INRTU Strengthens Scientific and Educational Cooperation with Shenyang University of Chemical Technology
A delegation fr om Shenyang University of Chemical Technology (China) visited INRTU. The parties discussed promising areas of scientific and educational cooperation. The Chinese colleagues also took part in the international scientific school “Chemistry of the Future”, wh ere they delivered presentations.
As Rector Mikhail Korniakov emphasized, Irkutsk National Research Technical University (INRTU) and Shenyang University of Chemical Technology (SUCT) are bound by years of successful partnership in the educational sphere:
“We have already launched many educational projects, and now discussing research topics is very encouraging. I hope for productive interaction and cooperation”.
It is worth noting that since 2018, the universities have been jointly training heat power engineers. Over the past three years, 168 people have received higher engineering education, and currently more than 200 Chinese students are undergoing training. In 2025, the universities deepened their cooperation through their joint Energy and Power Engineering program. INRTU instructors continue to provide teaching for one third of the curriculum disciplines. Additionally, 120 Chinese students have been enrolled at INRTU and will have the opportunity to obtain a Russian Bachelor's degree diploma.
During negotiations and meetings with industrial partners, Vice-Rector for Research Aleksandr Kononov highlighted several key areas: education combined with research and specific scientific initiatives, the opportunity for Chinese colleagues to test the university’s developments, integration within the strategic project “Chemical Constructor for Modular Productions”, as well as internships and other forms of interaction.
Scientists at SUCT focus significantly on thermochemistry. The educational module on this topic interested their INRTU colleagues.
“We have requested information about this course to use in training specialists in energy and chemical technology. During the ‘Chemistry of the Future’ scientific school, a report by Chinese colleagues on developments related to thermochemistry was presented. We propose organizing online lectures for our master's students for a more complete immersion in this subject,”
noted Aleksandr Kononov.
The staff of Shenyang University of Chemical Technology learnt about the objectives of INRTU’s strategic technological project “Chemical Constructor for Modular Productions” under the federal program “Priority 2030”. INRTU invited the Chinese university to join a consortium established together with industrial partners to develop this strategic project. It was also proposed to test the OdanChem platform at Shenyang University of Chemical Technology and jointly develop a module on thermochemistry.
Through the joint INRTU and SUCT Russia-China Technology Transfer Center., INRTU delegation has committed to coordinating work with partner companies that will formulate requests on topics of interest to them.
The Director of the School of Power Engineering, Ekaterina Samarkina, identified several promising areas for cooperation development: developing coal combustion and processing technology to reduce harmful greenhouse gases, water treatment, and reducing water consumption at heat power facilities. Furthermore, INRTU colleagues were impressed by the competencies of the Chinese colleagues related to energy storage systems. Therefore, a partnership in the field of Smart Grid was proposed.
The Chinese colleagues highly appreciated INRTU’s research potential and approved the initiatives put forward by the polytechnic team, including submitting applications for joint grants to the Russian Science Foundation and the Chinese scientific fund, with the possibility of engaging business.
