Rector Lenar Safin speaks about KFU’s cooperation with Chinese partners
Lenar Safin, Rector of Kazan Federal University, took part in a meeting on educational exchanges between Shandong Province and the Republic of Tatarstan.
The event was held in China, co-chaired by Rustam Minnikhanov, Rais (Head) of the Republic of Tatarstan, and Sun Ximin, Vice Governor of Shandong Province. Attendees included the heads of leading higher education institutions from both regions.
In his welcoming address, the Rais of the Republic highlighted that education occupies a pivotal place in cooperation between Tatarstan and China.
«Today, we are taking an essential step forward in developing bilateral ties in the scientific and educational fields. The initiative to establish CRUTech, the Russia-China University of Advanced Technologies, is a unique project unprecedented in the rich history of relations between our countries. Joint educational programs in engineering, digital technologies, biomedical fields, and industrial design are scheduled to launch in 2027,» Rustam Minnikhanov stated.
The memorandum establishing the network university was signed in May during the official visit of President Vladimir Putin to the People’s Republic of China.
In its initial phase, the project will bring together 11 universities from Tatarstan and 14 universities from Shandong Province. Kazan Federal University and Shandong University lead the consortium.
Speaking on behalf of the Council of University Rectors of the Republic of Tatarstan, the head of KFU addressed his Chinese counterparts, noting that Tatarstan’s leading universities have gathered in Shandong with a shared commitment to collaboration within the CRUTech framework.
«We actively foster cooperation with Chinese scientific and educational centers, but we share a special relationship with Shandong Province,» Lenar Safin emphasized. «Kazan University alone partners with more than 15 local universities, and CRUTech stands as one of our flagship initiatives. It has been incorporated into the action plan for the Russia–China Years of Educational Cooperation, further highlighting its status and the highest-level support it receives. Our current visit is a practical milestone in realizing these agreements.»
The rector added that systematic work is currently underway on joint educational programs and institutes. Documentation packages for several academic fields have already been approved by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and delivered to the Chinese side.
He also proposed holding joint student forums or a specialized CRUTech summer school.
«Building on Kazan University’s successful track record of hosting student summer schools, we are prepared to serve as the host venue next year, and subsequently alternate between Tatarstan and Shandong. This will serve as the clearest proof that our partnership is developing not merely on paper, but through genuine student engagement,» concluded the rector of KFU.
To conclude the forum, Lenar Safin participated in the signing ceremony for a series of agreements on scientific and educational cooperation between universities in Tatarstan and Shandong.
Specifically, KFU solidified its prior agreements via a tripartite pact with Shandong University and Kazan National Research Technical University. Additionally, it concluded a student exchange agreement with Qingdao University and a memorandum of understanding with Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences).
Both parties expressed confidence that the meeting would inject fresh momentum into joint educational and scientific projects, reinforcing bonds between Tatarstan and Shandong, as well as between Russia and China.