Delegations of top universities in China visited the Polytechnic University

Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University hosted a series of study visits by delegations from leading Chinese universities: Tsinghua University (QS20), Zhejiang University (QS49) and Beijing University (QS13).

Student study visits to prestigious partner universities in foreign countries are a traditional mandatory element of the educational program at Chinese universities. That is why students from China come to Polytechnic University every summer to develop scientific and educational cooperation and exchange best practices in working with young people.

The delegation from Tsinghua University, a strategic partner of SPbPU, consisted of student activists and future leaders (secretaries of the Komsomol faculty committees, postgraduate and master’s degree students). The delegation was led by Chen Zhihao, Deputy Secretary of the Tsinghua Komsomol Party Committee, and the visit was organized as part of the Xiyuan program (an elite training program for the personnel reserve and future leaders of Tsinghua University, implemented under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Youth Union).

The acquaintance with the history and infrastructure of SPbPU began with a tour of the Main Academic Building (the White Hall, the Library, the Portrait Gallery) and the Museum of the History of SPbPU. The key point was a visit to the Center for Youth Trajectories in the Polytechnic Tower, a modern space for student life, project activities and interaction with industry.

At the meeting with Ivan Khlamov, Head of the Department of Youth Policy at St. Petersburg State University, the parties discussed models for involving young people in scientific and technical creativity, project work, leadership development, and a mentoring system. Tsinghua colleagues presented the successful experience of their university ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship support, including the Lighthouse program, the large-scale Challenge Cup and Entrepreneurship Competition, as well as the Innovation Plus incubator, which has grown hundreds of startups with total funding of about 5 billion rubles.

The fact-finding visit of the best students of Zhejiang University to Polytechnic University is a long-standing tradition that has been strictly observed throughout the years of strategic partnership between our universities. The group of students of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering was led by the international coordinator of the Faculty, Qiu Yixin.

The program included an acquaintance with the historical heritage of the university, a visit to the modern laboratories of the Institute of Metallurgy, Mechanical Engineering and Transport, as well as a working meeting with representatives of the international service of SPbPU. The students visited the innovation laboratories of IMEM&T, learned about the latest developments of scientific groups and young scientists of the Institute.

Chinese students were offered opportunities to study at SPbPU, in particular, through additional programs, summer and winter schools. The guests highly appreciated the educational potential of Polytechnic University, including the one already being implemented in partnership with Chinese universities, and expressed interest in creating a joint program in the field of mechanical engineering.

The representative delegation from Beijing University included Peng Hailin, Dean of the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Zou Ruqiang, Dean of the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Wang Xinqiang, Professor of the Faculty of Physics, and other leading scientists.

The visit was intense: the guests were divided into scientific interest groups to visit specialized laboratories, where they got acquainted with the advanced research of SPbPU in the field of new materials, energy and microelectronics. Of particular interest were developments in the field of carbon nanomaterials, artificial intelligence for chemistry, and promising catalysts. The visit ended with presentations of scientific areas of both universities, where promising areas for joint research were outlined.

These visits demonstrated the mutual interest of Russian and Chinese universities in deepening cooperation, and the desire to organize interaction not only between leading scientists, but also among the younger generation of researchers. As representatives of SPbPU noted, such meetings allow not only to exchange best practices in education and science, but also to create a solid foundation for future joint projects, student initiatives, and entrepreneurship.