International forum on cooperation between universities of the BRICS countries has come to a close at UrFU

16:15, December 18, 2014

The two-week forum was an important step in the enhancement of cooperation between universities and scientific centres of the BRICS countries in multilateral format.

On December 17-18 the final stage of the international forum “Collaboration of BRICS universities and research centres: education, research, innovations” took place at Ural Federal University. During the Forum UrFU held a number of events, including the research seminar for young scholars "BRICS STUDIES: Challenges and Prospects", international conference “Collaboration of BRICS Universities in multilateral format”, teleconference bridge “Prospects of collaboration of BRICS studies centres”, and student round table "Towards the united educational environment of BRICS countries ". These events had been supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.

The representatives of universities and BRICS studies centres discussed disciplinary priorities of interaction between universities and centres in the fields of education, science and innovation development, as well as the general problems of the BRICS countries in the wider context: globalization and national culture, the internationalization of education and culture in the BRICS countries.

The problems, discussed during the conference, were specified during the teleconference with the BRICS Studies Center and a coordinator of the BRICS Universities League, Fudan University (Shanghai, China). Within the frames of the teleconference, the participants discussed the prospects of development of specific projects of the BRICS Universities League, including the development of joint programs of further education “Doing Business in BRICS”, joint international summer schools in the field of Russian studies, Sinology and BRICS Studies, series of joint publications on various aspects of BRICS Studies, the organization of academic exchanges.

Not only experts in the field of BRICS Studies, but also young researchers and students took active participation in the Forum. The research seminar for young scholars "BRICS STUDIES: Challenges and Prospects", was organized with the aim of attracting the interest of researchers in the field of International Relations and Region Studies to BRICS Studies. Lectures on various aspects of BRICS Studies had been read by the leading experts of Ural Federal University and the director of the UrFU branch of Confucius Institute.

Another important event of the Forum was the Round Table of UrFU international students from the BRICS countries. The participants discussed the problems of adaptation of foreign students in Russia, technologies and best practices of adaptation in Russian universities. The results of the discussion will be used as a basis for the development of guidelines for the creation of such infrastructures in universities, which will provide comfortable accommodation and study for foreign students.

The two-week forum “Collaboration of BRICS universities and research centres: education, research, innovations” was an important step in the enhancement of cooperation between universities and scientific centres of the BRICS countries in multilateral format. Maxim Khomyakov, Vice-Rector for International Relations of Ural Federal University, is convinced that the Forum will give an impetus to the development of joint network educational, scientific and innovative projects of the BRICS universities and will help to reach a new level of international cooperation.