Students from Sierra Leone arrived in Moscow, on Wednesday 30th October 2019, to study General Medicine at RUDN University in Russia.

The students, thirteen (13) in number departed the shores of Sierra Leone on Tuesday 29th October 2019 after been nominated by the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education (MTHE). All thirteen awardees were subjected to rigorous scrutiny to ascertain their academic fitness for the course ahead of them. Their tickets and other traveling documents were handed over to them by the Ministry's Permanent Secretary, Mr. Gilbert Cooper, at a brief ceremony held in the ministry.

The Sierra Leone Embassy in Moscow has been accordingly informed, in a letter signed by Emmanuel M. Sandi, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry. Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Ambassador Mohamed Yongawo, has been very instrumental in pursuing the award of scholarships to deserving Sierra Leonean students to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the Russian Federation.

The offer of thirteen scholarships from the Government of the Russian Federation in favor of students from Sierra Leone was granted in 2017 by the People’s Friendship University (RUDN) in Moscow. In February this year, at a meeting with the Vice-Rector for International Studies at RUDN, the Sierra Leone Embassy in Moscow canvassed for the scholarship slot to be utilized by Sierra Leone.

It was agreed at the meeting, a team from RUDN travel to Freetown for assessment and consultation with officials of the Ministry of Higher Education, in addition to examining enrolment of best-qualified candidates.

The candidates who were successful in the examination were eventually selected by RUDN to pursue General Medicine. On Wednesday, 30th October 2019, thirteen students arrived safely and were received by the staff of the Sierra Leone Embassy in Moscow.