In March 2023, the heads of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China met, resulting in a joint statement by the presidents on "deepening relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation entering a new era." The key areas of co-operation included education and science as the basis for the dynamic development of any state. In particular, the parties agreed to encourage inter-university cooperation, support the activities of Russian-Chinese profile associations of universities, and promote joint educational institutions and programmes.
Undoubtedly, the trend is not new. For example, in 1952-1966 more than 25 thousand Chinese studied in the USSR universities, and in the 1990s more than 1 thousand scientists from Russia worked in universities and research institutes of the People's Republic of China. With the intensification of student exchange, the flow of young people who wanted to receive education in a friendly country has multiplied. Thus, 10 years ago, 23 thousand Chinese students were educated in our universities, and about 15 thousand Russian students were educated in China. Today, the trend towards visa facilitation between the two countries and the focus on common work in a wide range of areas leads to an increase in these figures.
A vivid example of fruitful relations is the work between St. Petersburg Mining University and China University of Mining Engineering and Technology. At present, 70 CUMT students are studying the international educational programme "Modern Mining Technologies" within the walls of the oldest technical university in Russia.
Li Zongze, a student of the Chinese university, explained his desire to participate in this project by his interest in mining and specialised higher education in Russia, which are "considered to be among the most advanced and influential in the world".
"The programme that brought me to St. Petersburg was in great demand in my home country. The number of places was strictly limited and hundreds of students applied in my department alone. The selection criteria included academic performance, English language skills, motivation, personal qualities and so on. This is a very valuable opportunity, so many students study hard to earn it. I am very happy and proud to be one of the participants of this project," said Li Zongze.
For most of the young people this trip is their first visit to Russia, so they are very enthusiastic about learning about its traditions and culture, happy to make new friends from another country and visit the main sights of the city on the Neva River - the Hermitage, Peter and Paul Fortress and Peterhof. But, of course, above all, their main goal is to acquire new knowledge and professional skills.
"The level of education at St Petersburg Mining University is one of the highest in the world. It would be great if in the future we achieved an increase in the intensity of academic exchange of undergraduate and postgraduate students. The raw material potential of Russia and China is different, and mining research in our countries is focussed on different areas. But there is an advantage in this. Learning from each other and co-operation in various forms, such as international educational projects, visiting scholars and joint courses, will benefit us all," said Chinese university lecturer Long Liang.
The Modern Mining Technologies programme provides for lectures and practical training, including in the laboratories of scientific centres and simulators at Gorny, as well as field trips to the Smart Polygon at the St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering and the Emergency Situations Ministry University.
"We have only been in our first week of classes so far, and we have already learnt a lot about underground and surface mining technologies. I was very impressed by the virtual reality laboratory, the dynamic simulator of a dump truck cab and the lecture on labour safety.The professor not only read a colourful report, supplementing it with video clips, but also told me about his personal experience. He said that ten years ago he observed the harsh working conditions of miners and thought that it would take many years to improve its efficiency and labour safety of workers. However, he believes that drone and automated technologies are already in widespread use, meaning that the day will come in the very near future when zero accidents will be achieved. Indeed, with the development of intelligent line generation systems, automation and various exploration technologies, the risk factor in China's coal mining process has dramatically decreased. Through programmes like the one I am participating in today, I will be able to become a professional who can most effectively help enterprises solve practical problems and truly turn the knowledge in books into real products," says student Peng Chuanyu.
Of course, students and teachers from the Celestial Empire draw attention to the differences and similarities between the Chinese and Russian systems of higher education and the university environment in higher education institutions.
"I found that in terms of teaching style, classes at Gorny are highly sequential - at the end of each lecture or practice, we are given the opportunity to ask questions and express our opinions. In my home country, the lecture is divided into stages, at the end of each of which we can debate on a given topic. Both teaching options are good and aim to develop critical thinking in learners. However, it should be noted that in China, the time spent on free discussion ultimately has a negative impact on the amount of information delivered to students. I would say that in general the atmosphere in Russian universities is more relaxed, young people are more serious and organised, they often do their homework in the halls or chat with their classmates in a low voice without disturbing others. And during classes here, everyone is quieter, whereas Chinese students are used to talking to each other more loudly and emotionally," said Li Haitao, a future mining engineer.
According to the teachers and supervisors of the visiting group, China has a more serious system for assessing the quality of lectures than Russia does today. A video camera is an indispensable attribute in every classroom, which can be accessed online at any time by the administration of the educational institution.
"Despite the fact that we have complete freedom in terms of the content, structure and duration of classes, vice-rectors and deans visit lectures with high regularity to check. If it is a guest lecturer or an industry expert, the control can be stricter. A representative of the university management is required to attend the talk to ensure that the purpose of involving him or her in working with students has been properly achieved," said Feng Lalae.
Moreover, lecturers are required to assess the impact of each lecture on students' performance and ask students to grade the lecture. In case of low scores, the lecturer is no longer invited.
According to lecturer Long Liang, the lecture quality control system implemented today at the China University of Mining and Technology is based on the concept of OBE (Outcome-based education). This theory is built around a clearly defined goal - a set of knowledge, skills and competences that each student should possess by the end of their studies.
"To begin with, we have to define these goals for each direction, then - the requirements necessary for its achievement. We distribute all the requirements by courses, practices and internships of students. In this way, each session brings the young person closer to the final result. An important mechanism of the OBE system is continuous improvement. We collect feedback from graduates, employers, professors and experts about graduation requirements, faculty structure and course system. Then we analyse the results to know how to improve our education system. Quality control of lectures is only part of this continuous improvement. Universities must pay close attention to teaching reform. It is very important that education keeps up with technological progress, and evaluating educational outcomes from different angles helps us to do that," Long Liang argues.
In this context, the representatives of the Chinese university showed great interest in the reform of higher education being implemented in Russia today, which implies a shift from bachelor's and master's degrees to six-year education and a significant increase in the role of industrial practice. This approach will make it possible to revive the best of the Soviet system and not to lose the recent achievements.
"I am extremely positive about this organisation of higher education. Since technology is constantly evolving, four years is clearly not enough for students to acquire all the knowledge they need for work. Rarely would an enterprise agree to employ such an undertrained new employee," says Feng Lala.
We would like to remind you that the new system provides for a step-by-step introduction of students to production, when by the end of their studies a student passes all stages of familiarisation with production - from initial understanding of the specifics of the work of enterprises, mastering working professions to obtaining the knowledge and skills of a full-fledged engineer.
"Many students in China are not familiar with industrial facilities by the time they complete their bachelor's degree because during the first four years of their studies, their curriculum only includes short-term internships totalling no more than 80 days. They need to spend a further three years at master's level to gain a more in-depth knowledge of the mining industry through their thesis, which focuses on a narrow area. This is a major challenge we still have to deal with, as some students are limited to undergraduate studies," Long Liang summarised.
He believes that in a reformed education system, long-term industrial practice and internships can help consolidate the fundamental knowledge that students have learnt in the early years so that they can quickly adapt to industrial facilities after graduation.