More than 40 students of the MAI-SJTU joint master's degree program defended their theses

The fourth group of students of the joint Russian-Chinese Master's degree Program of Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) defended their theses. 18 Russian and 28 Chinese students completed their master's degree this year. Since 2020 they were educated for "Aircraft structures design of polymer composite materials", "Product lifecycle management in aircraft design" and "Aircraft engines".

The purpose of the joint program is to form personnel reserve for large domestic and international projects. The education is carried out in such a way that students work with existing projects and real customers from the very first days. Such immersion is possible due to MAI close cooperation with industrial partners: PJSC “UAC”, “Regional Aircraft” branch of PJSC “Irkut Corporation”, JSC “UEC”, COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China) and AECC (Aero Engine Corporation of China).

The program lasts 2.5 years and is carried out in Shanghai and Moscow in Russian-Chinese groups. Students spend a year and a half in China. According to the results of the program, the graduates receive two diplomas – one from MAI and one from SJTU. To do this, you need to write two papers and pass through defenses at both universities. The students defended their theses at MAI in July last year and at SJTU in January this year.

– SJTU is one of the world top 50 universities, and for me the opportunity to study there in parallel with MAI was very valuable, – said Dmitry Borovkov, the graduate of "Aircraft structures design of polymer composite materials" course. – Team gave me the strongest impression. In Russia we had excellent professors, they are all the industry leaders who gave us not only theoretical knowledge, but also the opportunity to apply it in practice.

As Dmitry noted, the students honed their skills at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant, at Aerocomposite and UMATEX.

– At Shanghai University we also received good theoretical knowledge, as well as international communication and negotiation skills, because the entire program was in English. Moreover, we were received warm welcome and spent every holiday together: for example, we celebrated the Chinese New Year – with gifts and classic Chinese crafts for the holiday, – he added. – My plans for the future are to come back to Russia and continue to use the competencies acquired at MAI and SJTU. I have been working for several years in the laboratory of composite materials NIO-101 MAI, and the skills acquired during the education process are extremely valuable for the employer.

Lyubov Mamurkova, the graduate of the "Product lifecycle management in aircraft design" course, also noted her strong skills after the master's degree.

– At the time when I entered MAI-SJTU, I was already studying for master's degree at MAI. At the very beginning, I was afraid that I would not afford two master's degrees during one and the same period of time, but later I seized the rhythm and successfully passed all the exams, and then I defended my thesis, she said. – It gave me the opportunity to work for the Russian-Chinese CR929 aircraft project. Everyone chose the direction that was interesting to him. For example, I worked as a leading certification specialist. Studying in China is something, you can talk about forever. We received all the opportunities for comfortable study at one of the strongest universities in the world, this is really a dream program!