Opening of the SPbPU-RAFU Information Center in Morocco

On December 4, 2024 within the framework of the Days of RAFU and SPbPU in Morocco, in the capital of the country, Rabat. The official opening of the Information Center of St. Petersburg Polytechnic University and the consortium «Russian-African Network University» (RAFU) took place on the site of the Center for International Cooperation of the Russian-Moroccan Alliance (RMA).

The official opening ceremony of the Information Center of SPbPU and RAFU was attended by Vladimir Baibakov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Morocco, Alexander Sen, Head of the Russian House in Rabat, Abdellatif El Ansari, Senator of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco, 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, 1983 graduate of Polytechnic University Abdellatif Abid, ambassadors and consul of other African countries and rector of leading Moroccan universities.

The official ceremony was opened by Vladimir Baibakov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Morocco, who thanked all those involved in this event for promoting Russian education on the African continent and strengthening Russian-Moroccan relations.

The main goal of the center is to develop scientific and educational partnership 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.

Said Zouhir, President of the Russian-Moroccan Alliance, welcomed the guests of the event and thanked the Polytechnic University and the Russian-African Network University 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 higher education, to be followed by others: culture, economy and investment.

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

The opening of the SPbPU-RAFU 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 Center was presented at its opening by St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University LETI, M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University, and Russian State University for the Humanities.

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

As part of the opening ceremony of the Center, the Russian-Moroccan Alliance and three Moroccan universities joined the RAFU consortium.

Dmitry Arseniev, Vice-Rector for International Affairs of SPbPU, thanked all the participants and guests of the ceremony in his speech: Today we are opening the Information Center of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University and the Russian-African Network University Consortium on the site of the representative office of the Russian-Moroccan Alliance in Rabat. This event is another confirmation of how actively the cooperation between Russia and Morocco is currently developing. Together with the Alliance we plan to develop and implement in this Center the 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!