INRTU and Harbin Institute of Petroleum Launch Joint Bachelor’s Degree Program in Oil and Gas Engineering
A delegation from INRTU led by Rector Mikhail Korniakov visited the Harbin Institute of Petroleum (HIP) in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. During the visit, the two universities signed an agreement to launch a joint bachelor’s degree program in Oil and Gas Engineering.
The agreement follows plans made by the two universities in March 2025.
The INRTU delegation also included Vice-Rector for International Affairs Stepan Bykov, Professor Konstantin Suslov, and Konstantin Khobta, Project Manager at the Department of International Scientific and Educational Projects. HIP was presented by Vice President Tong Yu and Zhao Hongwei, Head of Educational Cooperation with Russia.
Students will study under a 1+3 model. They will spend their first year at HIP and the remaining three years at INRTU.
The curriculum includes 240 credits, with 60 complemented at HIP and 180 at INRTU. Courses are taught in Russian, and students receive intensive language training during their first year at HIP’s Institute of Russian Language. Graduates will earn an INRTU bachelor’s degree in Oil and Gas Engineering.
The universities have worked together since signing their first cooperation agreement in April 2022. Two HIP students studying Russian came to INRTU that year, while three HIP students joined exchange programs in Oil and Gas Engineering, Economics, and Linguistics in 2026. One INRTU student will study in Harbin this autumn.
During his visit to Irkutsk last year, Vice President Tong Yu met with HIP students, who spoke highly of their academic experience and campus life at INRTU.
Harbin Institute of Petroleum is a private university founded in 2003. Originally established as Huarui College of Daqing Petroleum Institute, it became an independent university in 2012 and adopted its current name. The university passed China’s national undergraduate quality assessment in 2020 and was approved to apply for master’s programs in 2024.
Today, the university has more than 12000 students and offers 37 bachelor’s programs. It works with more than 40 Russian universities, including Moscow State University, Saint Petersburg State University, and Far Eastern Federal University.
Rector Mikhail Korniakov said the agreement is the result of years of close cooperation between the two universities:
“The new program will combine the academic strength of INRTU and HIP to prepare highly qualified oil and gas professionals while expanding academic cooperation between Russia and China”.
