The BRICS University League is forging closer educational bonds among the group's five countries - an example of cooperation that has borne fruit in recent years.

The idea of establishing a league of universities was first put forward by educators from nine higher education institutions in China and Russia in July 2013, when the International Academic Conference and Seminars on BRICS Studies unfolded in Shanghai.

Officially launched in Beijing in October 2015, the league aims to boost higher education cooperation and people-to-people exchanges among the five members of BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - said Wang Lei, director of the Center for Cooperation Among BRICS Members at Beijing Normal University, where the secretariat of the league is located.