Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 28 May (BelTA) – A Belarusian Education Ministry delegation led by Education Minister Igor Karpenko visited Paris to participate in the ministerial conference on developing the European higher education area (EHEA) and in a Bologna Process forum, representatives of the Embassy of Belarus in France told BelTA.

In his speech during the plenary session on problems of implementing the Bologna Process Igor Karpenko expressed the main proposals on Belarus’ participation in the Bologna Process, which are directly tied to the European sustainable development goals.

The Belarusian delegation also included rectors of a number of leading universities. Members of the delegation held bilateral meetings with higher education ministers from various countries. Negotiations were held with the state secretary for research of the Moldovan Education, Culture, and Research Ministry, Azerbaijani Deputy Education Minister Firudin Gurbanov, and Ukrainian Education and Science Minister Lilia Grinevich.

Belarusian Education Minister Igor Karpenko, Ambassador of Belarus to France Pavel Latushko, and members of the Belarusian delegation also met with Director General for Higher Education and Employment of the Higher Education, Research, and Innovation Ministry of France Brigitte Plateau. The sides discussed bilateral cooperation in the area of higher education, vocational training, and university science. Consultations about draft bilateral documents on cooperation in these spheres were held. An invitation to visit Belarus was extended. The sides agreed to work out a roadmap for advancing Belarusian-French cooperation in the area of education through concrete steps.

The Belarusian delegation also met with representatives of a number of French higher education institutions. Negotiations were held with the leadership of the supreme school for aeronautics technology and automobile engineering ESTACA to discuss prospects of investment cooperation and R&D cooperation. The sides reached an agreement on internship programs for students. Five French university students are expected to arrive in Belarus in 2018.

The Belarusian State University and University of Bordeaux signed a memorandum of cooperation in the Campus France building. The Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics and the Institut Mines-Telecom signed a memorandum of cooperation there, too. The documents will allow advancing cooperation between the higher education institutions as well as interaction in science and research.

Prospects of cooperation between the Minsk State Linguistic University and the national institute of oriental languages and civilizations INALCO were discussed as well as the development of teaching of the Belarusian language in the leading linguistic institute of France.

Natalya Baranova, Rector of the Minsk State Linguistic University, gifted books about Belarus to the university library of languages and civilizations BULAC. According to the welcoming side, the books will be used by French students, whose diploma papers are about Belarus.

The visit of the Belarusian delegation was arranged with assistance of the Embassy of Belarus in France and the Embassy of France in Belarus.