MGIMO Rector’s address

Dear alumni and friends of the University,

In 2007, MGIMO established the first endowment in Russia – the MGIMO Development Fund. It is aimed at accumulating funding. Its funds are untouchable, as the University only has the right to use the interest received from their turnover. The Endowment fund will be the key to MGIMO’s dynamic and successful development for many years to come. MGIMO graduates Vladimir Potanin, Alisher Usmanov and Fattakh Shodiev were the first to make large donations to the Fund. Furthermore, they decided that at the end of each calendar year, they would match what all other donors had given to the Fund until the capital reaches 1 billion roubles. The endowment exceeded 1 billion roubles in 2012 and 1.5 billion in 2016.

The attracted money and investment income are used to maintain the status of MGIMO as a unique international humanities university. Great importance is placed on financing the linguistics component, as well as on the further promotion of the University on the global educational services market, the launching of innovative education programmes, support for academic research, publishing activity and the social component.

Over the years, MGIMO has trained about 50,000 highly qualified specialists from more than 60 countries. Among them are three presidents, seven prime ministers and over 30 ministers, around 800 ambassadors from Russia and other countries, prominent businessmen, politicians, lawyers and journalists. The key to their success was largely due to the high-quality education received at their alma mater.

We intend to use the endowment mechanism to create a solid foundation for the University’s further dynamic development and to uphold MGIMO’s reputation, and for that we are counting on your support, dear graduates and friends. The size of the donation doesn’t matter – any graduate or friend of the University has the opportunity to help their alma mater, regardless of their wealth. Any donation to the endowment is an important contribution to the success of future generations of MGIMO students as they become the diplomatic, managerial and business elite of our country.

We are determined to make MGIMO one of the leaders not only in the Russian education market but also in the global one. I invite all alumni and friends of MGIMO to participate in the replenishment of the endowment fund and to give their fair share to the further development of our University.

Anatoly Torkunov

Rector of MGIMO

Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences