African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 989 Academic Exchange
After arranging accommodation and purchasing daily necessities, Cowell and his team began their work.

Their first stop is Tomsk State Polytechnic University, not Tomsk Imperial University. Although Tomsk Imperial University is the top university in the local area, it does not match the current talent demand in East Africa.

Because Tomsk Imperial University focuses on liberal arts and does not have science and engineering departments, this is a common problem in many European universities today.

Traditional universities focus on art, religion, literature, law, etc. Tomsk Imperial University was founded in 1803 and will be a century-old school in three years. Such an ancient institution has the same subjects as those of ancient European universities.

On the other hand, although Tomsk Polytechnic University was founded in 1896, four years ago, the name of the school shows that it has a different positioning from Tomsk Imperial University.

"Welcome to our Tomsk State Polytechnic University." The president and teachers of Tomsk State Polytechnic University are very welcoming to these guests who came from East Africa.

There is no other reason. It is rare to see foreigners in Tomsk. Not to mention foreigners, even Russians would come to this hellhole to develop if it were not for policy reasons.

The arrival of Cowell and his team was naturally very eye-catching, not to mention that they came from the mysterious country of East Africa. For most countries in the world, East Africa is a country full of mystery. In just a few decades, they were able to transform the barren land of Africa into a world power that could kick Portugal and beat Britain.

East Africa is respectable and attractive to a country like Russia that admires the strong. Of course, this is mostly hearsay. No country in the world dares to say that it is an "East Africa expert" because East Africa has always been very closed.

So whether it was curiosity about the arrival of strangers or curiosity about the country in East Africa, all the staff of Tomsk State Polytechnic University were full of enthusiasm for Cowell and his team.

In fact, there is another reason. Cowell and his team first visited Tomsk Polytechnic University, which made the staff of this school feel very proud. After all, the East African personnel came to Tomsk in the name of introducing talents and cultural exchanges.

The Tomsk State Polytechnic University is not as important as the Tomsk Imperial University, a well-established Russian university, in terms of its historical heritage and domestic importance. So what does the arrival of East Africans mean? It means that in the eyes of East Africans, this university is more important than Tomsk Imperial University!

This is the mentality of teachers and students of Tomsk State Polytechnic University. Of course, the mentality of members of the East African Working Group in Russia's Far East is not so complicated. Everyone still respects the strength of Tomsk Imperial University. It's just that East Africa values ​​science and engineering talents, so it is impossible to recruit a group of artists, writers or religious scholars from Tomsk Imperial University.

"Hello, Vice President Mulotov, thank you for your hospitality. I am Cowell, a teacher at the Rhine Empire Mbeya State University. I am mainly responsible for teaching the mechanical major. This is..."

Cowell introduced the members of his group to President Mulotov one by one. Most of the members were university teachers or elites in the East African industrial field.

Instantly, everyone's enthusiasm was heightened. After all, judging from the composition of Cowell's team members, most of them were elites in science and engineering, and so were many teachers at Tomsk State Polytechnic University, so everyone had a lot in common.

Mulotov asked, "Mr. Kewell, I'd like to ask you a question. Are you trained in a local institution in East Africa or are you a person who returned to China after studying in Europe?"

Kewell: "There is nothing to hide. I was indeed educated in the local education system, but I also received university education in Europe. I wonder if President Mulotov has heard of the Stuttgart Technical College in Germany. I studied there for two years. As for my alma mater in the Rhine Empire, it is the Mombasa State University."

Mulotov pondered for a moment and said, "Stuttgart Institute of Technology. I have heard of Stuttgart as the political center of Württemberg, but I have never been there because I only went to France to study. As for Stuttgart Higher Technical College, I have never heard of it. However, if it is a German school, it should be quite strong."

"As for the Mombasa State University you mentioned and the Mbeya State University where you work, they are even more unfamiliar to me. After all, in Russia, there is not much news about the Rhine Empire, including in the field of education." Cowell said with a smile: "Of course, the Rhine Empire is a relatively remote country compared to Russia. Although many of our schools are strong, they are not well-known in Europe and the United States."

After Cowell's words, Mulotov was undecided. He also wanted to know the strength of higher education institutions in East Africa.

So he said to Cowell: "Mr. Cowell said before that you are a mechanics teacher. I am a chemistry major. Our principal is good at mechanics, but he is on a business trip in St. Petersburg, so it is a pity that I cannot communicate with you in person. It is really a pity."

Cowell waved his hand and said, "Mr. President, you must have something extraordinary to be able to serve as the president of Tomsk State Polytechnic University. Although my major does not overlap with mine, my relevant knowledge must be very high."

As he spoke, he pushed out a member of the group and said, "This is Mr. Lemmington from our Rhine Empire Harare University of Technology. He happens to be a chemist. I think you and the president will definitely have something in common."

In foreign exchanges, because the early impression of East Africa's geographical location has been deeply rooted in people's minds, East Africa has become a common name for East Africa in other countries. This is just like the Far East Empire had many country names in various dynasties, but now it has been solidified as "Middle Earth".

Mulotov looked at the young man recommended by Cowell with great interest. Being crowned a chemist in East Africa meant that he must have made good achievements in the field of chemistry in East Africa. So Mulotov also decided to use Lemington as a starting point to see the quality of the East African.

"Hello, Mr. Lemmington, we are in the same business. I wonder if you are…"

Obviously, Lemmington was not as eloquent as Cowell, so he was quickly tricked by Mulotov. However, after some communication, Mulotov quickly determined that Lemmington was a man of real talent and had studied in Europe. Mulotov even knew his European mentor.

"Professor Orakiel is actually your mentor. I have met him several times in Belgium and we still exchange letters. However, I never thought that he would have such an outstanding student like you. I just never heard him mention it."

Lemmington: "I returned to China to work after graduation, and the only way I could communicate with my supervisor was through letters, and for work reasons..."

Only then did Mulotov understand that many of Lemmington's achievements were well-known in the East African academic circles, but not so well-known in Europe and the United States. This had something to do with the system in East Africa.

In fact, since the 1990s, the East African academic community has already had some budding influence in the world, but the East African education system has been formed and is just beginning to bear fruit. At least Cowell's alma mater, Mombasa State University, is relatively famous in Germany.

However, for various reasons, academic exchanges between East Africa and Europe and the United States will always be restricted. As a latecomer, East Africa is still in the stage of narrowing the gap and is only the leader in some individual fields.

Mechanics and chemistry are obviously East Africa's weaknesses, so Mulotov did not see too many shining points from Cowell and Lemmington, but compared with others, they are definitely good enough.

This is actually true. If Cowell and his team were definitely not the top talents in East Africa, they would not have come to Tomsk, a city in Russia's Far East, to introduce talents and conduct academic exchanges.

(End of this chapter)