INRTU and Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology (China) Launch a Joint Bachelor's Program in Energy
Irkutsk National Research Technical University and the Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology (China) have signed an agreement to establish a joint Bachelor's degree program in energy. The signing took place in Baotou, known as the world capital of rare-earth metallurgy.
The parties agreed to launch a joint educational bachelor's program in the field of “Electric Power Engineering and Electrical Engineering”. The supervisor of the program will be Dr. Konstantin Suslov, Professor and Doctor of Technical Sciences, who holds a Scopus h-index of 28 in the field of energy among Russian scientists.
The agreement stipulates that Chinese students will study for two years at the Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, followed by two years at INRTU. Upon completion, they will receive two higher education diplomas – one Chinese and one Russian.
It is worth noting that the launch of this joint educational project is a logical continuation of cooperation that began in 2023. In 2024, Rector of the Chinese university, Han Yongquan, visited INRTU, where an academic exchange agreement was signed. As a result, more than 20 Chinese students and faculty members completed internships at Irkutsk National Research Technical University. Currently, five Chinese exchange students are studying at INRTU, and eleven have enrolled in its master's programs.
Furthermore, the partnership between the universities extends beyond educational projects to include joint scientific research. Aleksandr Burdonov, Associate Professor at the Department of Mineral Processing and Environmental Protection named after S.B. Leonov, and postgraduate students Tatiana Sahabutdinova and Wang Aiqing completed a two-week internship at the Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology. Together with their Chinese colleagues, they conducted research on the flotation of columbite and bastnaesite, minerals from which rare-earth metals are extracted for the production of electronics and other high-tech products. As a result of this trip, three co-authored scientific articles were published in the Chemical Engineering Journal (Q1, Scopus), one of the most authoritative publications in the field of chemical engineering.
Currently, researchers from the Polytechnic University and scientists from Baotou have submitted a grant application to the Russian Science Foundation and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (RSF-NSFC). The researchers are seeking support for projects focused on developing reagents for the flotation beneficiation of minerals mined in Russia and China. If the application is successful, a joint research laboratory will be established. This project will launch long-term research that promises significant scientific results and will strengthen the technological leadership of both countries in the processing of rare-earth raw materials.
