SPbPU strengthens cooperation with universities in the Republic of Mali

A delegation from Polytechnic University visited the city of Bamako in Mali. Issa Togo, Associate Professor of the Graduate School of Hydraulic and Power Engineering of SPbPU, and Pavel Nedelko, Assistant Vice-Rector, held a number of talks with the administration of local universities and lyceums.

The work of the Polytechnic delegation coincided with the visit of Konstantin Mogilevsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, to the Republic of Mali. He met with the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Republic of Mali Burema Kansai. Representatives of SPbPU and Malian universities participating in the consortium of the Russian-African Network University were invited to the discussion. Among the guests of the event was Professor Sogoba Jacqueline Konate, head of the «National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics», who visited Polytechnic in September within the framework of the RAFU Summer University.

Mr. Burema Kansai shared the plans to develop targeted education for Malian Masters and PhD students at Polytechnic University in the field of artificial intelligence, energy, construction, hydraulic engineering and other areas important for the country’s development. In addition, the participants discussed cooperation aimed at developing the concept of engineering education. They discussed in detail the creation of a new polytechnic university in Mali under the coordination of SPbPU and the Russian-African Network University. This idea was supported by Konstantin Mogilevsky.

Pavel Nedelko together with PFUR representatives met with students at Lyceums Dramane and Lumiere. He introduced them to the history of the Polytechnic University and St. Petersburg. The guys were interested in the directions of training at Polytechnic and opportunities to study Russian. They were especially surprised that there are white nights in St. Petersburg.

Lyceum Bruyère hosted a festival of Russian-Mali culture with the support of the Russian Embassy in Mali. Polytechnics together with African colleagues and students performed traditional Russian and Malian songs, recited poems by Russian classics.

The Information Center of SPbPU and RAFU, which opened in 2023, hosted a webinar for Malian applicants. The event was attended by 350 students from Malian universities, including the University of Sciences, Engineering and Technology of Bamako, the private university Ahmed Baba, the Agrarian Polytechnic Institute, and the Higher National School of Engineers of Mali. Six representatives of the National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics applied for participation in the International Olympiad Open Doors: Russian Scholarshipp, to study at SPbPU’s graduate school free of charge.