"Africa is currently in active search of social institutions that would take responsibility for the urgently needed accelerated industrial and social development,” — this is how the new article by Vladimir Litvinenko, Rector of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, begins on RIA Novosti. The author writes that the continent, which is the most promising in terms of natural resources, can no longer afford to continue the zero-sum game imposed by Western corporations. Therefore, it is turning its focus toward Russia.
The article was published ahead of the Russia–Africa Raw Materials Dialogue titled “The Path of Development: Natural Resources and Human Capital as the Foundation of Economic Sovereignty.” The forum will take place at Saint Petersburg Mining University from October 29 to November 1 this year. It marks an important stage in the university’s systemic efforts to develop equitable academic cooperation with Africa.
It is worth recalling that in 2023, on the initiative of Rector Litvinenko, the Consortium of Technical Universities “Nedra Africa” was established. In July 2025, a delegation from Saint Petersburg Mining University took part in the 16th General Conference of the Association of African Universities (AAU) in Rabat, Morocco, where it presented proposals to improve higher education across the continent.
«Today we are already providing tangible support to our African partners through the international professional retraining program ‘Management of Subsoil Use Facilities.’ It is aimed not at students, but at enterprise managers who must be able to effectively oversee both production and business processes to ensure the successful operation of the mineral resource sector» – writes Vladimir Litvinenko.
The upcoming Russia–Africa Raw Materials Forum will feature panel discussions on the current state and prospects of Russia–Africa cooperation in the raw materials sector, sessions on training a new generation of engineers, and round tables devoted to various aspects of the Russian–African scientific and educational agenda — including the improvement of public administration in the field of human resource development for subsoil use.
Today, Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University is developing and implementing, within the framework of the Presidential Pilot Project, a new model of engineering education for Russia. While our country is undoubtedly much closer to genuine economic sovereignty than most African states, the core ideas of this model are highly relevant and entirely applicable to them.