Belarus, Brazil sign agreement on cooperation in education

MINSK, 14 August (BelTA) – The Education Ministries of Belarus and Brazil signed a cooperation agreement, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Education Ministry.

Belarus’ Education Minister Mikhail Zhuravkov visited Brazil on 12-14 August. During the visit, he met with his Brazilian counterpart Renato Janine Ribeiro.

The cooperation agreement reads that the parties will establish and develop direct ties between the educational establishments of Belarus and Brazil and organize exchanges of teachers, students, and postgraduates. The agreement also provides for the admission of Brazilian citizens to Belarusian universities. The sides also agreed to exchange teaching materials and information analysis products and to step up the mutual participation of Belarusian and Brazilian students in joint educational programs.

Mikhail Zhuravkov expressed interest in developing cooperation with the Brazilian Education Ministry in several fields, including professional training and retraining of personnel for the educational establishments and research institutions. Mikhail Zhuravkov pointed out that Belarusian universities have great scientific potential. They are important research and innovation centers and have over 700 agreements with 58 countries.

The priority will be placed on exchange programs for students studying machine building, power engineering, nuclear power engineering, construction, architecture, healthcare, agriculture, and information technologies. The universities of Belarus can train specialists for all sectors of economy. The Belarusian State University, the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics (BSUIR), and Belarus' medical universities offer courses taught entirely or partially in English. Moreover, the Belarusian National Technical University and the BSUIR offer distance learning courses.

Mikhail Zhuravkov met with President of WorldSkills International Simon Bartley. He also took part in the international conference of education ministers that discussed the 21st century initiatives to foster technical and vocational education on 14 August.