Viktor Khristenko, Chairman of the SUSU Supervisory Council has visited South Ural State University. During his visit, he has met with university staff to discuss the key areas of SUSU’s activities and attended presentations of projects and results of our university’s current work.
The first stop was the Industrial Robotics Development Centre, established in August 2025 following SUSU’s participation in a competitive grant selection organized by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Centre became one of the satellite centres of the federal network of the domestic robotics ecosystem. The network’s headquarters is based at Innopolis University in Kazan. The Centre’s mission is to provide regional industrial engineering and research-and-education leadership in industrial robotics through the development and implementation of competitive domestic robotic solutions.
“The Industrial Robotics Development Centre involves not only staff members but also SUSU students, primarily from the Faculty of Mechatronics and Robotics, which has around 1100 students. By working on real projects commissioned by industrial partners, students develop skills in programming, data processing, and production management. The Centre is a unique platform for researchers and students, where theory is tested in practice. The laboratories of mathematical modelling and artificial intelligence are involved here, and new educational programmes are also being launched,” emphasized SUSU Rector Alexander Wagner.
The Chairman of the SUSU Supervisory Council has been then introduced to the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, a strategic educational project implemented in partnership with the KONAR industrial group. The project has a regional priority. The idea for establishing this faculty emerged in response to the industry’s urgent need for a new type of specialists who have not only fundamental knowledge but also practical skills for working with modern equipment and technologies. The KONAR Industrial Group initiated the revival of this historically significant SUSU faculty under a fundamentally new concept.
During the visit, Viktor Khristenko has also familiarized himself with the work of the Electromechanical, Electronic and Electrochemical Systems Regional Youth Laboratory. SUSU won the regional competition to establish this research laboratory, organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Chelyabinsk Region with the support of the Chelyabinsk Region Governor Alexey Texler. The project is headed by young scientist Vladimir Zhivulin, Candidate of Sciences (Physics and Mathematics), Associate Professor at the SUSU Department of Materials Science, Physical and Chemical Properties of Materials.
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The laboratory staff—specialists in electromechanics, electronics, materials science, physics, and computer science—have presented four key areas of work to Viktor Khristenko, Chairman of the SUSU Supervisory Council:
- Electromechanical systems: development of a new traction electric motor design.
- Electronic control units: development of control systems using exclusively domestically produced electronic components.
- Machine vision systems: development of an autopilot for autonomous transport movement along a designated route.
- Chemical power sources (zinc-ion batteries): development of a technology for producing next-generation batteries. The main tasks include searching for cathode materials, developing an electrolyte, and modifying the zinc anode.
The final stop on the tour of SUSU’s divisions has been the Unified Dean’s Office, opened this year as part of the program to increase labour productivity in the education sector through 2030. The creation of a multifunctional student services centre is expected to optimize the staffing levels of non-core personnel and systematize and automate processes related to student enrolment and status changes.
“SUSU is developing significantly, and this is clearly evident from the projects that are being successfully implemented at the university today. It is particularly important that new formats for interaction with industrial partners are emerging, conditions are being created for research and engineering developments, and internal processes are also being improved. I feel confident that the university will maintain this momentum, continue developing these areas, strengthen the results already achieved, and implement new big-scale projects,” says Viktor Khristenko, Chairman of the SUSU Supervisory Council.