SAINT PETERSBURG MINING UNIVERSITY: THE RECTOR JOINS CCIARE

On Thursday, October 15, 2026, the rector of the Saint Petersburg Mining University, Mr. Vladimir Stefanovich Litvinenko, welcomed a delegation from the Africa-Russia-Eurasia Investment Chamber of Commerce (CCIARE), led by its president, Mr. Karim HARATI, at his institution. The meeting took place in the presence of the Senegalese Minister of Mines and Geology, Mr. Cheikh Omar SECK, who was accompanied by his advisor, Dr. Ousmane CISSE. The delegation also included Mr. Sekou DRAME and Mr. Anthony HARATI, both members of the CCIARE.

At the heart of the discussions were the prospects of strengthening cooperation between Senegal and Russia in the mining sector, particularly in terms of engineer training, scientific research, and technology transfer. The talks highlighted the importance of bringing together universities, public authorities, and economic players to support the development of the extractive sector in Africa.

During the meeting, Senegal's Minister of Mines and Geology, Mr. Cheikh Omar SECK, presented the State of Senegal's directions and ambitions for the development of the mining sector. His presentation emphasized the issues related to making the most of natural resources, strengthening national skills, and putting in place mechanisms that could promote economic and social benefits for the Senegalese population.

Appreciating this presentation, Rector Vladimir Stefanovich Litvinenko expressed his gratitude for the efforts made by the Senegalese authorities to develop the mining sector. He also showed his willingness to support CCIARE's initiatives, thus opening up opportunities for collaboration between his university and Senegalese partners.

Training highly skilled human resources appears to be a major focus of this cooperation. In a sector where technology mastery, innovation, and technical expertise are key competitiveness factors, exchanges between Russian higher education institutions and Senegalese stakeholders could help strengthen national capacities.

At the end of the meeting, the president of CCIARE, Mr. Karim HARATI, presented an award to the rector of the Saint Petersburg Mining University, in recognition of his commitment and willingness to support the cooperation initiatives led by the Chamber. Another notable point from this meeting: Mr. Vladimir Stefanovich Litvinenko agreed to join CCIARE as a member, thus becoming part of a network that reportedly includes presidents from Botswana, Burundi, and Liberia. This membership sends a positive signal for the development of relationships between Russian and African academic, economic, and institutional circles. It could help facilitate the exchange of expertise, encourage academic partnerships, and promote new investment opportunities.

Through this meeting, the CCIARE confirms its desire to strengthen the bridges between Africa, Russia, and Eurasia. For Senegal, the goal is to make better use of international expertise to train skilled engineers, boost applied research, and promote a transfer of technology that can sustainably support the transformation of the national mining sector.

Who is Mr. Vladimir Stefanovich Litvinenko

Vladimir Stefanovich Litvinenko is a Soviet and Russian mining engineer, PhD, professor, leading expert in the field of fuel and energy, and rector of Saint Petersburg Mining University. He is the chairman of the board of the International Competence Center for Mining Education under the auspices of UNESCO. He is also the president of the Nedra University Consortium, which brings together over 70 Russian higher education institutions whose educational programs include engineering training.

In 1982, he graduated with honors from the Leningrad Mining Institute with a degree in mining deposit exploration technology and engineering. In 1987, he defended his PhD thesis, and in 1992 his doctoral dissertation titled 'Theoretical and Experimental Fundamentals of Fusion Rock Drilling.' He served in the Soviet Army and has practical experience working in exploration teams. He is a full member of the International Academy of Sciences and Higher Education, a member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, the Russian Academy of Humanities, and the International Academy of Ecology and Life Protection Sciences.

He started his career at the University of Mines in 1984 as vice-rector. In June 1994, he was elected rector of the university and was re-elected to this position five times in a row. In 2000, 2004, 2012, and 2018, he headed the election campaign office for presidential candidate Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg.

As rector, Vladimir Litvinenko brought the Saint Petersburg Mining University to the forefront of global mining education. His efforts to modernize infrastructure, improve educational programs, enhance the quality of faculty, and integrate into the international scientific and educational community were recognized by the British consulting firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). It’s one of the three most respected international agencies that rank the world’s top universities each year.

For five consecutive years, the University of Mines has been in the top 20 of the QS rankings for mining engineering. In 2022, for the first time, British experts ranked it seventh in the world. No other Russian higher education institution has ever achieved such an impressive result.

In many ways, this has been possible thanks to the draw of substantial extra-budgetary funds received for research and development, particularly scientific support for many projects of large mining and energy companies. The University of Mines’ partners include Novatek, Rosneft, Russian Copper Company, Polyus, SIBUR, PhosAgro, as well as many other big names in the national industry.

Their investments and the University's own profits allowed them to renovate all the educational, laboratory, and administrative buildings of the University, as well as the Mining Museum, to create a powerful modern lab base for all fields of study, and to fully computerize the educational and scientific process. The university has six research centers with the most advanced equipment. Just in recent years, thanks to the direct involvement of Vladimir Litvinenko, the BELAZ Center of Excellence, training programs and simulation complexes for offshore oil and gas production, as well as mining machinery and Caterpillar management, have been set up. In collaboration with the French company Schneider Electric, a smart power management lab has been created.

In 2020, despite the pandemic, the high-performance computing laboratory for production process modeling opened its doors to both scientists and advanced students. Vladimir Litvinenko also initiated the construction of a new third academic building on Maly Avenue on Vasilievsky Island and a multifunctional complex with a 2,000-seat conference hall, designed for large scientific conferences, including international events. Thanks to his direct involvement, the number of dormitories for undergraduate and graduate students was multiplied by ten. All of them are comfortable rooms that fully meet modern standards.

Every year, hundreds of millions of rubles are allocated to renovation work needed to maintain the established level of scientific, educational, and social environment across all areas of the university. The area of the premises rebuilt with these funds exceeds 100,000 square meters. The builders’ task isn’t just to cosmetically renovate classrooms and labs, but also to meet all modern requirements, including energy efficiency and educational activities.

Messrs. BANE Special envoy to Saint Petersburg