SPbPU educational tour to Morocco

Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) is actively promoting Russian engineering education in Morocco. An important step was the opening of the Information Center of SPbPU and the Russian-African Network University (RAFU) consortium) in December 2024 in partnership with the Russian-Moroccan Alliance (RMA). In a few months, the center has become a key platform for career guidance and presentations of the university’s educational programs. Polytechnic University was represented in Morocco by Deputy Head of the International Education Department Tatiana Sytnikova and Project Office Specialist Alexandra Le Gall, while RMA President Said Zouhir attended the exhibition.

The educational initiative gained momentum in April 2025. SPbPU delegation joined a large-scale exhibition at the Russian Cultural Center in Rabat, organized with the support of Rossotrudnichestvo. The event gathered more than 400 participants — schoolchildren, parents and journalists. The guests studied in detail the bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in engineering, as well as the conditions for obtaining scholarships, including quotas of the Russian Government. Alexander Sen, Head of the Russian House in Rabat, noted at the opening ceremony that interest in the Russian language in Morocco has grown significantly.

It is interesting that the guys are eager to learn Russian specifically in Russia, although we offer courses in Morocco as well. As parents and teachers explain, the key factor is immersion in a cultural environment. St. Petersburg with its unique atmosphere becomes an ideal choice for them, emphasized Tatiana Sytnikova.

The next stage of the tour was a visit to Casablanca, where the SPbPU delegation held a series of meetings at three Moroccan international schools and a lyceum. More than 800 students learned about promising areas of training: biomedical technologies, artificial intelligence, civil engineering and international trade.

On April 10, within the framework of the largest educational exhibition in Morocco — the International Student Forum in Casablanca — SPbPU presented a unique pre-university training program in French. The course includes not only intensive study of the Russian language, but also training in mathematics, physics and the basics of engineering. This will allow students to smoothly integrate into the Russian academic environment. Already in the first days of the exhibition, more than 600 participants — applicants and their parents — visited SPbPU’s booth. A special emphasis was placed on working with parents: the university representatives told in detail about security, the infrastructure of the SPbPU international campus and the cultural adaptation program. Parents were particularly interested in internship opportunities in partner companies.

The Student Forum in Casablanca will continue until Sunday. The organizers note that by the second day several thousand guests had already visited the exhibition: not only schoolchildren and parents, but also university graduates, students from Europe and Asia, as well as representatives of recruiting agencies. The latter are actively seeking sustainable educational partnerships for African applicants, noting the growing demand for Russian programs in IT, energy and bioengineering. North Africa today is one of the most open regions for educational exports. SPbPU, as a flagship of engineering education, is becoming a key ‘hub’ for such collaborations, explained Tatiana Sytnikova.