International Programmes Director Dr Radka Newton was invited to take part in a debate with the Russian Deputy Minister of Education, while Louise Briggs, Head of Careers, Alumni and Employer Relations, visited several employers in order to open up opportunities to the new generation of Lancaster graduates in the Russian labour market.

Exposure to global education

Russia has been recognised for its high economic growth and increasing global employment opportunities for many years. The government has implemented numerous positive changes in the education system in Russia and is currently looking to enhance opportunities for Russian nationals to gain exposure to global education.

Dr Radka Newton was invited to Moscow to participate in a debate about a scholarship scheme with the Russian Deputy Minister of Education, Igor Fedyukin, on 1 October 2012. “Russia has a large resource potential and the government is taking the right approach in identifying opportunities to invest in its future leaders,” said Dr Newton.

“The Deputy Minister shared his enthusiasm with a group of global educators and provided details of a new scheme that is currently being finalised by the Russian government. It was a great event and Mr Fedyukin was very open to suggestions from the UK HE sector.”

Russia is planning to send thousands of scholars to top global universities over the next few years. The intention is to provide the scholars with graduate-level education opportunities with a vision to expand the pool of Russian global citizens who will shape the future of the country.

It is hoped that this will address the demand in Russia for educated managers in public administration, health management and economics. The scheme is expected to be officially announced this winter through the communication channels of QS who hosted this debate after the QS Graduate School event in Moscow.

Company visits

Lancaster has positive experience with Russian scholars who have already made a significant impact in the Russian economy. The LUMS Head of Careers, Alumni and Employer Relations, , visited Russia with Dr Newton to meet potential employers and build on Lancaster's strong alumni relations in Russia. One of the company visits was hosted by a Plekhanov Academy Scholar, Alexandre Andreev, who graduated from Lancaster in 1996 and currently works for INTEGRA, an Oil and Gas Company with the headquarters in Moscow.

After her visit to Russia Louise Briggs said: “Lancaster University Management School is very fortunate to have alumni like Alexander who are keen to open up opportunities to the new generation of Lancaster graduates in the Russian labour market. We are also very fortunate to work with academics like , who has valuable links with Russian employers and who has facilitated links with Uniliver and IBM in Russia. Our alumni base in Russia is growing and it was fantastic to meet the alumni group in Moscow and celebrate the success of our graduates together with our partner institution, the Higher School of Economics with whom we share a few alumni already.”