Polytech Expands Cooperation with Balkan States

New Partner: University of East Sarajevo

On January 25, Dmitry Bykov, Rector of Samara Polytech, and Milan Kulich, Rector of the University of East Sarajevo—one of the leading universities in the Republic of Srpska—signed a cooperation agreement in Moscow. The agreement was finalized during a working meeting chaired by Konstantin Mogilevsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.

The parties discussed promising areas of collaboration, including academic mobility and the promotion of the Russian language and culture. According to Milan Kulich, as reported by the news agency Public News Service, the discussion highlighted achievements in student and faculty exchanges as well as initiatives to study and popularize the Russian language. Both sides agreed to pursue joint research projects.

“We are very pleased to have signed a cooperation agreement with the University of East Sarajevo,” said Dmitry Bykov. “I believe this marks the beginning of productive bilateral cooperation. I am confident that we will see the first concrete results from this partnership soon.”

Samara Polytech began strengthening its partnerships with Balkan countries about a year and a half ago. In October 2023, Anna Zotova, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, met with Snezhana Pavlovich, Senior Advisor at the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia, to explore collaboration opportunities between Samara Polytech and Serbian universities in Belgrade, Niš, and Kragujevac. Key focus areas identified were pharmaceuticals and chemical technologies. At that time, discussions were also held with the University of Novi Sad regarding joint educational programs and conferences, with design and food technology highlighted as priority fields.

“We maintain regular communication with the Serbian Embassy,” Zotova said. “Additionally, we are now part of the working group at the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education dedicated to cooperation with the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Srpska. The Serbian side is interested not only in studying Russian but also in promoting their language and culture abroad. This presents a great opportunity for our university to organize Serbian language courses and establish student exchanges.”