Visit of Juliana Lumumba, Scientific Achievements, and Student Victories: The Year 2025 at RUDN University in Quotes
"The University’s International Office and the Department of Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies, based on the results of the 2025 admissions campaign, secured enrollment for 5,594 foreign citizens from 140 countries at RUDN University, a record in the university’s entire history. This year, the Olympiad movement for finding and attracting talented international youth to our university received a powerful new boost for development. More than 15,000 foreign nationals participated in the Open RUDN Olympiad, resulting in over 1,700 winners and prize-winners from 143 countries worldwide. 900 foreign citizens received the right to study at RUDN University under the quota of the Government of the Russian Federation.
Furthermore, in the year marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, RUDN University gained a new friend — Patrice’s daughter, Juliana. Speaking at the international scientific conference ’Russia and Africa: Legacy of the Past, Opportunities of the Present, Prospects for the Future,’ Juliana wished our university continued development so that more and more Africans could receive an education at our university, spreading the fundamental knowledge, values, and ideals of justice and equality acquired in Russia across the African continent.
Also, on October 30, RUDN University became a venue for the international forum of foreign graduates of Soviet and Russian universities. The event was organized with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia in partnership with MIREA — Russian Technological University. RUDN University was visited by over 100 heads of associations of graduates from Russian (Soviet) universities from 50 countries worldwide. Forum participants developed proposals to enhance cooperation between alumni associations and Russian universities in education, science, promoting the Russian language, and preserving traditional values. The first results of implementing these proposals are planned to be discussed in 2026 at a forum of foreign graduates of Russian (Soviet) universities, in which over 2,000 foreign graduates will participate," said Marina Rekets, Vice-Rector for International Activities at RUDN University.
"In 2025, the research activities of RUDN University reached a qualitatively new level. The total amount of funds received from R&D execution was 1,124,291.8 thousand rubles (R&D + STU). The university carried out 7 large-scale projects under state programs and 2 projects for the benefit of regional authorities. These are breakthrough studies in medicine, agricultural science, urban ecology, and plasma physics. The university’s teams simultaneously implemented three mega-grants from the Russian Science Foundation in the areas of smart urban environment technologies, development of new antibiotics for agriculture, and personalization of soft tissue sarcoma therapy. For the first time in 2025, we ensured international commercialization of intellectual activity results — from enhanced oil recovery technologies to biotechnologies for foodtech. This confirmed that RUDN’s developments are in demand by the real sector of the economy not only in Russia but also abroad (Kazakhstan and Iran).
The policy regarding publications and scientific journals proved successful. As of this year, 27 out of 33 journals affiliated with RUDN University are included in the national ’White List.’ 10 of them were immediately placed in the first, highest level. From 2020 to 2025, the number of publications in the first and second quartiles of the international Scopus database grew almost 1.5 times — from 944 to 1,375 articles (a 46% increase). Over 1,000 publications were authored by RUDN researchers in 2025 in collaboration with international research partners. We flexibly responded to changes in the national research landscape, resulting in a new edition of the R&D and innovation activity development program until 2030: the number of formal reporting indicators has been reduced, and the emphasis on creating conditions for effective work by scientists has been strengthened. Simultaneously, we expanded the motivational package for authors of scientific publications by increasing the categories of supported journals and the amount of payments per article.
An important result of the year in the field of student science was the opening at the Faculty of Science of the ’Mathematics for Promising Youth’ Scientific Development Center. It focuses on developing a mentoring system and training gifted young people. The results are already ensuring victories in international and all-Russian competitions and building a high personnel potential of expert level. The successes of our scientific accelerator are gratifying: this year, its finalists were 25 startups by RUDN students. Their projects come from different research worlds: from helping diabetics, seeking mindfulness, creating quest-excursions to networking and AI-based digital services. But all startups share a common mission — to improve a person’s quality of life, reduce time spent on routine, and give a person the opportunity to feel truly alive," said Pyotr Dokukin, Head of the Scientific Department at RUDN University.
