Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University has signed an international cooperation agreement with one of India’s most prestigious universities, the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.
The Saint Petersburg University enjoys strong authority among India’s academic community—something a high-level delegation was able to confirm firsthand during a working visit to the republic about a year ago. They were impressed by the Mining University’s stable position in the top five of the QS World University Rankings in the mining engineering subject area, the International Competence Centre for Mining Engineering Education under the auspices of UNESCO, established on its basis, as well as the university’s extensive record of scientific achievements over its 250-year history.
In turn, the IIT Kharagpur campus also draws particular attention. It was the first institution established as part of India’s initiative to create a nationwide network of top-tier universities—the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Today, the network comprises 25 of the country’s strongest universities. In addition, IIT Kharagpur holds the statuses of an “Institute of National Importance” and an “Institute of Eminence,” which provide full administrative and academic autonomy, increased funding, and broader opportunities for building international cooperation. One can only imagine how difficult it is to attain such an exceptional position in a country that has opened more universities than any other in the world—5,350 in total.
According to the leadership of both universities, this joint effort will not only expand the institutions’ own academic and research opportunities but, in the longer term, will also strengthen the natural resource potential of the two countries.
The universities have already taken several steps toward one another. In particular, during the visit of Saint Petersburg Miners to India, a roadmap was signed providing, for example, for the participation of students and PhD candidates from Kharagpur in summer schools. The planned initiatives were implemented: in the summer of 2025, a group of future engineers from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur completed a short-term program in Saint Petersburg devoted to current trends in the oil and gas industry and petroleum geology.
The signing of a comprehensive international cooperation agreement became the next logical step in the development of relations between the two national leaders in technological higher education.
The agreement includes an action plan for 2026, including the organization of in-person Summer and Winter Schools lasting up to two weeks at both universities, a Russia–India Youth Forum, a Visiting Professor program, online conferences on current industry-relevant topics, and measures to increase cross-citation of scholarly publications.
«Today, India is a country distinguished by full sovereignty, the world’s largest population, and the third-largest economy by GDP, as well as active work in breakthrough technologies. The Republic has deposits of oil and gas, various metals, and coal, which form the backbone of its economy. Therefore, we would like to build relations with the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur with these factors in mind. I know that great attention is paid there to higher education, and that they are therefore interested in cooperation with universities that train high-quality personnel for the mineral resources sector. Many students from India study in the United Kingdom. And there are two important points here. First, the British system is oriented primarily toward humanities education. The engineering component is rapidly declining. Second, India, no less than we do, is aware that the policies of the Global North are aimed at colonizing consciousness. I hope that today’s agreement will allow us to become better acquainted and to exchange experience not only in the field of engineering education, but also in student development, professional mentoring, and enhancing the qualifications of the teaching staff», -emphasized Vladimir Litvinenko, Rector of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University.
The head of Russia’s oldest technical university also noted that the Mining University has sufficient academic freedom in international activities—from local student exchanges to global projects involving the creation of joint structures and teams.
«We are interested in establishing cooperation with the Mining University in training mining engineers and oil and gas specialists. The signed agreement should not be merely a statement of intentions on paper, but should be filled with truly concrete steps of joint work. This includes student exchanges, joint educational and research projects, and double-degree programs that will be mutually beneficial. We strive for our partnership to be aimed not only at educating and training the current generation of engineers, but also the next ones—that is, we are looking to the long term. This will serve the further development of our universities», - said Suman Chakraborty, Rector of the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.