Polytechnic University Expands Engineering Cooperation with Vietnamese Universities

As part of the Russia-Vietnam Year of Science and Education, a delegation from SPbPU visited Vietnam. The delegation included Associate Professor, Candidate of Technical Sciences Vyacheslav Potekhin and Assistant at the Graduate School of Cyber-Physical Systems Management of the Institute of Computer Science and Cybersecurity Egor Kuklin. The visit combined two areas of the Polytechnic University’s work: the development of long-term partnership with Binh Duong University (BDU) and the formation of a new cooperation trajectory with Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH).

BDU is one of SPbPU’s key partners in Vietnam. Cooperation began in 2006 and has evolved from educational programs and personnel training to the establishment of joint research and educational centers and laboratories. With the participation of the Polytechnic University, a Russian-Vietnamese center was created at BDU, laboratories «Microprocessor Engineering» and «Intelligent Control Systems for Industrial Facilities» were opened, and teaching and research activities with the involvement of SPbPU staff were developed. The Rector of BDU, Mr. Cao Viet Hieu, is an Honorary Professor of SPbPU.

The new visit continued this line with an emphasis on automation, modern control technologies, and AI in industry. SPbPU representatives held negotiations with the leadership and specialists of BDU, approved the curriculum for a joint educational program in the field of automation, discussed research activities, academic mobility, and the participation of Polytechnic staff in BDU’s educational programs.

One of the main practical outcomes was the agreements on the creation and development of a networked research and educational laboratory for intelligent control systems. It is expected that in the near future the laboratory will begin operations and become a center for the implementation of educational programs, research, and new joint projects between SPbPU and BDU. The Vietnamese side is also interested in attracting SPbPU scholars to teaching, curriculum development, and academic consulting.

The second part of the visit was related to Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH). This partnership has been actively developing in 2026 with the participation of Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Tan, a HUTECH staff member and SPbPU graduate who defended his Candidate’s dissertation at the Institute of Electronics and Telecommunications of the Polytechnic University. Dr. Tan now serves as the coordinator of the emerging cooperation between SPbPU and HUTECH.

At the meeting at HUTECH, the parties discussed the topic of a joint project for submitting a grant application to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia, prospects for educational cooperation, and further institutionalization of the partnership. The first practical step will be a series of regular online seminars for faculty and students of the HUTECH Faculty of Information Technology on digital technologies, AI, intelligent systems, and modern approaches to managing complex technical facilities, scheduled for the upcoming academic year. The universities also agreed to work out directions for joint research and publications and to move toward signing a comprehensive partnership agreement in the near future.

The visit of the SPbPU delegation to Vietnam demonstrated that the Polytechnic University’s cooperation with the country’s universities is entering a new stage. In a year when Russia and Vietnam are paying special attention to cooperation in science and education, such projects represent a practical contribution by universities to the development of bilateral relations.