The joint campus of St Petersburg University and Harbin Institute of Technology to start teaching students in autumn 2022

Han Jiecai, President of Harbin Institute of Technology, thanked his Russian colleagues for their attention and high level of support for the cooperation between the two universities. ’St Petersburg University is a crucial strategic partner of Harbin Institute of Technology. Although the new coronavirus pandemic has severely affected international exchanges, the teaching and management teams of the two universities overcame all difficulties,’ he said. ’On 31 October 2021, we successfully applied for and will soon receive official approval for participation in the Chinese-International Education Project of the Chinese Ministry of Education in the fields of mathematics, physics, and chemistry,’ he added. Han Jiecai, President of Harbin Institute of Technology, said that the construction of the infrastructure of the joint Chinese-Russian campus is progressing steadily. To date, major repair of 53 historical buildings has been completed, and work on interior decoration, power supply, drainage, and heating is underway. This is planned to be completed by the end of June 2022. The university together with the People’s Government of Harbin is currently considering ways to expedite approval of the architectural plan and construction of the new buildings. They will include academic and research buildings, a cultural and artistic centre, an international academic exchange centre, and a complex with halls of residence.

The joint campus will be located in an area of about 60,000 square metres in the historical and cultural centre of Harbin. The joint Chinese-Russian campus will be partially located in the restored historic buildings of the Chinese Eastern Railway and the Consulate General of the Russian Empire. The architecture of the new campus buildings, according to the design, will take into account the proximity to the historic buildings.

Han Jiecai underlined that the joined campus of St Petersburg University and Harbin Institute of Technology will become a beautiful city centre.

The admission campaign for applicants to the future campus will start in May this year, and the first students will begin their studies in applied mathematics, physics and chemistry this autumn. The language of studies will be English. All academic programmes include the compulsory study of Russian as a foreign language, the history of Russia and other disciplines included in the educational standard of St Petersburg University. At present, the relevant documents on the implementation of St Petersburg University and Harbin Institute of Technology academic programmes in the network form in the fields of "Mathematics and Applied Mathematics", "Applied Physics", "Chemistry" and their curricula are under consideration in the Ministry of Education of the People’ s Republic of China.

Future cooperation between the universities is planned to develop in the fields of economics and management, computer science, informatics, tourism management, Russian language studies, and others. The possibility of developing joint bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes, and awarding academic degrees of the two universities is being considered. Han Jiecai, President of Harbin Institute of Technology, made a proposal to develop academic exchanges at all levels of study and to send the best graduates of the campus to continue their studies in the master’s programmes at St Petersburg University.

Rector of St Petersburg University Nikolay Kropachev welcomed his Chinese colleagues on behalf of all the University students and staff and thanked them for their work.

What you have just told us and shown is certainly impressive. There are two parts to this success. The first one was the work done by your team: the activities related to the renovation; the development of the territory; and the creation of a comfortable environment for students and teachers. The second part is our joint work on the academic programmes, coordinating the curricula, and selecting the teaching staff. We can say that the work has been successful and that we have achieved great results. We are ready for the educational process.

Nilolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University

The directors of institutes of Harbin Institute of Technology who are interested in expanding cooperation with St Petersburg University also spoke during the meeting. Some of them have a long history of cooperation. For example, representatives of the Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics had previously visited the University and discussed the possibility of organising joint scientific events. Alexander Aleksandrov, Professor in the Department of Medical and Biological Systems Control, is a visiting professor at Harbin Institute of Technology. The heads of the School of Physics, the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, the School of Mathematics, the School of Management, the School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, and the School of Foreign Languages presented their departments and shared their plans for developing joint scientific and educational activities with St Petersburg University.

The agreement to establish a joint campus of St Petersburg University and Harbin Institute of Technology was concluded on 16 September 2019 during the 20th meeting of the Russian-Chinese Intergovernmental Commission on Humanitarian Cooperation in the presence of Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, and Sun Chunlan, Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.

On 7 June 2020, a solemn ceremony was held in Harbin to lay the foundation stone for the joint campus of St Petersburg University and Harbin Institute of Technology. The information support for the admission campaign will begin in May 2022, and the first enrolment of students in the joint campus is planned for September 2022.

’I enjoyed listening to the heads of your departments and was once again convinced that we are simply destined for success,’ summed up Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University. ’You probably remember that I planted a plum tree the day we laid the first stone of the joint campus. It has yet to bear fruit, and I hope that this year I will remove the first plum from that tree. I would very much like to do it together with you, if you manage to come to St Petersburg. I’m sure it will be sweet.’

To ensure the smooth completion of construction work and the admission campaign, it was decided to hold regular working meetings involving representatives of the academic and research areas of the two universities. Han Jiecai, President of Harbin Institute of Technology, expressed the hope that the epidemiological situation would make it possible for Rector Nikolay Kropachev to visit Harbin and take part in the opening ceremony of the academic year at the joint campus.