the ministry of education recently approved the construction of shenzhen msu-bit university, the first joint university by china and moscow state university of russia, according to the official portal of the shenzhen municipal education bureau.
the approval of the university is the result of a strategic cooperation deal between the shenzhen municipal government, beijing institute of technology and moscow state university, and comes after the two countries' education departments inked an mou in the presence of the two national leaders, xi jinping and vladmir putin, in may 2014.
china's ministry of education approved preparation for the university in august 2015. the university now has completed phase i of the campus' construction, which includes classrooms, dormitories, canteens, laboratories, libraries, offices and a gymnasium that will be shared with the city's sports school.
the approval document, issued by the ministry of education, also allows the university to enroll both undergraduate and postgraduate students next year. the ultimate goal of the university is to accept 5,000 students from all around the world. the enrollment of doctorate students will start in 2018.
the university will be near the international bicycle race-field in longgang, close to the terminal exit of shuiguan expressway connecting luohu with longgang. the campus will cover an area of 33.37 hectares and feature a russian architectural style. total investment in the campus has reached 1.96 billion yuan (us$301 million).
apart from some postgraduate programs, all of the undergraduate programs will be taught in three languages — chinese, english and russian. language centers will be set up on and off campus to provide training in both chinese and russian for all students, according to the president.
both beijing institute of technology and moscow state university are famous for their math, science and engineering programs. the joint university will offer courses such as math and applied math, material science and engineering, physical geography and resource environment.
the university will also provide courses in international business, trading and russian literature.
over half of the teaching faulty will be teachers and researchers from moscow state university. the university will also enroll staff from all around the world.
