Employees And Students from the China University of Geosciences Visited INRTU
Siberian School of Geosciences (SSG) of Irkutsk National Research Technical University (INRTU) was visited by a delegation fr om the China University of Geosciences (CUGB, Beijing, China). During a meeting on August 22, both parties exchanged scientific research results, presented educational programs, and discussed joint expeditions in both countries.
The foreign delegation was led by Lin Fang, Deputy Head of the International Relations Department. Along with her, Professors Zhai Degao and Zhang Jing and eight students visited the INRTU.
The guests were welcomed by Alexander Kononov, Vice-Rector for Research. He emphasized that the Siberian School of Geosciences has great potential and sufficient material and technical resources to organize and implement international projects. Alexander Kononov expressed hope for long-term and fruitful cooperation between the universities in the field of geosciences.
Alexander Parshin, Scientific Director of SSG, introduced the Chinese colleagues to the school’s educational and scientific programs.
"We train specialists in five specialty programs. A unique feature of the educational track is that INRTU students can work year-round in laboratories and expeditions from their first year. While studying at the school, students can progress from laboratory assistants and technicians to engineers as part of the ‘early career’ program. The school, with all the competencies and equipment of a leading geological exploration company, works in the interests of the holdings ‘Polyus,’ ‘Rosneft,’ ‘GV Gold,’ ‘Gazprom,’ ‘Fedorovo Minerals,’ and others. The experience gained is highly relevant to the standards of industry leaders.
Our unique field practice base ‘Chernorud’ in Prioykhonye hosts the seminar ‘Modern Methods of Exploration, Prospecting, and Subsurface Protection’ named after G. Vakhromeev and Y. Davydenko, wh ere we meet with colleagues and students from China and other countries. Additionally, we publish the journal ‘Earth Sciences and Subsurface Use,’ with articles in Russian, English, and Chinese," explained Alexander Parshin.
Larisa Auzina, Head of the Hydrogeology Laboratory, presented a virtual environmental atlas of Prioykhonye, created from numerous expeditions, including the “Baikal, the Pearl of the World” project. She also spoke about joint international expeditions with Chinese researchers in the Lake Baikal region and the Yangtze River Delta.
Professor Zhang Jing, Deputy Dean of the School of Earth Sciences and Resources at CUGB, presented their academic program. The department specializes in ore geology, geochemistry, mineral exploration, paleontology, stratigraphy, and more. Currently, the School has 211 faculty members, including eight academicians and 75 professors. Around 2,600 students gain knowledge and participate in promising engineering projects. The School of Earth Sciences and Resources at CUGB has partnerships with more than 60 universities and research organizations from 30 countries worldwide. Chinese scientists expressed interest in strengthening cooperation with INRTU in research and academic exchange.
The discussion of international academic programs from both institutes showed that the SSG summer schools in the Lake Baikal region and the practices of the School of Earth Sciences and Resources at CUGB complement each other. This will enable the organization of productive research and educational activities. It is expected that the projects will start in 2025.
At the end of the meeting, the guests from Beijing visited the SSG engineering workshop, the unmanned systems laboratory, the 3D modeling and sample preparation laboratories. The CUGB students and staff also visited the chemical-analytical laboratory at the INRTU Technopark.
