Polytechnic University is an Active Participant in Innovation Dialogues in China

At the end of September, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University took part in two large-scale international events in China: the 3rd Sino-Russian Dialogue on Innovation and the International Silk Road Forum.

The Sino-Russian dialogue on innovation has been held annually in China since 2017 at the initiative of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the PRC and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. For three years, the forum has remained an effective platform for discussing key issues and problem points of bilateral cooperation in the field of innovation, the development of the investment climate and entrepreneurship.

Polytechnic University was represented by the head of the International Cooperation Department Vladimir KHIZHNYAK and the deputy head of the Department of International Scientific and Foreign Economic Relations Olga VASILYEVA. During the plenary session, Vladimir KHIZHNYAK spoke about the best practices of SPbPU innovative activities with an emphasis on cooperation with China and the productive work of the official Representative Office of SPbPU in Shanghai in particular. Among the achievements of the SPbPU Shanghai office is the Joint Engineering Institute of St. Petersburg Polytechnic University and Jiangsu Pedagogical University; aerospace and electronic technology laboratory, which Polytechnic University opened with Tsinghua University; an agreement on the creation of two joint laboratories in the field of computing platforms and topological isolators with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and numerous other projects implemented both in China and also on the basis of SPbPU.

Polytechnic University’s activities in the framework of the National Technological Initiative were also presented: specifically, a promising project of creating on our base of a national scientific and educational cluster, the federal Technopolis center. This information aroused keen interest among representatives of the Chinese innovation community.

Within the framework of the forum, the SPbPU delegation held negotiations with Ren HIPENG, Vice-Rector of Xi'an Institute of Technology. Let us remind that in June 2019, the inter-university student educational internship center TU Xi'an-Polytech jointly established with Xi'an University of Technology was launched on the platform of our university. Based on the successful experience of bilateral cooperation, the parties discussed the possibilities of establishing a new joint center and developing cooperation in the field of technology transfer and promotion of innovative projects on the Chinese market.

At the forum, our delegation also held negotiations with Liu Wei, a graduate of our university who was recently appointed director of the new Russian center established at Tsinghua University after the recent visit of President of China Xi Jinping to St. Petersburg, on expanding bilateral cooperation.

At the end of the day, Polytechnic University and the Shanghai Academy of Sciences signed a memorandum of cooperation and joint innovation activities in the field of applied technology. Also, the grand opening of the Shanghai Russian-Chinese Innovation Center, the main focus of which will be the development of cooperation between the two states in the field of science, education and innovation, took place at the venue of the event.

On September 26, the International Silk Road Forum was launched; a seminar of the Belt and Road Science and Innovation Network (BRSIN) association was held within its framework. Chaired by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), a meeting of the executive committee of the BRSIN association, which Polytechnic University joined in 2017, took place. During the meeting, the head of the ICD Vladimir KHIZHNYAK came up with a proposal to strengthen practical cooperation of the universities within the association; in particular, cooperation in the field of promoting innovative projects and implementing joint project activities of students from the association member universities.

The head of the SPbPU Representative Office in Shanghai, Mr. Lu ZHIYUY, as part of the round table of heads of the association member organizations, presented a model and experience of promoting SPbPU research competencies and innovative projects on the Chinese market. “The continuous presence in the PRC gives us a competitive advantage in establishing business contacts and relations with Chinese partners. And the expansion of the interaction network, in its turn, contributes to the development of scientific and educational cooperation, making it possible to open up the intellectual and financial opportunities of China for Polytechnic University,” said Mr. Lu ZHIYUY.

Also, as part of the visit to China, the SPbPU delegation came to see Jiangsu Province, China's leading province in the field of innovation and technology transfer. In the city of Changzhou, negotiations were held with the deputy head of the Innovation and Technology Zone of the province. The parties discussed the prospects of cooperation in the field of technology transfer and commercialization, as well as the creation of a joint university in the region to train Chinese students in such areas as materials science, biotechnology, mechanical engineering, etc.

In the city of Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, international service officers from Polytechnic University and the SPbPU Representative Office in Shanghai got to see the newest HuaMan Innovation Park for Information Technology and Telecommunications. In 2018, with the support of the provincial government, it was opened by a graduate of Polytechnic University Mr. Dong GE. Also, since 2018, a joint laboratory with SPbPU has been working at the center, whose scientists are developing wireless sensor network technology for automatic monitoring of the engine system. During the meeting, a protocol of intent was signed; an agreement with the innovation park is under development, while several projects for joint implementation are ready.

The final day of the visit was devoted to negotiations with Shanghai Jiaotong University. The meeting was a continuation of communication at the SPbPU site in the framework of the international seminar “Transfer and commercialization of innovative technologies as a tool for university development.”

Prepared by Center for International Recruitment and Communications