MOSCOW, June 1 (RIA Novosti) - The British government allocated one million pounds ($1.88 mln) to strengthen educational links between British and Russian higher education establishments, a British education minister said Thursday.
"This funding should enable us to build still further on this collaboration with mutual benefits for our higher education institutions," Bill Rammel, the Minister for Higher Education and Lifelong Learning, said at a meeting of G8 education ministers in Moscow.
The money will be allocated through the Bridge program (British Degrees in Russia), launched by Britain and Russia in 2003 to promote cooperation in higher education. It is jointly coordinated by the British Council and the National Training Foundation in Russia.
"We're meeting this week against a background of globalization, where people are increasingly forging their careers in a global labor market, and where the caliber of qualifications is growing in significance," Rammel said. "The knowledge economy of the 21st century will demand the same skills and qualifications around the world. Our education has to be international if we are to meet the needs of our people and our economies."
