The Russian Language Learning Center at the University of Zimbabwe may open by June, Dennis Murekachiro, Director of Higher Education Programmes at Zimbabwe's Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, told Sputnik on the sidelines of the international IT forum "Russia-Africa: Digital Technologies as a Driver of state Development and International Cooperation," held in the press center of the Rossiya Segodnya media group.
The official stated that the work of the establishment of the center is in progress, as parties have already discussed the initiative and come to an agreement.
According to him, efforts are aimed at ensuring that the center will be opened soon.
He noted that Zimbabweans are willing to to learn Russian and various platforms for teaching the language are being prepared, adding that the parties are developing inter-university cooperation, with a number of memorandums of understanding signed.
In addition, within the framework of the IT forum, Vice Rector of Zimbabwe's Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences Professor Albert Chawanda said that his university will start teaching Russian to those students who are interested, starting next semester.
He added that the university would like to see specialists from Russia among its teachers.
In March this year, Amon Murvira, Zimbabwe's Minister of Higher Education, Innovation, Science, and Technology Development, outlined that over the past five years Zimbabwe and Russia have signed a number of key memorandums of understanding in the fields of higher education, science, and technical cooperation, as well as on mutual recognition of diplomas.
In particular, the minister highlighted agreements between Zimbabwe and Rosatom on training personnel in the field of nuclear technologies, an agreement between the Zimbabwean Space Agency and Roscosmos, as well as bilateral agreements between Russian and Zimbabwean universities based on the Russian-African Network University.
He also recalled that many professors in Zimbabwe studied in Russia and now speak Russian, which is an important factor in scientific exchanges.