The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation approved a list of 12 universities that will be included in the BRICS Network University on behalf of Russia. Among them is National Research Tomsk State University.
The BRICS Network University is a joint educational project aimed at improving the quality of education in the member states and saturating their economies with highly professional personnel. Among the objectives of the project are to promote a common educational standard, develop academic mobility, and pool resources for research.
- The idea of creating the BRICS Network University has been brewing for a long time, - says Artyom Rykun, Vice-Rector for International Affairs. - Member countries have their own strong educational system; all five countries have good dynamics of development. This trend can be seen when you look at university rankings and especially subject world rankings over the past three years. For example, universities in Brazil, India and China are in the fifth decile of the subject rankings. It is logical that the BRICS member countries would indicate their presence on the global academic stage.
Memorandum of Understanding, the founding document of the BRICS Network University, was signed November 18, 2015. By its terms, the main direction of the network university activities includes research on BRICS, energy production, computer science and information security, water resources and the economy, and climate change technologies.
- The BRICS Network University is doing great organizational work - said Artyom Rykun. - It is necessary to create such conditions that the member states give up the opportunities that other universities provide, in favor of what friends in BRICS offer. However, there is a reason to hope that this seemingly illogical choice will be made. To prepare students well, a few things are necessary other than those that are necessary in the promotion of world rankings. For example, there is the personal contact of leading professors with students that is not accepted in most top universities. The BRICS Network University gives an opportunity to gather a pool of universities that can give quality education. It is also important that such education is presented at a very competitive price.
TSU will have a special role in the implementation of the BRICS Network University project. According to the Vice-Rector, as the coordinator of the Association Global Universities TSU is likely to come into the group on coordination of the work Global Universities and Brazilian Association for International Education FAUBAI.