New opportunities of the BRICS Educational Union were discussed at the international school in Kyrgyzstan

A student from Siberia is listening to a lecture by a professor from Mumbai, a scientist from Beijing is working on a project with colleagues in Sao Paulo - such scenarios are already developing. This was discussed at the international school for Higher education researchers, which was held on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan. Representatives of Russia, China, India, Japan and the United Kingdom discussed in detail how higher education can adapt to new global challenges and become more accessible to everyone. The BRICS Expert Council was represented by Evgeny Terentyev, Director of the HSE Institute of Education.

The problems are common, the solutions are different

Inequality in access to education has become a key topic of discussion. This is a common problem for the BRICS countries: there are regions everywhere, especially rural ones, where it is difficult to get a good education due to a lack of schools, teachers and equipment. The participants discussed how research in this area can help develop strategies to overcome inequality and develop human capital.

Experts noted that it is important to take into account the cultural characteristics of each country. In China, for example, students rarely ask questions because of tradition, and in India, access to education is limited by the caste system. This shows that flexible approaches are needed to combat inequality, taking into account the specifics of each country.

The future needs STEM

The BRICS countries are actively developing engineering education, realizing that technological professions play a key role in future economic growth. During the summer school, one of the participants presented a study comparing the curricula of engineering universities in Russia and China. In China, training is focused on practice and cooperation with real enterprises, whereas in Russia the emphasis is on fundamental theoretical knowledge.

Nevertheless, in all countries there remains a common problem of the gap between university programs and employers' requests. As Evgeny Terentyev noted, "universities adapt slowly, and the labor market changes quickly." This is especially noticeable in technological professions, where knowledge becomes obsolete literally within a year. This means that higher education institutions need not only to promptly review their programs, but also to actively interact with the industry in order to train specialists who are in demand now, and not in the last decade.

Universities do not need borders

The pandemic and global tensions of recent years have complicated international cooperation in education. Lijo Wang from the University of Tokyo noted that the new restrictions made it difficult for exchanges between universities in different countries.

In response to these challenges, scientists have proposed the idea of "internationalization at home." It allows students to participate in international lectures and seminars online while staying in their home country. This approach opens up access to training from the world's leading teachers and provides an opportunity to interact with foreign colleagues without problems with visas and unnecessary travel expenses.

The idea of a unified BRICS diploma recognition system was also discussed at the school. This will simplify the employment of graduates in any country of the association and increase the value of their diplomas in the global labor market. Such a step will strengthen academic mobility and expand cooperation between the BRICS countries.

Strong players in the educational field

Cooperation in education between the BRICS countries provides real advantages. First, it's the scale: 40% of the world's population lives in these countries, which creates great opportunities for knowledge exchange. Secondly, diversity: educational systems in the BRICS countries vary greatly, which helps to find new, interesting solutions. And finally, ambitions: countries are ready to try different approaches and respond quickly to changes.