On November 18, 2015, the Ministers of Education of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and Russia signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the Establishment of the BRICS Network University in Moscow under the Russian BRICS Chairmanship.

This event was a landmark in the development of educational cooperation among the BRICS countries, opening the way for new joint initiatives and projects.

BRICS Network University

The
BRICS NU is a network of higher education institutions from the BRICS member countries that cooperate in the field of education.

The main area of collaboration within the project was the development of multilateral joint educational training programmes as well as joint research projects.

In April 2016, the First International Forum of the BRICS Network University was held in Ekaterinburg, Russia, where representatives of universities selected by the national education authorities of the BRICS countries to work in each of the areas met.

Every year, in accordance with the chairmanship of the association, conferences are held in different countries, focussing on topical issues of cooperation.

In an exclusive commentary for TV BRICS, Ravil Asmyatullin, Associate Professor at the Institute of World Economy and Business of the Faculty of Economics of RUDN University named after Patrice Lumumba, spoke about the main directions of this partnership.

“The most significant initiative in this area is the BRICS Network University. Among the priority areas of cooperation are energy, information technology, computer science, engineering specialities, medicine and healthcare, digitalisation of the economy, international relations, and others. The member countries implement collaboration at all levels, including bachelor’s, master’s, postgraduate, doctoral, and secondary professional education,” he said.

The International Thematic Group on Energy of the BRICS Network University meets between conferences, allowing universities from different countries to discuss topical issues and plan joint actions. More recently, meetings have been held remotely, making cooperation even more accessible.

For example, in 2023, chaired by South Africa, the conference focused on “Mobilising Global Knowledge and Research Networks for Inclusive and Sustainable Development”.

In May 2024, Russia hosted the next meeting of the BRICS Network University International Governing Board. Such areas as sustainable agriculture and food security, mathematics, natural sciences and humanities, and health science were added to the existing priority areas of cooperation between the BRICS countries.

An important point of discussion at the meeting was the creation of the BRICS Scientific Medical Journal, which reports on the official website of the Russian 2024 BRICS Chairmanship.

BRICS Scientific and Educational System

On September 1, 2023, a protocol on cooperation to create the BRICS Scientific and Educational System was signed in Moscow. The document was signed by Purnima Anand, President of the BRICS International Forum, and Konstantin Klimenko, Rector of the Eurasian International University and Chairman of the Council for International Humanitarian Cooperation and Public Diplomacy.

The project started to form a network of scientific and educational institutions – universities, institutes, and colleges – in the BRICS countries, uniting about a thousand educational institutions from the member countries.

In May 2024, more than 100 rectors and representatives of universities from China, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Iran, and CIS countries gathered at a round table at the “Universities and the Future” forum in Moscow.

The parties signed more than a dozen cooperation agreements. The documents provide, in particular, for the exchange of students and educational practices and the creation of new scientific centres.

Key Outcomes of the BRICS Education Ministers Meeting

On June 11, 2024, the 11th Meeting of BRICS Education Ministers took place in Kazan, headed by Russian Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov. The participants discussed cooperation in the humanities, digitalisation, mutual recognition of qualifications, and the development of a university ranking system. Ministers from the UAE, Egypt, China, and Iran attended the event.

The meeting approved agreements and expanded training areas within the BRICS Network University, with the aim of increasing the number of member universities to 20 in each country.

Mechanisms for evaluating universities were discussed, according to the official website of the Russian 2024 BRICS Chairmanship, and the first report will be presented at the Rectors’ Forum in October 2024. The meeting concluded with the adoption of the Declaration of the 11th Meeting of BRICS Education Ministers and the Protocol of Accession of Egypt, Iran, and the UAE to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of the BRICS Network University.

“This has been a truly historic year for BRICS. This is our first meeting since the expansion of the group. I am certain that our new members will contribute to the agenda and joint endeavours in ways that will benefit all of us. During the year of Russia’s BRICS Chairship, we continue to step up interaction, implement ongoing projects, and launch new initiatives. The steps we take today will serve as the foundation for new achievements,” Valery Falkov said.

Individual country cooperation within the BRICS group

Apart from educational projects covering the BRICS group as a whole, the member countries are also implementing independent projects aimed at enhancing the educational system.

Thus, 200 Ethiopian students have received scholarships to study at Chinese universities in the 2024–2025 academic year from the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia.

Shen Qinmin, Minister Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, emphasised the importance of scholarships as a driving force in promoting cultural exchange and mutual learning, as well as a tool to deepen the strategic partnership between Ethiopia and China.

Russian universities are also increasing their cooperation with Ethiopia. Cham Ugala Uriat, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the Russian Federation, has visited St. Petersburg University in May 2024 to discuss academic partnerships, collaborations, and student exchange. During the meeting, the parties discussed one of the possible areas of cooperation in distance learning, namely joint online courses with Ethiopian universities, which would promote intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding between students and teachers from both countries.

South Africa is another partner of Russia in the field of education. Russian St. Petersburg University was visited by a delegation from the Republic of South Africa, headed by Fulufhelo Godfrey Netswera, Head of the BRICS Research Institute and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences at the Durban University of Technology. During the meeting, the parties signed a cooperation agreement between the universities to create joint double-degree master’s programmes in digital economy, law, and management.

Russian-Egyptian cooperation in education is also increasingly deepening.

According to the Egyptian Ministry of Education, branches of Russian universities have been opened in the country, and new joint educational programmes at Russian and Egyptian technological universities are already being discussed.

Russia and Egypt are also cooperating on introducing heavy science programmes in Egyptian universities to support the technological part of Egypt’s power plants.

“We also started to negotiate and agree together for the new corporation and protocol between our ministry in Egypt and the Ministry of Higher Education here in Russia, and we are looking forward to the cooperation,” said the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Egypt, Mohamed Ayman Ashour.

In addition, in July 2024, the rectors of Tehran University and Russia’s HSE University signed a cooperation agreement between the two institutions.

This agreement includes provisions on academic and student exchange programmes, the development and implementation of joint educational and research projects, joint research, the publication of joint works, participation in the preparation and submission of funding applications to the relevant organisations of both countries, and much more.

The University of Tehran offered to coordinate projects between Russian and Iranian universities within the BRICS framework.

“As part of the global majority, Russia and Iran are committed to building a better world and establishing mutually beneficial and equitable partnerships. The BRICS expansion presents immense opportunities for its member countries. I am confident that we can become a successful example of the projects that can be implemented and, overall, how to collaborate in the scientific and educational fields,” said Victoria Panova, Vice Rector of HSE University, Head of the BRICS Expert Council-Russia.

According to Ravil Asmyatullin, BRICS countries’ cooperation also influences the global education system by creating their own educational standards and programmes and offering individual models and approaches to learning. BRICS countries’ approaches to education also contribute to the formation of a multipolar world.

Photo: the image was generated by a neural network