Vice Chancellor of the Republic of Botswana University: “Our Goal is to Establish a Route between the Two Countries for Future Cooperation”

The Republic of Botswana, known for its famous Kalahari Desert, Tsodilo Hills and diamond placers, from year to year, keeps developing in various spheres and strives to adopt the best practices from other countries. One of the primary goals of the African continent is training highly qualified specialists capable to apply the acquired knowledge and skills in practice. For exactly this reason, on September 10, 2018, a representative delegation from the Botswana International University of Science & Technology (BIUST) visited Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. The delegation included Vice Chancellor Professor Otlogetswe TOTOLO and Director on Communication and Public Relations Mr. Keoagile M. RAFIFING.

This was not the first visit of the respectable representatives of the republic: in 2016, Minister of Education and RF Development of Botswana Ms. Unity DOW visited SPbPU.

“Our mission is to establish a route between the two countries for future cooperation between scholars, professors, and students,” Professor TOTOLO said in his greeting words. Welcoming the distinguished guests on behalf of the University, SPbPU Vice-Rector for International Relations D.G. ARSENIEV pointed out the readiness of SPbPU for cooperation and presented a broad spectrum of educational programs implemented at SPbPU. Foreign colleagues showed genuine interest in the international educational programs of Polytechnic University, modules of the International Polytechnic Summer and Winter Schools , and the student and teacher exchange programs.

In the result of negotiations, the parties agreed on holding introductory webinars for the International Polytechnic Summer School for BIUST students. Besides this, the nearest plans include video conferences between the two universities in which SPbPU and BIUST teachers will take part. The FabLabPolytech produced a strong impression on the guests: as the Vice Chancellor Professor TOTOLO pointed out, the idea of a FabLab will certainly be replicated at the Botswana University. In conclusion of the visit, Professor TOTOLO and Mr. RAFIFING visited the Gazprom-Polytech Science and Research Center, the Polytechnic Super Computer Center, and several laboratories of SPbPU.