Rectors Vladimir Litvinenko of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University and Shirong Ge of China University of Mining Engineering and Technology (Beijing) signed a memorandum on the establishment of a joint educational institution to train personnel from both countries.
This idea before the stage of the document was developed in detail by the working commissions of the two most powerful universities of the Russian Federation and the Celestial Empire in the field of natural resources development, and has already been presented both to the Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, who is responsible for cooperation with China, and to the Ministry of Education of China. In addition, it was informed about it by Valentina Matvienko, Chairman of the RF SF, during her visit to China by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC.
After compulsory bureaucratic procedures, construction of campuses for full-time education of five thousand students in general engineering fields will start in St. Petersburg and one of the cities of China. It is envisaged to create comfortable living conditions, as well as educational, research and administrative sites. Today, the second location is Ordos, the industrial capital of Inner Mongolia. It has huge reserves of coal, natural gas, oil, rare earth elements, as well as niobium, zirconium, beryllium and mercury. The Changqing oil and gas field operated by PetroChina is the largest in the country.
In addition, this autonomous region borders with the Trans-Baikal Territory, where the Mining University of St. Petersburg on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation is supervising the creation of the Eurasian scientific and educational center "Mining Academy" in Chita.
In turn, the Beijing University is conducting serious research of the geological layer, which begins in our territory and continues in the PRC. The conditions of deposit development, due to the similarity of rocks, are an object of interest for both countries. In Russia, this activity corresponds to the program of socio-economic development of the Far East, while in China it corresponds to a similar program in Inner Mongolia.
As is well known, Chinese education is "descended" from Soviet education. Immediately after the victory of the revolution, at the request of Mao Zedong, 10,000 students came to the USSR, and several hundred teachers came to China, who later laid the foundations of the educational system of our neighbors. Engineering universities were created (which they do not hide, but are proud of) according to the Soviet models. Therefore, Vladimir Litvinenko's proposal to build six-year courses according to the same principles that should form the basis of the new structure of higher technical education in Russia was accepted by Mr. Ge without reservations:
The establishment of the Russian-Chinese Mineral Resources University is obviously beneficial to both countries. All the more so when two such universities take on the task. The St. Petersburg Mining University, leader and initiator of the Nedra consortium, does not need to be presented here.
The potential of the Chinese university is no less impressive. It is known all over the world. Its history dates back to 1949. Located in Beijing. Highest rankings. 16,000 students. Theory and practice take equal places in the educational programs. The basic objective is to train mining engineers with IT-specialist competencies.
Coal is the basis of China's energy generation. There are simulators simulating the operation of coal combines in classrooms here - there are about four thousand coal mines in China, and Beijing is very concerned about both mining efficiency and safety. Simulators modeling the operation of mine workings in different geological conditions allow students and postgraduates to understand all the peculiarities of a possible place of work even before they go on practical training.
Remotely operated harvesters have already reduced the number of miners in the country by four and a half times.
It is obvious that together we are stronger and the realization of this initiative will allow the partners, as a result of mutual enrichment (which, by the way, is also a mining term), to train personnel for our economies at an even higher level than today. The Chinese are ready to learn Russian, Russian students are ready to learn Chinese.
"The goals have been said, the tasks have been set."