HSE University Shares Experience of Developing Online Education at Russia-Turkmenistan Forum
By invitation of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, HSE University Vice Rector Sergey Roshchin took part in the Russia-Turkmenistan business forum held on January 19–20 in Ashgabat. In the round table ‘Russia-Turkmenistan Cooperation in Education: Professional Development for the Economy’, he spoke about trends in online education in Russia using the example of HSE University.
Mikhail Mishustin
More than 300 representatives of Russian business circles and state bodies took part in the forum, which was dedicated to strengthening trade, economic, and industrial cooperation between Russia and Turkmenistan. The Russian delegation was led by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. ‘We see good opportunities to deepen our interactions and expand spheres of cooperation. We will step up our joint work to achieve this,’ he said.
The forum included a range of events devoted to Russia-Turkmen cooperation in education. In particular, Mikhail Mishustin, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, and Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov visited the Alexander Pushkin Joint Turkmen-Russian Secondary School in Ashgabat. Various aspects of experience exchange and interaction in higher education were discussed at the round table, which was moderated by Minister of Education of Turkmenistan Gurbangul Atayeva and Deputy Head of the Department of International Cooperation of the Russian Federation Elena Gorozhankina.
One of the key issues examined at the round table was the development of online education.
Sergey Roshchin told participants of the round table about online education at HSE University. He said that today, the university offers a wide range of bachelor’s and master’s programmes implemented fully online and available in Russian or English. These programmes develop sought-after digital competencies related to information technologies, economics, business analytics, digital product management, legal tech, applied social psychology, and more. More than 1,500 Russian and international students currently study on such programmes, including students from CIS countries.
Sergey Roshchin presented these and other achievements not just as HSE University’s own experience, but as a clear example of the evolution of online education and technologies for its development in Russian higher education. ‘It all started with individual massive open online courses (MOOCs). Then the list of online educational products expanded, and now it is based on programmes implemented fully online. Such programmes are offered not only by HSE University, but also by other Russian universities, and there has been successful domestic and international cooperation,’ he explained.
The participants of the round table also discussed prospective cooperation between Russian and Turkmen universities in various subject areas. Among the Russian delegation were representatives of Kazan Federal University, Southern Federal University, Volgograd State University, Astrakhan State University, and Astrakhan State Medical University.
Such discussions are particularly timely given the existence of plans to create a Russia-Turkmenistan university in Ashgabat in the near future. The idea was expressed by President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedow in June 2022 during his visit to Moscow and was supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The relevant ministries of both countries are preparing proposals for the model of the new university.