UNN defines a new vector for cooperation in Africa: focusing on Morocco
Konstantin Kemaev, Head of the International Cooperation Department, and Ekaterina Kozub, Head of the UNN Middle East Centre, participated in a series of b2c and b2b events in Casablanca, Morocco, as part of the delegation of the Russian-African Network University (RAFU).
The highlight of the UNN team’s visit was the participation in the major international educational exhibition in the Arab Maghreb, "Le Forum International del'Étudiant," where 800 universities from all over the world showcased their educational opportunities to 200,000 visitors from various regions of Morocco. Lobachevsky University was part of the RAFU network stand, which brought together six leading Russian universities.
Lobachevsky University's delegation conducted numerous consultations and meetings with prospective students and their parents, representatives of foreign universities and recruitment agencies, as well as graduates of Soviet and Russian higher education institutions. Of particular interest were UNN's programmes in medicine, IT, economics, and management taught in English, network programmes with the Neimark IT campus, and pre-university preparation courses offered by the UNN Centre for Educational Programmes for Foreign Citizens.
Exhibition attendees were also interested in government scholarships under the quota of the Russian Federation and opportunities provided by UNN's international Olympiads, such as "OPEN DOORS," the RAFU International Olympiad, and the International Olympiad in Russian as a Foreign Language "Lobachevsky/RU."
On the final day of the exhibition, representatives of Lobachevsky University and the RAFU project office held a meeting of the organising committee of the RAFU Pilot International Olympiad. During the meeting, they determined the winners and prize-winners who earned the right to study in the specialised master's programmes at the universities that co-organised the Olympiad, within the allocated quota.
UNN representatives also attended an open Russian language lesson at the Russian-Moroccan educational centre, the Institute of Russian Culture. This centre is set to be transformed into the RAFU information and resource centre in Casablanca. Dmitry Mezhaurov, Consul General of the Russian Federation, also joined the event. He noted that while studying at preparatory departments in Russia offers full immersion in the language environment, Russian language centres in Morocco are highly sought after—both for prospective students and members of mixed families. Agreements were reached with the centre's leadership regarding cooperation through UNN's international school cluster and the international track of UNN's interregional schoolchildren's olympiad, "Future Researchers – the Future of Science."
The visit concluded with business talks with the management of Morocco's largest public university, Hassan II University. During the meeting, the parties discussed prospects for research cooperation and reached agreements on launching faculty and student exchange programmes, postgraduate training, and joint educational initiatives.
A presentation of Lobachevsky University's master's programmes was held for 200 students and faculty members of Hassan II University. Of particular interest were UNN's summer schools: the international Russian Language and Culture School "Summer in Russian" and the new UNN international school on F.A.S.T.-Medicine within the framework of the RAFU Summer Multidisciplinary University.