“The growth of the total endowment fund (target capital intended for non-commercial use) of RUDN University compared to the same period last year was 133%, and more and more benefactors are joining the project. The largest donation amounted to 2 million rubles, and the total size of the combined endowment fund is 8.6 million rubles. For the first time in the university’s history, income from the endowment fund was used to pay scholarships to academic excellence students at the 50th RUDN Excellence Students’ Gathering. The RUDN Development Fund has become a unique platform for practical training of university students. 36 students from Russia and 16 from foreign countries — Armenia, Afghanistan, Haiti, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, China, Côte d’Ivoire, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Moldova, Senegal, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Chad, and Equatorial Guinea — have already become acquainted with the basics of institutional charity and the work of the university endowment. Many students learned for the first time what an endowment is and how it works. Among the fund’s key events is the signing of an agreement on practical training for RUDN students in economics and law. The fund also financed the project to equip the RUDN e-sports club and supported the organization and holding of the IV International Scientific Conference ’For the Sustainable Development of Civilization: Cooperation, Science, Education, Technology,’” said Maria Zhukova, Advisor to the Rectorate, Executive Director of the RUDN Development Fund.
“2025 was a very eventful and significant year for our university. At the very beginning of the year, RUDN University celebrated its 65th anniversary. As part of this grand celebration, over 300 students performed on the main stage of our country — the State Kremlin Palace. A separate series of events throughout the year was dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Personally, I especially remember the ’Victory Waltz’ on the main square of our university, where 100 young people from more than 25 countries, dressed in 1940s-style military uniforms, created an incredible atmosphere. I would also like to mention the victories and achievements of our students in significant competitions. Hamza Amro (Syria, Engineering Academy, 4th year Bachelor’s, Architecture major) won the ’Mister Student of Moscow — 2025′ competition. Alexander Mironenko (Russia, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1st year Master’s, History major) is the winner of the Grand Prix of the ’Student of the Year in Moscow’ competition and 1st place in the ’Patriot of the Year’ nomination. Over 130 RUDN students became winners of scholarships from the President and the Government of the Russian Federation. Speaking of memorable dates, one cannot fail to mention the Excellence Students’ Gathering — this year it took place for the 50th, jubilee time. In conclusion, I want to say that it is pleasant to see how a tradition of a pre-New Year’s Ball of Peoples’ Friendship is taking shape at RUDN University, now held for the third consecutive year at the Pashkov House. Perhaps, a solemn event opposite the Kremlin is undoubtedly the best reward for students,” said Mikhail Katsarsky, Vice-Rector for Student Affairs at RUDN University.
"2025 was truly a record year for RUDN University in terms of admissions and applicant interest. Over 200,000 applications is not just a number, but a testament of trust in the university. This year, we enrolled 11,553 people across all levels and forms of study, including vocational secondary education. The university welcomed 642 high-scoring applicants (over 80 on the Unified State Exam), including two perfect
300-point scorers — to the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence. Particularly gratifying is the growth in the enrollment of Olympiad winners: the number of those we admitted without entrance exams increased by a third, and the number of winners and prize-winners of the All-Russian School Olympiad has grown by 52% over three years. Moreover, the range is expanding — for the first time, Olympiad winners in aviation engineering and jurisprudence enrolled with us. We separately note our own RUDN Olympiad for schoolchildren as an important tool for identifying talent. In the 2024/2025 academic year, over 6,700 schoolchildren participated in the qualifying round — more than double last year’s figure. While the number of winners and prize-winners remained stable, the most important outcome for us increased: the number of those admitted based on the Olympiad results rose from 38 to 51 people. This means the Olympiad is increasingly becoming a real gateway to the university for motivated and strong applicants. Simultaneously, interest in targeted enrollment grew almost 3.5 times: the number of applications increased from 255 to 861 over three years. All this points to one thing — RUDN University is now perceived as a university of opportunities, where people go for a strong education, prospects, and tangible results. Interest in RUDN this year was visible not only in the admissions figures but also in the live interaction with applicants: in total, more than 100,000 people attended our Open House Days. This indicates that the university is chosen consciously — people come, ask questions, and see the campus and educational opportunities with their own eyes. And, besides, for us, not only the quality of admissions matters, but also how the university is present in the life of the city and country. In 2025, a branded RUDN train started running on the Sokolnicheskaya metro line — as a symbol of the university’s openness and recognizability," said Natalia Chesnokova, Vice-Rector for Admissions at RUDN University.
The university keeps warm memories of its graduates and the time when they studied and built their future at RUDN University. Today, for their children and grandchildren, the university offers its best Russian language courses completely free of charge.
One of the main questions that concerns students at any university is how to gain their first professional experience before completing their studies. At RUDN University, this process is structured systematically, from choosing an internship to potential employment opportunities.
The writing round of the final stage of The Moscow School Olympiad in the Arabic language took place at RUDN University. The competition was organized by the Center of Pedagogical Excellence.