UNESCO Chair "Geoparks and Territories of Sustainable Development" of Ufa University of Science and Technology Launches Joint Educational Project with Malaysia

UNESCO Chair "Geoparks and Territories of Sustainable Development" launches a unique international online educational programme jointly with the Board of Directors of Sabah Parks (Malaysia, Borneo Island).

Ufa University and the Sabah Parks Association have agreements on cooperation in the field of sustainable development of natural areas of international importance. They reflect the intentions of the parties to cooperate in the field of preserving bio-, geo- and ethno-cultural diversity and the development of eco-tourism. In particular, conducting scientific research on modeling the tourist flow using artificial intelligence.

According to Renata Lukmanova, Executive Director of the Committee for UNESCO Affairs of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the programme "Leader of the Sustainable Development Program of the Territory" is designed for middle-level managers - employees of the tourism industry, geoparks, biosphere reserves, UNESCO World Heritage sites and specially protected natural areas.

"The course is interesting for industrial partners, a wide range of companies interested in implementing sustainable development and ESG programs. These are companies in the mining and metallurgical and oil and gas sectors. The Malaysian side has also expressed interest in the program, from which the heads of environmental organizations at the middle and senior levels will receive training," Renata Lukmanova added. 

The students will be taught in English and Russian. At the exit, graduates from Russia and the CIS receive a diploma of retraining from Ufa University, and Malaysians receive a certificate.

The course program consists of three modules. The educational content was developed by highly qualified specialists of Ufa University of Science and Technology (UUST) in the field of sustainable development. Students will have the opportunity to complete a field internship at the international organization Sabah Parks, which manages a unique natural area on the island of Borneo in Malaysia. The agglomeration of nine parks has the status of UNESCO's "Triple Crown", it simultaneously includes a World Heritage Site, a UNESCO Geopark and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. In the final module, participants will present their final projects.

Also, as part of the cooperation, a programme has been created to simulate the tourist flow in territories of sustainable development of international importance through artificial intelligence. As part of the proposed study, AI will be used for the first time to optimize the tourist flow in specially protected natural areas of Russia.

"The partnership connects Russia, the Republic of Bashkortostan and Malaysia, which has an entire environmental protection corporation managing nine UNESCO Triple Crown national parks (UNESCO World Heritage Site, UNESCO Geopark and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve)," comments Ural Kilsenbayev, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan. "This fact gives the access to the global experience in managing sustainable development territories of international importance and the opportunity to transfer our unique reserve to the space of Southeast Asia."