An official delegation from the University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (Republic of Mali) visited G. R. Derzhavin Tambov State University. The day before, the universities of the two countries had signed a cooperation agreement at the Economic and Humanitarian Forum held as part of the third Russia–Africa Summit. The institutions agreed to work closely together in science and education, prioritising promising fields such as biotechnology, medicine and healthcare.
The Malian delegation included the University's Rector, Mahamadou Diakité; Director of the Institute of Applied Sciences, Brahima Traoré; Head of International Cooperation, Cheick Oumar Tangara; and faculty member Noum Diarra.
The Russian side was represented by Yana Radyukova, Vice-Rector for Education, Youth Policy and Student Affairs; Elena Zueva, Vice-Rector for International Affairs; and the heads of the University's academic divisions.
‘Derzhavin University offers more than 200 educational programmes, covering every stage from school education to postgraduate and doctoral study. A significant proportion of these programmes are delivered in cooperation with leading industry partners. This year, for example, we launched a new bioengineering programme together with Severstal PJSC, one of the largest mining and metallurgical companies,’ said Yana Radyukova, Vice-Rector for Education, Youth Policy and Student Affairs at Derzhavin University. ‘We pay particular attention to educating international students: our University has 2,500 students from 60 countries. The largest number are enrolled at the Institute of Medicine and Health Sciences, which offers specialist degree programmes in Paediatrics, General Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy. We also provide secondary vocational education. We would be delighted to welcome talented young people from Mali among our students.’
The visit also included a roundtable discussion entitled ‘A Regional University as a Bridge for Russia–Africa Relations: The Experience of Derzhavin University’. Participants explored opportunities for cooperation between the two institutions in biotechnology, medicine and healthcare.
Elena Zueva, Vice-Rector for International Affairs at Derzhavin University, highlighted the key role of education in strengthening relations between Russia and African countries. She noted that over the past decade, Derzhavin University had trained more than 2,500 specialists for African countries in high-demand fields including medicine, management and the creative industries.
The visiting delegation also learned about the work of the laboratory at the Research Institute of Natural Sciences and Derzhavin University's Accreditation and Simulation Centre.
At the end of the meeting, Mr Mahamadou Diakité, Rector of the Malian university, invited representatives of Derzhavin University to make a return visit to the Republic of Mali to learn more about its higher education system and the scientific potential of African countries.
