Yang Bin visits Russia and Kazakhstan to promote regional university cooperation
Tsinghua University Provost and Vice President Yang Bin has contributed to a Times Higher Education Summit in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, during a visit to Russia and Kazakhstan. The summit, entitled Research Excellence: Eurasia was designed to understand the development of Eurasia as an emerging area for world research and innovation, and identify where new opportunities for the region exist.
Panelists included representatives from SOAS University of London, Nazarbayev University, Turan University and Atilim University
Addressing the Summit on 31 August, Yang Bin highlighted the role that the Belt and Road Initiative was having on academic partnerships, and how Tsinghua University is well placed to deepen cooperation with the region. “I would like to see greater education cooperation projects that are inter-disciplinary in nature, promote people to people links and improve cross cultural fluency of our respective students and faculty. This approach will best serve the development of regional excellence in our institutions.”
During his visit to Kazan Federal University, Yang Bin held talks with university representatives including the Vice Rector Dr Linar Latypov
Following the summit, Yang Bin visited university partners in Kazakhstan on 1 September, including Nazarbayev University (NU). Yang Bin and NU Provost Ilesanmi Adesida looked into the all-round cooperation between the two universities and explored future development and greater levels of engagement, including student and faculty exchange.
Meeting with Nazarbayev University Provost Ilesanmi Adesida
During a meeting with senior representatives of the Kazakh Department of Education and Science, Yang Bin introduced the cooperation history between Tsinghua and Kazakhstan. The two sides discussed pathways for greater cooperation including the promotion of talent training and other related matters. Representatives from Tsinghua’s Office of International Cooperation and Exchange and Wudaokou Tsinghua School of Finance attended the meetings.
Meeting with representatives from the Kazakh Department of Education and Science
Kazan Federal University was founded in 1804, making it the second-oldest Russian university. Famous mathematician Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky served there as the rector from 1827 until 1846. The university is known as the birthplace of organic chemistry due to works by Aleksandr Butlerov, Vladimir Markovnikov, Aleksandr Arbuzov, and the birthplace of electron spin resonance discovered by Evgeny Zavoisky.
For more information on Kazan Federal University, visit
Nazarbayev University is an autonomous research university in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Founded in 2010, it is an English-medium institution, with a high level of international faculty and staff.
For more information on NU, visit
Writer: John Paul Grima
Editor: Guo Lili
