Published on: 2026-08-10
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
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After the successful pilot project, the International Olympiad of the Russian-African Network University (RAFU) is entering a new level. The consortium announced the start of the second season of the Olympiad for future master’s students, and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation has increased the number of state-funded places for its winners. The Olympiad has proven its effectiveness and is now becoming a large-scale mechanism for attracting talented graduates of African universities to the Russian higher education system.
The project, which began as a way to find promising young specialists, has demonstrated its demand and high potential. This autumn, 20 winners of the first RAFU Olympiad will begin their Master’s studies at Russian universities participating in the consortium. For young researchers, this is not only an opportunity to receive quality education at leading Russian universities but also a chance to become part of the Russian scientific and educational environment, engage in collaborative research, and form a new generation of professionals capable of developing cooperation between Russia and African countries. Among the winners are future Master’s students of the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.
The organizer of the Olympiad remains the N.I. Lobachevsky National Research Nizhny Novgorod State University. One of the main co-organizers is the Polytechnic University — the coordinator of the RAFU consortium. In the new season, the circle of co-organizing universities is also significantly expanding, which will allow increasing the project’s geography, the number of participants, and the range of educational fields.
The pilot launch of the Olympiad confirmed the demand for Russian education in Africa, especially in the fields of digital technologies and biomedicine. As the coordinator of the RAFU consortium, Polytech is ready to continue providing comprehensive support to this project, promoting the identification of talented students and strengthening scientific and educational ties between our countries, — noted Dmitry Arsenyev, Vice-Rector for International Affairs at SPbPU.
The first season of the Olympiad was held in a remote format and included a portfolio competition and an online interview. A total of 1,447 applications were received from 39 African countries. Candidates from Nigeria were the most active, with 873 participants. The most popular fields were “Computer Science, Engineering, and Future Technologies” and “Biomedicine and Cognitive Sciences.”
In the new cycle, the olympiad is expanding its scope. Alongside the traditionally high interest in engineering and natural science fields, the popularity of programs in economics, management, social sciences, and humanities is growing. This will allow a larger number of talented graduates from African universities to study at Russian universities and will become another step toward strengthening long-term scientific and educational cooperation between Russia and African countries.
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