Russia Can Support Ethiopia to Elevate Industry, Grow Specialists Faster: Cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov

Addis Ababa March 31/2023(ENA) The Russian Cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov shared today his experiences to Ethiopian students at the Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (AASTU), further pointing out that Russia can help Ethiopia to raise the industry faster.

Briefing the media after his presentation to students, the cosmonaut said Russia can provide some special services like geo-observation data for Ethiopia as it has already entered cooperation agreement in nuclear sciences with the university and will probably have cooperation in space engineering program. 

 

Such kind of engineering is the basis for developing any country, he noted, adding that engineering specialists are those who can improve the whole industry. 

“It does not matter if it is rocket science or nuclear science. If you need to develop, you have to pay attention to these areas of education.” 

The astronaut advised that the Ethiopian government itself and the university could decide what the priorities for the country are, and we as partners can provide services for the country. 

“We should first of all look at the needs. If we need to improve our rocket science, we pay attention to it and we grow specialists in this area.”

For Kud-Sverchkov, it is up to the government to decide what kind of specialists and scientists it needs. But obviously every country needs their own scientists to develop in their own way.

“Our task is to be partners in development. Probably it is really hard and expensive to create industry from the very beginning. As Russia, we can help raise the industry faster and grow specialists faster to catch up with the world.”

AASTU President, Dereje Engida said that sharing such experiences is pivotal to prepare Ethiopia for the future and prepare the young generation.

 

The university has 8 centers of excellence which have been designated to work on special areas such as mining extraction and exploration, sustainable energy, biotechnology and bio-process, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and robotics. 

Space Science and Geospatial Institute (SSGI) Director General,  Abdisa Yilma said “following the footsteps of Yuri Gagarin, and with the spirit of a great people like you (Sergey Kud-Sverchkov), we (Ethiopians) hope that brilliant and courageous astronauts will emerge in the near future.”

The cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov had spent 185 days in orbit in 2020-2021, working as a flight engineer alongside his Russian and American colleagues. 

Russia is a pioneer country in space exploration. It has contributed a lot to humanity by developing space technologies and skills that enable human beings to make the first steps in space.