The opening ceremony of the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Doctoral Training Innovation Center was held at the International Campus of Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, on Friday.

The first batch of 120 doctoral students from six SCO member countries—China, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan—commenced their academic journey.

During the ceremony, the Harbin Roadmap for the Innovative Training of Doctoral Students in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was released, and HIT's International Campus was officially inaugurated.

Representatives of 13 leading universities worldwide, including mentors and outstanding doctoral students, participated in the event.

The construction of the center, led by HIT, has been included in the list of achievements for China's rotating presidency of the SCO for the 2024-2025 term.

Wu Yan, vice-minister of Education, emphasized that HIT, as an important member of China's top tier of higher education, has a longstanding focus on cooperation with Russia and has accumulated international collaboration advantages.

"The establishment of the International Campus and the initiation of the center are significant steps toward deepening the integration of education, science and talent development, aiming to cultivate outstanding academic and research talents," Wu said at the ceremony. "I hope that the center would jointly nurture high-level innovative talents, conduct high-quality scientific research, and strengthen the transformation of high-quality achievements."

He also encouraged the doctoral students to be diligent learners, innovative creators, contributors to global service and ambassadors of friendship.

Sui Hongbo, vice-governor of Heilongjiang, noted that as a frontier province in China's cooperation with Russia and Eurasia, Heilongjiang is actively engaging with the Belt and Road Initiative, striving to become a new highland for opening-up to the north.

"The establishment of the center is a milestone in the province's educational opening-up and an important platform for China and SCO member countries to jointly cultivate future academic and research talents," he said. "The inauguration of HIT's International Campus marks a new stage in the internationalization of Heilongjiang's education."

"Heilongjiang will continue to deepen international exchanges and cooperation, strengthen policy support, optimize service guarantees, and accelerate achievement transformation to establish Harbin as the northern hub of SCO educational cooperation and the intellectual engine of the China-Russia-Mongolia Economic Corridor," he added.

Chen Jie, Party secretary of HIT, stated that under the guidance of the Shanghai Spirit and driven by the important consensus reached at the SCO Tianjin Summit, the center will cultivate a high-level, international and interdisciplinary team of young leaders in science, technology, and humanities for the SCO, injecting vibrant SCO power into building a community with a shared future for humanity.

Han Jiecai, president of HIT, emphasized that HIT will collaborate with top universities worldwide, focusing on frontier fields such as energy, information technology, and nanomaterials, to gather outstanding young talents globally.

"As the chair unit of the center, HIT is committed to providing comprehensive resource support and building communication bridges to jointly cultivate a strong elite force capable of leading cooperation and supporting the community with a shared future for humanity, contributing wisdom and strength to the prosperity and stability of the SCO," he said.

Tursunov Batir, deputy secretary-general of the SCO Secretariat, gave a video speech at the ceremony.

"As new milestones in educational integration, the China-SCO Doctoral Training Innovation Center and HIT's International Campus will strongly promote academic talent cultivation, facilitate deep integration of industry, academia and research," he said. "The SCO Secretariat will continue to support the realization of innovative development strategic goals, contributing to deepening mutual understanding and trust."