On April 6, 2026, the V International Youth Forum of the BRICS Project Lab opened at MGIMO University. The Forum brought together over 160 students and young researchers from eight BRICS universities, as well as students from specialized vocational schools. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and BRICS Sherpa Sergei A. Ryabkov participated in the opening of the Forum.
A plenary session “BRICS in the Emerging Digital Architecture of the World” was held on April 8, 2026, as part of the Forum. The session was moderated by NAIIS member, Dr. Hist., Professor at MGIMO University, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (ret.) Analoly I. Smirnov, who presented a textbook “International Security in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” and a report “BRICS in the Digital Transformation of the World: The Case of AI and Quantum Technologies.”
A number of renowned scientists spoke at the session, including a member of NAIIS Presidium, Dr. Hist., Professor, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (ret.) Andrei V. Krutskikh, with a report “Current Aspects of International Information Security”; NAIIS member, PhD (Polit. Sci.), Professor, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Military Sciences, and Head of the Information Security Department at IMEMO, Natalia P. Romashkina spoke about AI in the military sphere; PhD (Polit. Sci.), Senior Researcher at RANEPA, Alexander A. Ignatov addressed the challenges of global regulation of artificial intelligence.
The experts’ presentations prompted numerous questions from Forum participants and a rich discussion. Students also showed a keen interest in the Student Paper Competition on the topic of IIS, organized by NAIIS (information is available at: https://namib.online/konkurs-studencheskih-rabot/).
