BelSU Rector Hosts Strategic Talks with Dezhou University Leaders

Belgorod State University has welcomed a high-level delegation from its long-standing Chinese partner, Dezhou University, for a visit that underscored the deepening strategic ties between the two institutions and paved the way for a significant expansion of their joint educational offerings.

The delegation included Wang Liyan, Executive Director of the Belgorod Institute of Food Sciences at Dezhou University; Wang Huisong, Head of the Academic and Research Department; Han Baoqing, Head of the Department of Food Safety and Quality; and Liu Ye, International Relations Specialist. Their programme combined participation in the Innovations in Life Sciences scientific symposium with forward-looking discussions on the future of bilateral cooperation.

Receiving the guests, BelSU Rector Evgeniya Karlovskaya framed the meeting within a broader diplomatic context.

“Your visit confirms the mature, strategic nature of our partnership. Our joint Belgorod Institute of Food Sciences at Dezhou University is a genuinely unique model – one that few universities anywhere can claim,” Karlovskaya said, noting that the gathering carried added significance during the Year of Russian-Chinese Cooperation in Education, an initiative launched by the leaders of both countries.

Wang Liyan conveyed warm greetings from Dezhou’s leadership and echoed the sentiment of familiarity and mutual trust.

“We feel at home in Belgorod. We have been working together successfully for many years and have built up a great many achievements. We hope this year will bring new and equally successful projects,” said Wang Liyan.

The partners had strong grounds for optimism. They noted that China’s Ministry of Education has approved an increase in student intake at the Joint Institute of Food Sciences from 300 to 420 for the coming academic year – a concrete vote of confidence in the quality of the collaborative programmes.

Looking ahead, both sides agreed to align teaching more closely with their shared research agenda and to identify mutually beneficial scientific interests that could form the basis of competitive grant applications. Plans were also laid to establish joint scientific mirror laboratories, creating parallel research facilities that operate across both campuses.

In a move likely to appeal to students seeking a truly international experience, the universities reached an agreement for 20 Chinese students to begin full-time, on-campus study at BelSU starting this September. The Chinese colleagues further invited BelSU scientists to present papers at an upcoming international innovation forum.