Masamba Kah, Public Figure in Russia: “We Are Betting on the Youth”

Amid global geopolitical shifts, Russia is strengthening ties with African countries, and education is becoming the foundation of long-term partnership. How is the Russian school of engineering helping African states make the transition from a raw-materials model to technological sovereignty? And why has MISIS University’s century-long experience of integration with industry become for African colleagues not just a benchmark but a ready-to-use working model? This we discussed with Masamba Kah, a public figure, author of the concept “Industrial and Educational Partnership Project with African Countries”, and head of the MISIS African Students’ Union.

— Mr. Kah, considering the current geopolitical landscape, Russia is actively developing cooperation with Africa, including in the field of education. How is the status of Russian engineering education changing in the eyes of African applicants? What stereotypes do they encounter and how do you overcome them?

— Engineering education is the key to Africa’s technological sovereignty. We help the countries of the continent transition from a raw-materials economic model to a manufacturing one by localizing value chains in the mining and agro-industrial sectors. Our task is to train local highly qualified engineers and managers capable of replacing foreign specialists.

As for stereotypes, the best way to debunk them is personal experience. When African students, lecturers, and rectors get acquainted with Russian universities, they see powerful industry integration. They understand that a Russian university is not an ivory tower but part of a single ecosystem uniting science, business, and government regulation. It is precisely this approach that makes it possible to transform postcolonial education systems, adapting them to the real scientific and technological tasks of the economy.

— China and EU countries are actively investing in African campuses and scholarship programs. What is the unique advantage of MISIS University and Russian science as a whole in this race for talent?

— Our main advantage lies in our unique history and continuity. MISIS University grew out of the Mining Academy, founded in 1918. It was a powerful intellectual center that produced the country’s leading industry-specific universities, including our institute (formerly the metallurgy faculty), the Sergo Ordzhonikidze Russian State University for Geological Prospecting, and the Gubkin University (oil and gas). This experience of creating applied engineering schools that have proven their effectiveness over decades is what we offer our African partners today.

Six universities directly created on the basis of the Mining Academy:

The Mining Institute (later the Moscow Mining Institute, now largely incorporated into MISIS).

The Institute of Ferrous Metallurgy (later the Moscow Institute of Steel, now the MISIS University of Science and Technology).

The State University of Non-Ferrous Metals and Gold (part of its resources later became part of other universities).

The Peat Institute (later Tver State Technical University).

The Oil Institute (now the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas).

The Geological Exploration Institute (now the Sergo Ordzhonikidze Russian State Geological Exploration University).

— This clearly shows how the Mining Academy evolved, with its faculties becoming independent institutes, forming their own scientific schools, and growing a network of hundreds of partner companies for which they train personnel and solve applied problems. Today, the MISIS University ecosystem serves as a model for our African colleagues of how to transform a university so that it meets the challenges of industry. This is a transition from purely theoretical education to practice-oriented education, enabling a university to make a real contribution to the economy.

China and India have already appreciated the effectiveness of this approach. They have successfully adapted Soviet educational models, which at one time made it possible to create a powerful agro-industrial complex, energy, transport........

© New Eastern Outlook