The second Summer School of this year has concluded at Saint Petersburg Mining University. Its graduates were 48 students from ten Russian higher educational institutions. The geography spanned the entire country: from Chechnya to Magadan. Among the guests were Almetyevsk State Technical University "Higher School of Petroleum," Transbaikal State University, Southwestern State University, Donbass State Technical University, Millionshchikov Grozny State Oil Technical University, and others.
Over the course of two weeks, depending on their specialization, the young people studied one of three educational programs: "Mining Machines and Equipment," "Digital Three-Dimensional Modeling," and "Chemical Engineering in the Oil and Gas Industry." All of them were developed by leading faculty members of the Mining University, taking into account the participants' level of preparation and the current challenges facing the industry.
The young men and women have already passed their final assessment and received certificates of successful course completion. These documents will serve as official confirmation of the acquired competencies. They will provide an additional advantage when applying for employment, as well as when submitting applications for other programs, such as postgraduate studies.
At the solemn closing ceremony, Vice-Rector for International Activities Evgeniy Lyubin thanked the students and their supervisors for their participation, emphasizing the importance of establishing contacts among students from all over Russia. It is entirely possible that the professional acquaintances they have made during these days within the walls of the Mining University will become the foundation for their future professional interactions.
- We strove to make these schools as intensive and useful for you as possible. Not only educational, but also sports and extracurricular events were organized so that you could interact both with our students and with each other. As a result, we created not just an educational course, but, I would say, a system-forming one. I hope everyone is satisfied. In the future, perhaps you will remember how you first met within the walls of the Mining University. That will be very gratifying for us, - Evgeniy Lyubin addressed the participants.
Summer schools have been held at the Mining University since 2017, in partnership with the International Competence Centre for Mining Engineering Education under the auspices of UNESCO. Such a format allows participants not merely to acquire theory, but to immerse themselves in a real engineering environment. The young students gained access to the infrastructure of the leading university training personnel for the mineral resources and fuel and energy complexes of the country. The emphasis is placed on practice: classes in laboratories and scientific centers, work on training simulators, and field trips to real enterprises and university training facilities.
Additionally, there were lectures and master classes from leading industry specialists. For example, Sergey Serdyukov, the chief designer of the "Nord Streams", delivered a keynote lecture dedicated to the energy security of the Russian Federation.
Vice-Rector Dmitry Tananykhin provided the guests with a detailed account of the progress in implementing the Pilot Project, which has been carried out at the Mining University since 2023 by presidential decree: the transition to a specialist degree system instead of the two-tier bachelor's and master's system. In 2026, the National Center "Corps of Mining Engineers" was established on the basis of the university. In connection with this, the university has significantly changed its approach not only to the educational process, postgraduate training, and scientific activity but also to working with students. More attention is being paid to extracurricular activities and the organization of cultural and patriotic events.
Roman Eunap arrived from Khabarovsk; he is a senior lecturer and postgraduate student at Pacific National University. According to him, the Mining University largely sets educational standards for all other higher educational institutions and independently forms its own programs. One of the goals of his visit is to get acquainted in detail with how the Pilot Project is implemented in practice.
- The necessity for a longer training period for mining engineers is dictated by the modern demands of the labor market and the industry as a whole. Fortunately, we have preserved the specialist degree in mining engineering at our institution, where training lasts 5.5 years for full-time students and 6 years for part-time students, having avoided the transition to a bachelor's degree. Another key aspect is practical training. It is impossible to fully master open-pit mining machinery, its maintenance, and its servicing within the university, as this is associated with high costs and downtime. This can be supplemented with training simulators and video lectures. However, real work with the equipment, the opportunity to 'touch' it, and to understand its design and connection to the technological process constitutes invaluable experience. Students at the Mining University acquire two vocational qualifications and eight additional competencies — this is simply excellent. We are also striving toward this. Since 2000, we have been trying to link the curriculum with providing the students with real working professions. But we have not yet managed to integrate this into the framework of extracurricular work. I plan to adopt the methodological experience of integrating Additional Professional Competencies (DPC) in order to implement it at our institution, - says Roman Eunap.
The students appreciated the modern equipment and the practical approach to training at the Mining University. All classes were highly relevant, and there was an opportunity to ask the lecturers questions.
Sofia Orlova is a second-year master's student at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute, studying heat power engineering and heat engineering. As part of the Summer Schools, she chose the "Chemical Engineering in the Oil and Gas Industry" program—she wanted to study chemical processes more deeply and gain skills and experience in raw material preparation. In addition to lectures dedicated to the chemistry of oil and gas and the problems of field processing, a large number of laboratory sessions were organized for her and her colleagues. At the Scientific Center for the Processing of Mineral and Technogenic Resources, practical classes were held on the synthesis of a lubricating additive for diesel fuel, the atmospheric-vacuum crude oil distillation unit, catalytic refining processes, and others. They also managed to see what experiments their colleagues from the Mining University are conducting and what they are working on.
