At talks in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin congratulated Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan on being awarded an honorary doctorate by Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia.
At the honorary doctorate ceremony at RUDN on June 4, Samia Suluhu Hassan noted that more than 5,000 Tanzanians had received higher education at Soviet and later Russian universities.
An interview with RUDN Rector on what Russian degrees offer international students and why demand for specialists from Africa, Asia and Latin America is growing.
RUDN students offer a broader picture of why young people from around the world come to study in Russia and whether they want to stay here to live and work.
“We attach great importance to RUDN’s contribution to Russian–African educational cooperation […] Over the years, the number of RUDN graduates from African countries has exceeded 14,000, including two presidents, one prime minister and 15 ministers,” said Deputy Minister Konstantin Mogilevsky.
Okeke Solomon Ekene, an outstanding student who came to Russia from Nigeria, graduated from the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia with top marks. He said he was glad to have received a higher education in environmental management.
Mohammed Rashid Ali from Sudan teaches Russian language and literature at RUDN in Moscow. Russia and Africa continue to strengthen their ties, and, according to the professor, the two countries have much in common.
A Center for Open Education in Russian and Russian Language Teaching, run under the auspices of RUDN, opened in Cameroon on Tuesday, Yulia Berezina, Deputy Director for Information and Outreach at RUDN Institute of Russian Language, told RIA Novosti.
In June and July 2023, a RUDN team held a series of meetings with Nigerian organizations. The meetings were held jointly with the Center for Research on the Development of African Media and Society (CEREDEMS-Africa), an organization that supports Africa’s development and strengthens its information ecosystem through research and development.
“We met in person and realized how much we have in common and what we can do together to strengthen education and research in our countries,” said RUDN Associate Professor Natalia Poplavskaya.
“Education ministers, cultural figures and scientists trust us and tell us that studying at RUDN is prestigious for African countries and students,” said Larisa Efremova, RUDN Vice-Rector for International Affairs.
Kalaluka, an economics student at RUDN in Moscow, recalls celebrating Youth Day in Zambia: “Back home, we would all wear matching red T-shirts and spend the whole day walking the streets with friends.”
“The Russia–Africa Youth Forum has already become a traditional meeting place for master’s and doctoral students and young scientists from Russia and African countries. The forum helps young researchers realize their potential, bring together project work and research of the younger generation, and shape the future of science in the African region,” said Larisa Efremova, Vice-Rector for International Affairs at Patrice Lumumba RUDN.
Guests were welcomed by Ilya Ilyin, First Vice-President of the Russian-African Club and Dean of the Faculty of Global Studies at Lomonosov Moscow State University; Inna Andronova, Dean of RUDN Faculty of Economics; and Darya Vanyukova, Research Fellow at the State Museum of Oriental Art.
Patrice Lumumba’s son Roland Lumumba welcomed the decision: “I am filled with pride that my father’s name has been returned to RUDN in Moscow. He was a voice of Africa’s struggle for progress in the early years of independence, a martyr among the African leaders of his time. Around the world I have met people who told me they had graduated from Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow. That has always moved me.”
