Digital mentoring as a tool for student adaptation to the online educational environment within the BRICS countries

Abstract

The diversity of modern education systems is intensively expanding through both the technical enhancement of educational programs and broadening of the student demographic. Within the multi-vector development of the BRICS countries, an educational framework has emerged that heavily incorporates distance learning. Initiatives such as the Russian-Indian Network (RIN) of universities aim to strengthen educational cooperation between Indian and Russian universities by developing shortand long-term academic mobility programs, compiling shared teaching resources, creating a unified digital educational environment, and organizing scientific and educational forums, conferences, master classes, etc. Our experience in delivering educational programs to groups of high school and university students from Russia and India has shown a high demand for mentoring within the online educational environment, which serves to optimally facilitate student adaptation. The mentor-student interaction is undergoing hance their intercultural communication skills and acquire authentic area studies material. The article aims to substantiate the need to develop the institution of digital mentoring within the BRICS educational environment. This development entails the following components of mentor training, which largely parallel the training objectives for students: learning foreign languages; forming a geopolitical outlook; developing intercultural competence; forming a psychological and pedagogical culture; and mastering modern information and communication technologies. The study employed analytical and case study methods. Following the psychological understanding of adaptation as both a process and an outcome, we identify its innovative effective component as the transnational competence formed in students through the competent mediation of mentors. Transnational competence is defined as a set of linguistics, cultural, polycentric, and communicative competencies that transcend national boundaries, enabling individuals to interact effectively within the geopolitical space and the global labor market. It is crucial to emphasize the complementarity of this process, wherein both mentors and students acquire transnational competence. The proposed approach has been piloted in BRICS associated schools.