UNESCO Digital Learning Week 2026 Concludes in Paris

UNESCO Digital Learning Week took place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 8 to 11 September 2026 under the theme "Education in the Age of AI: Facts | Frictions | Frontiers".

The Russian Federation was represented by Ms Olga Molovtseva, Deputy Director of the Department for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education; Dr Yulia Antokhina, Rector of Saint Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation; Dr Svetlana Malkarova, Director of the Dubai campus of Plekhanov Russian University of Economics; Dr M. Simonova, Director of the Institute of Comparative Education Policy at RUDN University; Dr Alexander Sokolov, Deputy Director of the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge at HSE University; and their colleagues.

The presentation "AI and the Labour Market: How Economics Universities Are Preparing Specialists for the Automation Era" by Mr Ivan Lobanov, Chair of the Coordination Committee of UNESCO Chairs in the Russian Federation and Rector of Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, was included in Parallel Session 3.2, held on 10 September. It was delivered on the Rector's behalf by Dr Svetlana Malkarova, and was the only presentation from the Russian side included in the Digital Learning Week programme.

A separate strand of the delegation's work consisted of meetings between the UNESCO Chairs of the Coordination Committee of UNESCO Chairs in the Russian Federation and the leadership and staff of the relevant UNESCO divisions. The Chairs' delegation included representatives of Saint Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, HSE University and RUDN University. Meetings were held with Mr Sobhi Tawil, Director of the Division for the Future of Learning and Innovation; Ms Shafika Isaacs, Chief of the Section for Technology and AI in Education; Ms Maya Prince, UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme Manager; and Ms Inga Nichanian, Senior Programme Assistant at the Division for the Future of Learning and Innovation. The discussions covered the participation of Russian university experts in UNESCO conferences and forums, cooperation within the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme, and student internships at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.

The delegation also engaged with the relevant UNESCO sectors and programmes. Dr Malkarova presented the work of the UNESCO Chair on Socio-Economic Models of Biosphere Reserves to the Secretariat of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, and the work of the UNESCO Chair on Societal, Legal and Ethical Frameworking of Knowledge Societies to UNESCO's Communication and Information Sector. The discussions covered the involvement of the Chairs' experts in UNESCO programmes and preparations for the international conference on the institutional integration of biosphere reserves.

On the margins of Digital Learning Week, Dr Svetlana Malkarova, Director of the Dubai campus of Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, met H.E. Amna Al Saleh, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the United Arab Emirates. The two sides discussed avenues of cooperation in higher education and scientific research.

Members of the Russian delegation also exchanged experience with colleagues from foreign universities and held meetings with the UNESCO Secretariat.