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Partnership discussions in Moscow with Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation

Wittenborg University last week held discussions in Moscow with the Financial University under the government of the Russian Federation. The aim of the discussions was to find areas of mutual collaboration, in the area of student and faculty exchange, however especially in the area of developing a joint master of business administration (MBA) programme.

The Financial University, established in 1919, as the Moscow Institute of Economics & Finance, is a large Russian university with around fifty thousand students, and is developing life-long learning programmes such as MBA across Russia.

Wittenborg's President Peter Birdsall was joined at the meeting by Dr Alexander Khoroshilov, who is representing Wittenborg in its projects in Russia. Dr Khoroshilov was formally National Programme Officer for UNESCO Institute for Information Technology in Education, and has also held many functions in academia and has strong ties with universities in the Netherlands.

During the meeting, Dr Elena Didenko, Vice-Rector for Continuing Education, and Dr Alexander Linninkov, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, were joined by colleagues from the International Relations Department, as well as the International Business School and the department of Tourism. Discussions focused on the possibility of the two institutes developing and delivering a joint MBA programme, for instance in the area of tourism. According to Wittenborg's Education Department, 'The financial University also offers a range of short business & finance courses in English and the concept of MBA students studying in the Netherlands to spend a project week in Moscow is being developed for next year.'

Wittenborg in Russia since 2015

Wittenborg has been active in Russia since 2015, and is also supported in its activities by the Netherlands Education Support Office based in Moscow. According to Birdsall 'Neso Moscow carries out an important function promoting the Netherlands, Dutch higher education, and acting as a information and communication pin that institutes wishing to be active in the Russian speaking can make good use of.'

Since 2015, the number of Russian speaking students at Wittenborg has increased significantly and plans for partnerships with institutes in Moscow are developing to offer joint programmes to international students.

WUP 5/4/2019
by James Wittenborg
©WUAS Press