Russia to Build Science, Tech University Campus on Chinese Tropical Island

The campus design will combine 'the tropical ecosystem of the island and the rational temperament of the Russian university.'

Russia is set to build a new university campus on the Chinese tropical island of Hainan, which will focus on science and technology research and studies.

The campus forms part of Russia's existing national research university called the Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MPEI). The public university was founded in 1930 and offers training in the fields of power engineering, electric engineering, radio engineering, electronics, information technologies, and management.

As the South China Morning Post (Opens in a new window)reports, the Hainan province has been trying to bolster its education sector by providing a greater range of foreign institutions. A deal was apparently struck with MPEI in March to build a campus on China's largest and most populous island. The fact late former Chinese Premier Li Peng is an alumni of MPEI (1948-55) and is known as "the most famous graduate of MPEI," no doubt helped the deal get a green light with the Chinese government.

The new campus will be created by the China Academy of Building Research (CABR), which aims to produce a design that "combines the tropical ecosystem of the island and the rational temperament of the Russian university." It's unclear when the design will be finished and the subsequent construction will start, however.

The biggest obstacle facing the MPEI campus in Hainan is likely going to be its limited capability to teach or research any advanced technology.

Russia is all but cut off from the Western world through sanctions due to its war with Ukraine. China, meanwhile, is facing an increasing number of export controls making it all but impossible to access the equipment required for the latest manufacturing technologies.

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