On April 12, the first round table of the Working Group “Education and Human Development” within the BRICS Civil Forum was held at HSE University's campus in Moscow.

The event was moderated by Evgeniy Terentev, Director of the Institute of Education at HSE University and Co-Chair of the Working group.

The event brought together distinguished Russian educators and members of the academic community to discuss the group's upcoming agenda and key focus areas. The discussions included proposals from the Russian side aimed at shaping the stance papers of the BRICS Civil Forum, which will undergo further international deliberation involving representatives from all member states.

In light of the quickly evolving field of international relations, the participants had talks on critical problems pertaining to the growth and scale of international academic cooperation. An initiative was proposed to establish a unified research and educational environment for the BRICS countries, fostering effective horizontal ties among academic communities in higher education, secondary education, and vocational education. Experts also supported the idea of creating an independent ranking of higher educational institutions in BRICS countries, along with independent citation indices and qualification and competence metrics. Much of the conversation centered on the worsening labour market situation brought on by a serious lack of competent workers. Adopting uniform methods for evaluating credentials and proficiencies will help the BRICS member states map out the best courses for human development and promote advancements in research and education in all member nations.

Follow-up discussions will continue at the national level in both face-to-face and online forms and will subsequently involve representatives from the BRICS states.