Visit of the Minister of Education of the Republic of Botswana to SPbPU

21 June 2016 International activities 1462

Unity Dow, the Minister of Education and Professional Development visited Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.

Visit of the Minister of Education of the Republic of Botswana to SPbPU

The delegation consisted of Lameck Nthekela, the Ambassador of the Republic of Botswana to Russia and Sweden,, Dorcas Perry, the director of the Education Department of the Ministry and Professor of Botswana International University of Science and Technology.

Visit of the Minister of Education of the Republic of Botswana to SPbPU

At the meeting with D.G. Arseniev, the Vice-Rector for International Relations, SPbPU, Madam Dow discussed the opportunities of bilateral cooperation between SPbPU and universities of Botswana."The purpose of my visit is to straighten the cooperation between Botswana and Russia, particularly among the universities of our countries, since we have common goals," the Minister of Education of Botswana commented.

D.G. Arseniev told the distinguished guests about Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, showing on an example of our university what policy in the field of higher professional education the Ministry of Education and Science (Russia) pursues.

Visit of the Minister of Education of the Republic of Botswana to SPbPU

As D.G. Arseniev noted, over the last 10 years major educational reforms, initiated by President V.V. Putin, have been taking place in Russia,. Since then three really important international programs have been implemented. The goal of these programs is to choose the most outstanding universities for their support and promotion at the international level. D.G. Arseniev pointed out that the Polytechnic University has entered all three ministry programs: firstly, SPbPU was given the status of an innovative university, then – that of a national research university, and now the Polytechnic University is participating in the program of enhancing the competitiveness of the leading Russian universities in the global education market - Project 5-100.

Madam Dow took an interest in the state programs and various aspects of SPbPU participation in them.

Visit of the Minister of Education of the Republic of Botswana to SPbPU

Since some professors of Botswana International University of Science and Technology attended the meeting, D.G. Arseniev focused on the international educational programs, developed in SPbPU. "The doors of SPbPU will always be open for our colleagues, partners and, of course, students", the Vice-Rector for International Relations says. "At the moment more than 200 students have been studying at our university, half of them get a scholarship from the Ministry of Education and Science (Russia)." The Botswana students studying at SPbPU were invited to the meeting. They told the distinguished compatriots about their life and studies at the Polytechnic University.

Along with the Vice-Rector for International Relations, Adviser to the Vice-Rector for International Relations V.A. Dolgopolov, Head of the International Cooperation Office E.V. Satalkina and Director of the Institute of International Educational Programs A.M. Alessankov spoke about the Polytechnic University and answered the colleagues’ questions.

After watching a video about opportunities and achievements of the Polytechnic University both in the field of science and international relations, the Minister of Education of Botswana noted that in the recent years more and more students from Southern Africa have been choosing Russian universities. Therefore, the first thing to do is to establish international student exchange programs. "We want Botswana students to come to Russia and develop their competences", Unity Dow claims. "There are many young universities in Botswana, so it can be interesting for our students to study in the university rich in history and traditions." They also preliminarily discussed teacher exchange at the meeting.

During the visit to SPbPU the delegation members of the Republic of Botswana became acquainted with living and studying conditions of the international students of SPbPU: they visited the Main Building and the dormitory for international students, learned about the infrastructure of the international campus.

At the end of the meeting the Minister of Education of Republic of Botswana Unity Dow said: "We hope that the cooperation and friendship between Botswana and Russia will go beyond the field of education. People think that our countries are far apart, but they are not. The more we know about each other, the stronger our cooperation will be.”

Media Center, SPbPU

Print version