Universities of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar agreed to collaborate on higher education

The Myanmar delegation headed by Prime Minister of the Provisional Government, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Union of Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing is on an official visit to the Irkutsk region.

At the opening of the meeting the Deputy Minister of education of the Irkutsk region Elena Apanovich said that there are 22 universities in the region, where 70 000 students study, including 4 000 foreigners. There are degree and non-degree programs in Irkutsk universities such as engineering and technology, natural sciences, medicine, transport, agriculture and humanities.

Elena Apanovich emphasized that universities of Irkutsk are ready to cooperate with universities of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar in various fields of education.

Minister of Science and Technology of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Myow Thein Kyaw, expressed his interest in strengthening ties with the Irkutsk universities. He noted that at the VII Eastern Economic Forum he had met with the Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. During this meeting they discussed issues of increasing the number of students from Myanmar in Russia, as well as the implementation of exchange programs for teachers and students.

According to the website of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Natalia Bocharova confirmed that the Russian Ministry of Education and Science is ready to respond positively to the current request of Myanmar, taking into account a plan to increase the quota of the Russian Government to 30 thousand places by 2024. Also, Natalia Bocharova proposed to discuss the creation of joint educational programs of leading universities of Russia and Myanmar.

Rector of INRTU Mikhail Kornyakov presented the educational capacity of the University. He said that INRTU has more than 200 educational English and Russian taught programs.

The Minister of Science and Technology of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar was interested in degree programs for Myanmar students such as «Aircraft and helicopter engineering» and «Ground water exploration and geotechnical surveys».

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar plans to start cooperation with the Irkutsk universities by signing a memorandum. It will become a basis for further discussion for strengthening of cooperation in the scientific and educational area.