Ambassador of India to Russia Visits Samara University

This week, His Excellency Vinay Kumar, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India to the Russian Federation, and Anup Kumar Srivastava, Counsellor for Space Affairs at the Embassy of India in Russia, visited Samara National Research University on an official visit.

Rector Vladimir Bogatyrev presented the University’s competencies in aerospace engineering, natural sciences, and the humanities. Ambassador Vinay Kumar and Counsellor Anup Kumar Srivastava personally inspected several key facilities. They toured the Inter-University Department of Space Research, whose staff conduct fundamental and applied research in spacecraft engineering, and visited the Nanosatellite Technologies Centre, where small spacecraft are developed. The delegation also toured the University’s Nanosatellite Testing Centre and the Ground-based Satellite Control and Space Data Reception Complex. The Ambassador inquired about spacecraft currently being prepared for orbital launch. Ivan Tkachenko, Director of the University’s Institute of Aerospace Engineering, explained that preparations are underway for the launch of “AIST-ST,” Russia’s first 16U CubeSat-format radar satellite, developed jointly with specialists from the Special Technological Centre in Saint Petersburg.

Currently, 12 Indian students are enrolled at Samara University. As Rector noted during the meeting, the University is keen to develop joint educational programs, student exchanges, collaborative research, and grant projects with Indian universities.

Samara University currently maintains Memoranda of Understanding on academic and scientific cooperation with several Indian institutions: Dayananda Sagar University, the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and Vellore Institute of Technology. Additional agreements in the field of education are in the final stages of preparation: a network-mode agreement with IIT Bombay for a joint bachelor’s program in “Aircraft Engines,” a similar agreement with Vellore Institute of Technology for a master’s program in “Applied Mathematics and Physics,” and a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology.

Furthermore, a delegation from Samara University is scheduled to travel to India at the end of December 2025 to attend the Technology Festival and hold negotiations aimed at further strengthening bilateral cooperation.

Photo by Olesya Orina