UTMN leads the Green Agenda
The University of Tyumen has become a participant in a new international "Green Alliance". The signing ceremony of the agreement between the University of Tyumen and Beijing Forestry University took place online. The agreement is aimed at establishing a joint Sino-Russian International Expert Centre for Low-Carbon Campus Construction.
The Centre is created by the initiative of Ivan Romanchuk , UTMN Rector, after the visit to Beijing as part of the official Russian delegation invited by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, along with Chinese partners from the leading Forestry University of the People's Republic of China.
During the signing ceremony Ms. Xin WANG, Director of the Department of International Exchange and Cooperation at Beijing Forestry University, drew attention to the heavy snowfall in Beijing, symbolically emphasizing the connection between China and Russia.
"In Russia, this is a symbol of prosperity and well-being," replied Andrei Tolstikov, the Senior Vice Rector, who signed the agreement on behalf of UTMN. "The year of 2023 is full of good signs," he continued – "When the Academic Council of the University announced plans to create a Sino-Russian International Expert Centre on August 31, the Moscow Zoo announced the birth of a baby giant panda – the first time in Russia. These are good signs for our joint initiative and fruitful work."
In his speech, Prof. Li Xiong, Vice President of Beijing Forestry University, emphasized the commitment to low-carbon development, the importance of Chinese-Russian cooperation in scientific research on climate issues, and the promotion of best practices in assessing the effectiveness of activities related to low-carbon development, including in the construction of university campuses.
Nikolay Durmanov, the Special Representative of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation on Biological and Environmental Safety, and Deputy Chairman of the Expert Council at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education on issues of scientific support for the development of carbon balance control technologies, congratulated the universities on reaching a new level of collaboration and advancing the important tasks of reducing the carbon footprint and developing environmentally-friendly practices in the construction of university campuses.
In connection with the implemented plans for the creation of an Interuniversity Campus in Tyumen and the construction of the main educational and laboratory building of the University of Tyumen in the historical center of the city, the new Sino-Russian International Expert Centre gains special significance.
It is worth noting that on August 30, 2021, the first carbon testing ground in Russia was established at UTMN for testing methodologies for measuring flows of climate-active gases and assessing the role of various types of ecosystems in the emission and sequestration of greenhouse gases. The UTMN industrial partner for the carbon testing ground is PJSC «SIBUR Holding».
Reference
The project to create an Interuniversity Campus in Tyumen is the part of the national project “Science and Universities”, implemented by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.