More than 32 thousand students from the Middle East study in Russian universities, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia Konstantin Mogilevsky who attended the III Conference of Rectors of Arab and Middle Eastern Universities in Moscow told a TASS correspondent.
"In 2022, the total number of students from the Middle Eastern region in Russian universities increased by more than 3.6 thousand people and exceeded the mark of 32 thousand," said Mogilevsky, noting that most of them are studying medical, technical and humanitarian specialties.
According to the deputy minister, the government plans to increase quotas for foreign students. "In the 2022-2023 academic year more than 2 thousand places are allocated, in the 2023-2024 academic year the quota will be almost 2.8 thousand places," he stressed.
According to Mogilevsky, some Russian universities plan to expand their presence in the Middle East. In particular, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics is working on establishing a branch in the United Arab Emirates. National Research Nuclear University MEPhI and St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University LETI are planning to open branches at Burj al-Arab Polytechnic University in Alexandria. In addition, St. Petersburg State University and Kazan Federal University are building campuses in Egypt for medical students.
"In other countries of the Arab world we are noting <...> interest in cooperation and are thinking about new modern formats to present Russian educational institutions in the Middle East, which will allow each country to choose specific programs of Russian universities that are most in demand in this country and meet the national development goals," said Mogilevsky and noted the active work in this direction.
The III Conference of Rectors of Russian and Arab Universities was held on May 31 and June 1 at the University of Sharjah. The event was attended by representatives of more than 50 Russian and more than 150 Arab universities. The next conference will be held in Moscow and will coincide with the 270th anniversary of Lomonosov Moscow State University.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Nikolay Georgiev/Pixabay
Based on materials from TASS