The Institute of Education at WERA 2025: From Vocational Education to Trends in Education Development in BRICS

In October, the HSE Institute of Education fellows presented a wide range of research initiatives at the annual World Education Research Association (WERA) conference in João Pessoa, Brazil.

The panel 'Rethinking TVET in Comparative Perspective: Contexts, Challenges, and Insights', organised as part of the international CERE Observatory on Education research initiative, was one of the conference's key events. Representing the Institute of Education, Vera Maltseva, Director of the Centre for Vocational Education and Skills Development, and Maksim Nikitin, Head of the International Cooperation Division, attended the event, which was moderated by Geovana Mendes (University of Santa Catarina).

Researchers from Russia, Germany, Japan, the United States, and Brazil engaged in dialogue on a range of pressing issues in education. These included the influence of social and economic contexts on the development of vocational education systems, the current state of comparative frameworks in TVET research, and the potential for integrating academic ideas with practical educational policy.

Comparing isn't about competing, but about figuring out what makes us different and what we can learn from each other. It's also about working together to build a research framework for studying TVET systems around the world, – Vera Maltseva shared her vision. 

Another activity involving the IOE’s fellows that attracted considerable interest was the roundtable ‘Trends in General Education Development in BRICS Countries’. Led by Ivan Ivanov, Director of the Pinsky Centre of General and Extracurricular Education, the discussion was based on a joint analytical report by the Institute of Education examining educational policy trends in BRICS countries.

In addition, the conference featured a special section of the ‘Educational Studies Moscow’ journal dedicated to a thematic issue on the development of education in the BRICS countries. The authors of the special issue provided more details about their research and answered questions.

The Institute of Education's involvement in WERA 2025 was a significant step in the development of international academic cooperation and the strengthening of Russia's research presence in the global educational dialogue.