Moscow (RU)/Berne (CH), July 2009 - Marput, the International Association of Developers and Manufacturers of Educational Equipment located in Moscow, and Worlddidac, a Swiss-based global trade association for companies providing products for education and training at all levels, have held a competition and presentation in the Russian capital related to education systems. Barbara Köchli reports the results.
Of the 331 vocational schools that took part in the advertised competition, 64 were successful with their projects, receiving loans of two million US dollars each for education systems. A total of 128 million US dollars was awarded for education systems from federal and regional sources.
Alongside the heads of vocational schools at the presentation were both Russian manufacturers and traders and also international companies. The seminar, planned as a small event, attracted seventy visitors. Both Worlddidac members as well as Russian companies unveiled interesting products from a rich variety of fields such as electrical engineering, pneumatics, mechatronics, and many more, presenting them with the use of interactive whiteboards and language programs.
Talks held during the seminar demonstrated the very positive basic attitude of vocational schools towards high-quality products. Several Worlddidac members who are already successfully active in Russia have also confirmed this fact.
The discussions emphasized that companies not coming from Russia have to meet two basic conditions if they seek entry into the local market. First, all brochures, specifications, instructions for use, work sheets, etc. must be available in Russian. Furthermore, a trader active in Russia must be able to communicate with the consumer in Russian; English, German, or French will not suffice.
The event was clouded by the fact that the decision regarding the granting of loans was unexpectedly delayed. This resulted in the announcement coming at very short notice, and several attendees were consequently unable to take part in the presentation. With a view toward 2010, Worlddidac is taking all necessary measures to ensure this unfortunate complication is not repeated.
