NSU Delegation Visits University of Heilongjiang

In April 2011, NSU and Heilongjiang University signed an agreement resulting in the cooperation between the universities becoming one of NSU’s most important international projects. Based at Heilongjiang University and within the framework of this agreement the Sino-Russian Institute (SRI) was established. It trains students in six areas: biology, mathematics, physics, chemistry, economics and law. A feature of this training is that Chinese students are taught basic subjects in Russian by NSU professors, who go to Harbin especially. The purpose of the project is to train Russian-speaking specialists in the areas mentioned above. To achieve this goal a bachelor degree level program is to be established at the SRI. In particular it will provide one-year of study at NSU for students graduating from the Sino-Russian Institute. They will study the same programs as the future NSU bachelors, including undertaking internships at the institutes of the Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences. The best of them will receive a Bachelor from both Heilongjiang and Novosibirsk State University, and will be able to continue their studies in a joint MA course offered by NSU and Heilongjiang University. 

To date, there were two intakes of students for the first year of the SRI Bachelor (in 2011 and in 2012.). The annual intake is 180 students. In addition, in 2012, eight Heilongjiang University graduates were accepted on to the joint MA course to study in the fields of chemistry and biology. This autumn they are coming to Novosibirsk to continue studying in Russian together with undergraduates of the Faculty of Science. If they complete the NSU programs successfully, they will receive two diplomas - from NSU and from Heilongjiang University. This large-scale project is unique for both countries and enjoys very strong support (including financial) from the Ministry of Education and the PRC Government.

During the visit, the parties discussed the key directions in the development of the cooperation, prospects for interaction, possible problems and approaches to their solution. The main result of the visit was the signing of a number of documents between the two universities. These documents regulate the relationship and ensure the stable development of the Sino-Russian Institute. The development of cooperation between the universities has the potential to become a new model for relations between Russia and China in the sphere of education.