi-Arid Zones, Aboubacar Bengali, lecturer-researcher at the Polytechnic Agricultural Institute, responsible for the creation of the Faculty of Agriculture for Semi-Arid Zones, and Ousmane Mariko, technical advisor to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Republic of Mali.

Guests were presented with educational programs in veterinary medicine that may be offered at the newly established Polytechnic University of Bandiagara. 

They visited the university's departments, learned about the educational process and the main laboratories, and visited the anatomy and pathology museums. The museum of the Department of Animal Anatomy at St. Petersburg State Veterinary Medical University is a unique collection of exhibits, with more than 2,500 unique items on display. All specimens in the Museum of Animal Anatomy were created exclusively by the department's staff and, in the vast majority of cases, consist of natural cadaver material. The museum's exhibits are used for educational purposes to help students study the structural features of various animals.

The delegation visited the Two Tigers big cat hospice in the Leningrad Region, a place created by a graduate of St. Petersburg State University for big cats that have become disabled for one reason or another, as well as for elderly big cats that cannot be taken in by regular zoos. Colleagues from Mali were told how and why hospice doctors care for these animals, and why these predators cannot be given to zoos or returned to their natural habitat.

The guests also visited the Pervomaiskoye farm, a breeding farm that has been raising dairy cattle for many years and producing raw milk, which is then sold under the Piskarevskoye brand. Breeding livestock at the enterprise, in the Priozersk district, and in the Leningrad region as a whole is at a high level, so the delegation members were very interested in listening to and exchanging experiences with the employees of Pervomaiskoye.

SPbSUVM acts as a platform for international cooperation, confirming the university's status as a hub for educational and scientific initiatives from different countries: SPbSUVM — connecting people.