Anglia Ruskin University and Knowledge Associates Cambridge Ltd have signed a deal to provide training for managers at Russian Railways, one of the country’s biggest companies.

Russian Railways has more than 1million staff and nearly 150 associated companies in areas as diverse as freight transport, passenger traffic, logistics, production and engineering.

The partnership will see academics from Anglia Ruskin’s Lord Ashcroft International Business School work together with experts from Russian Railways’ Corporate University to develop a joint learning programme for senior executives, covering project management, cost and revenue generation management, risk management, innovation management and efficient decision-making.

The programme will be delivered to Russian Railways’ senior executives in English by Anglia Ruskin academics, with simultaneous interpretation through headphones. The next level of management will be taught in Russian by their own training team at their Corporate University in Shcherbinka, near Moscow.

Vladimir Yakunin, president of Russian Railways, said: “The holding company of Russian Railways is integrating in the global transport market, establishing partnerships with foreign railways. “The world is changing rapidly, and the best business practices are produced in close co-operation with reputable academic schools and experts in the field of knowledge management.”

Ron Young, chief executive of Knowledge Associates, said: “This is a unique opportunity to combine the highest standard of management education, offered by Anglia Ruskin University through its Degrees at Work programme, with the leading corporate knowledge management methods and tools, offered by Knowledge Associates Cambridge, to provide Russian Railways with world class knowledge-driven leadership.”

Jon Bouffler, director of learning development services at Anglia Ruskin, said: “Anglia Ruskin is proud to have been chosen as university partner in the Russian Railways Executive Education programme.

“This is a truly collaborative international project, working in virtual team spaces, across cultures and languages, co-creating learning materials which draw on the best knowledge and practices of all partners to deliver highly innovative work-based learning.”