SPbPU: Andrei Rudskoi Honored by China for International Cooperation Contributions
Andrei Rudskoi, Rector of SPbPU, received a high honor from the People’s Republic of China — the Award for International Cooperation in Science and Technology 2023.
At the All-China Scientific and Technical Conference, in the presence of the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, Andrei Rudskoi was awarded a laureate diploma and a medal.
When nominating Andrei Rudskoi for the award, Chinese officials noted that under his leadership, SPbPU has more than doubled the number of partners in the PRC — now there are 61 Chinese universities, more than 10 institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and more than 20 leading industrial companies in the PRC.
To strengthen ties and ensure prompt interaction with Chinese partners, SPbPU Representative Office in Shanghai was opened in 2016 (the first representative office of a Russian university in China), and SPbPU International Office in Nanjing was opened in 2022.
Over the past ten years, more than 10,000 students from the People’s Republic of China have studied at SPbPU. Famous graduates of Polytechnic include Academician Gao Jingde (Rector of Tsinghua University 1983-1988); Academician Ni Wei Dou (Vice Rector for Science of Tsinghua University 1988-1994); and Professor Chen Xu (Chairman of the Council of Tsinghua University (2017-2020).
Now there are 2,050 Chinese students studying at SPbPU. 260 are participating in academic mobility and exchange programs. 3,595 students from the PRC have been trained under educational programs of summer and winter schools, including professional development programs. 216 students are enrolled in joint and dual degree programs.
Students from the People’s Republic of China note that Polytechnic University has created a comfortable educational environment for them, including information and training materials, a website in Chinese, and SPbPU accounts in WeChat and BAIDO.
In order to synchronize SPbPU’s efforts to train personnel for China’s economy and industry and implement long-term scientific and technical projects, A. I. Rudskoi, on behalf of Polytechnic University, concluded more than 15 agreements with Chinese government agencies, including agreements with the People’s Administration of Pudong New Area of Shanghai, the Department of Science and Technology of Jiangsu Province, the People’s Government of Zhangjiang Administrative Region, the Department of Science and Technology of Hebei Province, the Industrial Development Zone of New and High Technologies of the City of Pudong, and the People’s Republic of China.
The leading strategic partners of SPbPU in the People’s Republic of China are Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University. Key partners include Xi’an Technological University, Jiangsu Normal University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, East China Normal University, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin Engineering University, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China University of Petroleum (East China), Nanjing University, Inner Mongolia University of Finance and Economics.
Thanks to Rudskoi’s initiative and active participation, two joint engineering institutes appeared in China — on the basis of Jiangsu Normal University and Xi’an Technological University. Several joint educational programs and additional education programs for Chinese students are being implemented.
As the Chairman of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, A.I. Rudskoi ensures cooperation of the RAS institutes of St. Petersburg and North-West Russia with the structures of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, especially with the Shanghai Branch of CAS. Agreements and roadmap of cooperation with a number of institutes of CAS SHO, National Innovation Center of Excellence NICE and Zhangjiang Science City have been concluded.
One of the priorities of Russian-Chinese cooperation is the implementation of joint scientific and technical projects and cooperation with high-tech companies of the People’s Republic of China. In recent years, SPbPU research teams together with Chinese partners have submitted more than 60 applications for funding of joint scientific fundamental and applied research. More than 10 major joint scientific projects are in the works, more than 15 research contracts with Chinese companies are being implemented, more than 10 memorandums of intent and NDAs have been concluded. Among SPbPU’s partners are leading high-tech companies in China, automobile manufacturers, energy sector companies and advanced engineering industries.
Work is also underway in the humanitarian area. The joint project «Oriental Studies in Russia: research and database creation» supported by the Ministry of Education of China involves the SPbPU Humanities Institute, the Institute for Strategic Cooperation between China and Russia of Tsinghua University, the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences. And in 2018, the folk orchestra of Zhejiang University’s master’s and graduate students’ creative team gave a concert in the White Hall of SPbPU.