SPbPU presented the Russian-African Network University (RAFU) project in Tanzania

Tanzania hosted the first meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Russian-Tanzanian Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation. The parties agreed to start work on a whole range of issues, including science and higher education, and also emphasized the importance of developing a legal and regulatory framework for cooperation.

The Russian Center for Science and Culture (Russian House) in Tanzania hosted a Russian-Tanzanian inter-university meeting organized by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. Stepan Sokolov, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, made a welcoming speech and thanked the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Tanzania and the Russian House for their assistance in organizing our meeting.

Cooperation between Russia and Tanzania can significantly expand the sphere of interests and practical results in science, educational and methodological work, will improve the quality and universality of professional training, as well as will contribute to the familiarization of the peoples of Russia and Tanzania with the peculiarities of national cultures.

From the Tanzanian side the meeting was attended by representatives of the University of Dodoma, the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Tumaini University (DarTU), the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA).

On the Russian side, there were representatives from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Sevastopol State University, Samara State Technical University, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, Russian State University for the Humanities, and A. A. Kadyrov Chechen State University.

SPbPU was represented by Maxim Zalyvsky, head of the project office of the Russian-African Network University (RAFU), coordinated by Polytechnic on behalf of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science.

Representatives of Tanzanian universities received information about the Russian-African Network University Consortium (RAFU), which is the flagship project of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science to create a unified Russian-African educational space.

This year, from July to September, 19 Russian universities conducted 19 educational programs for African students in various areas: geology and meteorology, ecology and sustainable development, computer science and artificial intelligence, medical and biotechnology, agriculture and water management, as well as Russian language, culture and traditions. During the operation of the Summer University in 2024, about 290 African citizens have been trained.

On October 29 in the Pushkin Hall of the Russian House in Dar es Salaam agreements between Russian and Tanzanian universities were signed. The consortium «Russian-African Network University» signed memoranda on joining RAFU with Tumaini University (Dar es Salaam) and the Association of Alumni of Russian and Soviet Universities of Tanzania.

In addition, representatives of Russian universities took part in the opening ceremony of the exhibition at the Russian Center for Science and Culture dedicated to the USSR’s contribution to the liberation of African peoples from colonial oppression.

Together with the staff of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, Maxim Zalyvsky spoke at a business forum to strengthen business ties between Russia and Tanzania. The Russian delegation was headed by Maxim Reshetnikov, Head of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.

The importance of cooperation with Tanzania can hardly be overestimated. The country occupies a favorable position on the African continent, it could become for Russia, as well as in the global logistics chain, a continuation of the development of the North-South transport corridor. Now the parties are actively discussing the prospects of cooperation between Russia and Tanzania in agriculture, digitalization of the economy, tourism, Maxim Zalyvsky stressed.