- Postgraduate students showed us their laboratories and told us about their research. We managed to observe some experiments. For example, at the Center, they work with needle coke and are engaged in its production. They showed us a fully operational unit, explained how it works, and all the nuances of starting it up. We saw samples of the produced coke. For me, as a specialist in heat power engineering, where the focus is more on physics, all of this was very interesting and educational. I received a lot of new information. The scientific research equipment was especially pleasing. The opportunity to experiment and engage in science is actively supported here, which is highly valuable. This gives students not only theoretical knowledge but also the practical experience necessary for their future work, - shared Sofia Orlova.
Galiya Kudryavtseva arrived from Tatarstan; she is a first-year master's student at the Almetyevsk State Technical University, which specializes entirely in the oil and gas industry. At her home university, she works as a laboratory engineer, focusing on filtration studies and the modeling of reservoir processes.
- I completed my bachelor's degree in 'Economics of Oil and Gas Enterprises,' and then received additional training as an 'Oil and Gas Engineer.' Thus, I transitioned from the humanities to the technical sciences. Initially, I was engaged in administrative work: documentation, reports. But I always wanted to immerse myself in scientific work and work in a laboratory. I have heard a lot about the Mining University, and I am happy to be here. Processing is a somewhat non-core sector for me; it is divided into several directions. Therefore, much of this is new to me. It is great that the lecturers explained the material very accessibly, always answered questions, and if something was unclear, they explained it. This created a comfortable atmosphere for learning, - shares Galiya.
One of the Summer School programs was dedicated to digital three-dimensional modeling. The students created three-dimensional models in the KOMPAS-3D system and realistic visualizations of 3D scenes in Blender, and operated digital copies of open-pit mining equipment on training simulators.
- I had already studied Blender, but KOMPAS-3D was a completely new experience for me. Since my main specialization is back-end development, the field of 3D modeling is not too familiar to me, and this made the learning even more interesting. The classes were mostly practical. Ultimately, I learned to perform basic operations and mastered the software. I am confident that this knowledge will be useful to me in the future, both in my studies and at work. For instance, our university's startup studio requires 3D modeling specialists to design various parts. We have 3D printers, but we lacked people who knew how to work with this program. I think I will be able to apply my skills there, - гsays Zaurbek Bisliev, a fourth-year student at the Millionshchikov Grozny State Oil Technical University.
- I picked up many useful techniques that will be valuable to me in the future. For example, new tools for working with libraries. All tasks were distributed according to groups and skills. I modeled a dump truck: I created its 3D model, painted it, and exported it into a format for Blender. Other participants were engaged in modeling power plants or other transportation. Overall, 3D modeling is my area of interest, and this program suited me very well, - adds his colleague Maxim Bidukha, a student at the Donbass State Technical University.
The students gained a multitude of impressions during introductory field trips to industrial sites. Depending on their chosen program, they visited partner companies of the Mining University: the Izhora Plant "Kartex," JSC "Zaslon," and "Ascon-North-West.
- At the plant, we were able to walk through the workshops and study the equipment in detail. For second-year students who have yet to study the operation and repair of open-pit mining equipment, this was especially valuable. Seeing the operation of such equipment—which we will be studying in theory—live at a large enterprise turned out to be highly educational. This provides an opportunity to compare it with what we have seen before and gain a more complete understanding of the industry, - noted Roman Eunap.
Absolutely everyone visited the "Sablino" educational and scientific training facility, where students of the Mining University undergo their industrial internship. Here, the guests inspected drilling rigs, simulators for well operation and development, and other equipment.
- The trip to Sablino is what I remember the most. I was very impressed by the organization of this site. The scale is impressive! We saw drilling rigs and other processes in action, domestically produced machine tools and portable drilling systems, and their equivalents created in Russia. We observed students from the Mining University who were undergoing their practical training there. And all this is not far from the university. In our time, practical skills are exactly what is lacking. Reading and writing are one thing, but when you are allowed to turn the knobs and adjust things with your own hands, it is memorized automatically. If I go to any enterprise, I will certainly need all of this, - noted Dmitry Poddubny, a fourth-year student at the Donbass State Technical University.
Following the training, the young students defended their final projects and passed their assessment.
It is impossible to visit Saint Petersburg without immersing oneself in its culture. The Summer School program included numerous thematic excursions. The young people visited the landmark attractions of the Northern Capital—the Hermitage, Peterhof—walked along the parks and embankments, and took a boat trip along the rivers and canals.
The Russians have passed the baton to the next Summer School participants. Students from the China University of Petroleum (Beijing) and the Indian Institutes of Technology (Kharagpur and Guwahati) have already arrived at the Mining University. They will study intelligent control systems and modern trends in the oil and gas industry. The instruction will be conducted in English.
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