Expanding collaboration with China in the Arctic projects

International law and collaboration in the Polar Regions, ocean studies in the Arctic, and Earth sciences are just few of the areas for collaboration between Russia and China.

“St Petersburg University is a long-established university that offers courses in all fields of study and a modern research-driven university. It gives us a wide range of opportunities to collaborate with our foreign partners”, — said SPbU Deputy Rector for International Affairs Sergei Andrushin.

The strategic Russia-China collaboration ensures favourable conditions for excellence in education and research, says the Vice-President of the Ocean University of China Van Tsianmin.

Russia is at the forefront of the Arctic research and has a unique school of oceanology. Although marine research is our core priority, we are ready to collaborate in a broader range of fields: from ecology to law.

Vice-President of the Ocean University of China Van Tsianmin

The collaboration can also cover environmental law, says SPbU Deputy Rector for International Affairs Sergei Andrushin.

Our scientists told their Chinese colleagues about most interesting areas for collaboration, among them is modelling water ecosystems and risks of water pollution that can be caused by oil tankers, and microplastic pollution in oceans. SPbU Associate Professor Irina Fedorova told about a programme in polar and marine research. Student and academic exchange is vital for successful collaboration, the parties agreed.

Although the parties have just signed the agreement, the University had already been collaborating with its Chinese colleagues. In October 2016, they held the fifth symposium on the Russian-Chinese Arctic collaboration. The event was visited by SPbU Associate Professor Nadezhda Kharlampieva. At the annual seminar on the International Research Arctic Collaboration, they also discussed the seventh Russian-Chinese seminar on the Arctic research.