Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University continues to accelerate its scientific and educational cooperation with Africa. Alongside holding large-scale forums and summits, the creation of specialized consortia, and the signing of memoranda on cooperation, targeted promotion of Russian technical universities plays an important role in building a strong engineering corps for the continent.
In the first week of December 2025, the Mining University took part in person in the educational exhibition “Study in Russia!”, which was held at the Rossotrudnichestvo representative office in Lusaka, the capital of the Republic of Zambia.
The program of the event included consultations for prospective applicants, and twice a day, a presentation was given at the University’s stand. It consisted of a Q&A session and the “Minerals” quiz. This team-based intellectual game enabled Zambian school students to clearly see what resources their country possesses and which programs they should choose when applying to university in order to contribute to the growth of their country’s economy.
«The students showed great interest in the system of higher education implemented at the Mining University. They came with their parents, raised their hands with questions, and lined up after the event. For many young men and women, the quota from the Government of the Russian Federation and the subsequent study is the only opportunity to obtain a prestigious education and become in-demand specialists at home. This year, only 170 scholarships have been allocated to Zambia. Competition for a place is extremely high. We were invited to a local television news program, where I was asked in detail about the training of mining engineers in Russia in general and at our University in particular. It is obvious that enterprises of Zambia’s mineral resources complex are facing shortages of qualified personnel—specialists who could be trained in St. Petersburg», - said Damir Garifullin, Lead Engineer of the Center for Pre-University and Special Programs.
According to him, during the recording of the program, the Copperbelt region was discussed in the context of the need for more efficient use of Zambia’s valuable resources. This is one of the world’s largest copper basins, with great potential for economic development, investment appeal, and technological modernization.
The exhibition in Lusaka took place directly during the period for submitting applications for study under the quota of the Government of the Russian Federation for foreign citizens. Rossotrudnichestvo annually conducts the selection of candidates for the awarding of state scholarships to study in Russia.
Over the past three years, the quota for Africans has increased 2.5-fold. For comparison, in 2023, 2,300 state-funded places were allocated at universities; in 2025, 4,816. This dynamic is explained by the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation, approved in 2023, which provides for the deepening of Russia–Africa cooperation.
Most applications from the continent are submitted by prospective students from Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Mali, and Chad. They mainly enroll in oil and gas, mining, economics, general medicine, construction, and computer science.
Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University conducts similar work with Rossotrudnichestvo in many partner countries. In recent years, the University’s representatives have taken part in educational exhibitions in Tanzania, Egypt, Serbia, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. The list of countries with remote participation is even broader—Lebanon, Syria, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The University attracts foreign youth with a wide range of specialties and high-quality teaching, extensive industrial internships at real enterprises, and a strong position in global rankings.
Here, the well-known aphorism of the philosopher Francis Bacon, “Knowledge is power,” would be aptly rephrased as “Knowledge is soft power”.