NUST MISIS participated in the IV International Youth Forum "Russia-Africa: Nuclear Education — Potential for Successful Regional Development. At the RUDN University’s venue, leading experts from Russia, Mali, Namibia, and Tanzania discussed the results of research and the implementation of atomic technologies in the fields of energy, medicine, agronomy, and ecology. Representatives from leading partner universities of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom moderated the sessions. This year, for the first time, works were presented in a new section — “Geology and Mining”, featuring speakers from the University.
MISIS University’s representatives discussed the geological features of Southern and Eastern African countries, sustainable development technologies, and the greening of industrial production, as well as the application of geoinformation systems in modeling mineral deposits and the use of new energy sources in mining and metallurgy.
Dmitrii Kurenkov, an associate professor at the Department of Geology and Surveying at NUST MISIS and coordinator of the “Geology and Mining” section, noted that Africa is one of the richest regions in the world in terms of natural resources. In his opinion, large reserves of uranium, gold, cobalt, copper, manganese, aluminum, and rare earth elements attract interest from many high-tech corporations worldwide.
“The rapid development of infrastructure, growth in industrial production, and demand for raw materials make this market extremely promising for long-term investments. Russian companies with advanced technologies in exploration, mining, and processing of minerals can take key positions in this region and strengthen economic and political relations with African countries,” said Dmitrii Kurenkov.
NUST MISIS actively supports educational projects involving key industry partners. This year, students from Namibia and Tanzania will graduate from the first joint master’s program between NUST MISIS and RUDN — Mining Geology. Additionally, professional development programs have been developed for specialists from Namibia’s mining sector.
Second-year master’s student Felix Naanda presented the results of his research “Geometallurgy: Optimizing the Process of Mine-to-Mill”. Post-graduate student Tamboura Mamadou reported on polymer-graphene coatings as anti-static coatings for solar energy in the Sahel area.
The forum has been held since 2020 to promote Russian nuclear education in partner countries of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom. Representatives from international organizations and diplomatic missions of African states in Russia exchange experiences annually with government authorities, academic institutions, and the business community.
