In April–May 2025, nine postgraduate students from Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University completed a scientific internship at Taiyuan University of Technology. Upon returning to their alma mater, they shared the results and impressions of their trip with colleagues — deans, department heads, students, and fellow postgraduates — during an academic seminar.
Setting the tone and direction of the event, the university’s rector, Vladimir Litvinenko, cited Pyotr Kapitsa: “Science must be a cheerful, captivating, and simple endeavor.”
«Only a curious person, genuinely passionate about their work in a world created by engineers, can envision the future and bring it to life. And the university does everything possible to support them in this endeavor. The expansion of applied research and general scientific horizons naturally concerns not only the participants of the trip, but every postgraduate and student. Therefore, the transmission of impressions, experiences, and practical results from person to person through direct communication is extremely important. All the more so because, for the university, the mechanism of interaction with leading universities in China, India, and Iran—which will only continue to expand—has been defined as strictly pragmatic, meaning the subsequent mandatory implementation within the walls of the Mining University of all the best practices offered by our partners», - emphasized the Rector.
Taiyuan University of Technology, for instance, comprises 27 faculties, 11 national research institutes, campuses spanning 2.13 million square meters, and 45,000 students. In 2024, it ranked among the top 75 universities worldwide in the field of “Mining Engineering” according to the Shanghai Ranking (ARWU). There is certainly much to see and study there in detail.
«Thanks to the long duration of the internship, we were able not only to gain a superficial acquaintance with the structure of a major scientific and educational center in the country, but also to look beyond its facade — to learn how laboratory work is organized, how research is funded, how cooperation between universities and industrial enterprises is built, and how government support is implemented. Although each of us is fluent in English, at times our Chinese colleagues found it insufficient for conveying their experience. As a result, we had to urgently learn the necessary terminology and phrasing in Chinese, and upon returning home, we enrolled in the Language Competency Center based at the Mining University. More than half of the scientific supervisors from the Chinese side are actively willing to continue cooperation on joint projects, and language learning is becoming a very important component for full-fledged interaction», - noted the internship coordinator, Valentin Morenov, Associate Professor of the Department of Development and Operation of Oil and Gas Fields.
In addition, the delegation also visited three more universities – China University of Petroleum, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, and China University of Geosciences. The working meetings held revealed mutual interest in scientific and educational cooperation, including the organization of short-term and long-term courses, joint research, publications, and conferences.
As part of the academic seminar, the internship participants presented their reports on the trip in the form of presentations and detailed accounts of the nature of higher education in the People’s Republic of China — from the specifics of university admission to the training of highly qualified teaching staff, from social support for students to the state’s scientific policy.
It is worth noting that, in addition to the unique experience, each participant brought back from China a certificate confirming the successful completion of the internship with an approbation of the results of their scientific work, which is a necessary requirement in the preparation of a dissertation.
At the end of the event, the Saint Petersburg postgraduate students, who had spent two months in China engaged in scientific research, were inundated with questions from their colleagues regarding the availability of specialized laboratory equipment, the level of proficiency in Chinese and English required to participate in the program, as well as the types of projects one could propose to secure a place in the program. The students were in high demand. Ahead of them are presentations of their scientific results at their respective departments, as well as numerous informal discussions.
In the near future, Forpost will publish a detailed article featuring the impressions of the young mining specialists and feedback from the Chinese supervisors.
