Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Moscow awards the title of ambassadors of Russian education and science
On Thursday, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation has held a solemn ceremony to award the titles of ambassadors of Russian education and science to international researchers. The world’s leading researchers from Austria, the Dominican Republic, Benin, and other countries will present the achievements of the Russian science on international platforms.
‘Research and education have no boundaries. These borders can only be set artificially,’ noted Konstantin Mogilevsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. ‘Russia has always been attractive for international students. Today, the number of international students has already exceeded the Soviet figures. More than 351,000 international students study in Russia. The project "Ambassadors of Russian Education and Science" is set to promote Russian educational practices and brands, universities and scientific organisations abroad, attracting the most talented students and early-career researchers to Russia.’
In February 2023, an agreement was signed on a consortium of universities and scientific organisations to implement the programme "Ambassadors of Russian Education and Science". Among the universities implementing the programme are the following: Lomonosov Moscow State University, St Petersburg University, and the Kurchatov Institute National Research Centre.
The mission of the ambassadors is to promote Russian research at international venues, i.e. conferences and round tables.
Ambassadors can be government or public figures and graduates of Russian and Soviet universities who have achieved success in scientific and social spheres.
The title was awarded to the prominent researchers, diplomats and public figures across the globe: Europe, Africa, and South America. Among them are the following: Karin Kneissl, Austrian ex-foreign minister and Head of the Geopolitical Observatory for Russia Key Issues (GORKI) at St Petersburg University; Rigoberto Santos Hilario, member of the Presidium of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors; and Anicet Gabriel Kotchofa, consultant to the President of the Republic of Benin on natural resources issues, who graduated the National University of Oil and Gas "Gubkin University" in 1987.
‘It is a great honour and privilege to be here today and be awarded the status of ambassador of Russian education and science,’ said Anicet Gabriel Kotchofa. ‘Although I have been promoting the Russian language in my homeland for 40 years, for me this status is not only a reward, but a duty, a new challenge in my biography. As a professional diplomat, it is especially honourable for me to become an ambassador, because for each of us, Russian education and science are a lighthouse in the stormy sea of the modern world.’