Stanislav Kudzh, rector of RTU MIREA: our university trains full-cycle engineers for the rare metal industry

MIREA — Russian Technological University is one of the co-organizers of the International Congress on Rare Metals, Materials and Technologies "RAREMET-2026", which will be held in Moscow on May 20-22. The event is organized by the Giredmet Institute. Stanislav Alekseevich Kudzh, rector of RTU MIREA, Doctor of Technical Sciences, tells about the role that the RTU MIREA plays in holding the main industry event of the year, how the university prepares engineers for high-tech industries and why personnel training for the rare metal industry requires a new model of interaction between universities, state corporations and businesses.

Stanislav Alekseevich, RTU MIREA is a co-organizer of the International Congress "RAREMET-2026", which is organized by the Institute "Giredmet". Why this event is important for the university?

Today, the rare metal industry is experiencing a renaissance. The production of rare earth metals is being recreated on the basis of the Solikamsk Magnesium Plant. The subsidiary Polar Lithium is developing a new deposit and creating a production of lithium current sources. Rosatom-Metaltech is working on the creation of neodymium magnets. But it is necessary to remember that it was the Russian University of Technology can be called the founder of the rare metals industry, since it was our university that was the first to train specialists in the field of rare metals technology back in 1930 when it was opened. Among the founders of Russian technologies for the production of rare metals, it is necessary to mention the names of professors I.Y. Bashilov and K.A. Bolshakov, who opened the country's first department for training specialists in the technology of rare and rare-earth metals. We are proud that the business, which started exactly 95 years ago has developed into a new industry. Today we are not just the main venue of the largest industry forum, we are the house of the rare metal industry in Russia. It is very symbolic that the scientific work of I.Y. Bashilov and K.A. Bolshakov was closely connected with the Giredmet Institute, which, like our university, stood at the origins of the creation of the rare metal industry and is celebrating its 95th anniversary this year.

The congress program pays special attention to personnel issues. How do you assess the current situation with the training of engineering personnel for the rare metal industry? What competencies are most in demand today and how can the university respond promptly to these requests?

Today, RTU MIREA is the leader among Russian universities in training personnel for the rare metal industry. Traditionally, on the basis of the Department of Chemistry and Technology of Rare Elements, we train bachelors in the chemical technology profile "Chemical technology of rare and precious metals", masters in two profiles "Technology of rare and light metals", "Chemical technology of rare and precious metals". Since 2025, at the request of the Rosatom State Corporation, we have opened a new training profile for engineers in the field of Chemical Technology of Rare and Rare Earth Metals within the framework of the specialty "Materials of Modern Energy". Over 95 years of staff training, our university has graduated more than 4,000 highly qualified specialists. There is not a single rare metal enterprise in Russia where our graduates would not work. We promptly respond to industry requests: for example, last year, at the request of Rosatom, we opened specialized master's degree training for the Solikamsk Magnesium Plant's rare metal production facility under construction.

In a recent interview, you said that "our students and teachers can make a significant contribution to the modernization of Russian radio electronics by creating breakthrough technologies." Rare and rare earth metals are the foundation of modern electronics. How does the university integrate this topic into the educational process and scientific research?

Indeed, our economy needs not only to develop individual industries, but to build consistent functional links from the mine and the extraction of rare metal raw materials to the manufacture of finished products. The strength of our university lies in the fact that we have combined the full technological cycle on one site. Chemical technologists are working on the production of new materials based on rare metals, but metal does not fly. Further, our specialists are ready to develop technologies for the production of electric motors, create an electronic component base, develop software, and make a housing out of composite material. RTU MIREA combines all of the above competencies. Our main advantage is that we have learned not only how to train personnel for various industries, but we can offer Rosatom the training of a team of specialists in a complete closed cycle from metal mining to programming an aircraft with an engine based on rare metals.

One of the key topics of the congress is digitalization and artificial intelligence in the rare metal industry. You have repeatedly taken initiatives to introduce AI into education, including the creation of AI assistants for teachers. How can these developments be applied in personnel training for the rare metal industry?

Indeed, in the interests of the Rosatom State Corporation, the basic Department of Information Technologies in Nuclear Power Engineering, which implements the program of study "Software Engineering", has been operating at our Institute of Information Technologies of RTU MIREA since 2022. The program of elite training of JSC "Grinatom" on software robotics "Software robotics from process search to robot launch" on the Atom.RITA platform has been opened for students that studies IT.

The RAREMET-2026 Congress will bring together representatives of science, education, industry and the state. How do you see the university's role in this ecosystem? In your opinion, what is the most effective model of interaction between a university, industry institutes (such as Giredmet) and industry to create a complete cycle from raw materials to finished products?

The rare metal industry in our country is part of the nuclear industry management circuit, and RTU MIREA is one of the main universities of the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation. Every year, hundreds of RTU MIREA students undergo internships at different Rosatom enterprises. For example, the Giredmet Institute collaborates productively with the Department of Chemistry and Technology of Rare Elements. The most effective and productive format is to conduct joint research in the interests of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation enterprises. Within the walls of Giredmet, our students work on graduation projects, and the staff of our organizations conduct joint scientific activities.

You have been leading the university for more than ten years. During this time, RTU MIREA has grown significantly, bringing together several educational and scientific institutions. How is the continuity of scientific schools maintained in such a large-scale process? And how can this continuity be useful for the revival of the rare metal industry?

For me, the preservation of scientific schools and traditions is not a matter of nostalgia, but a matter of efficiency. When we combined different educational institutions into a single university, it was essential for us to preserve the unique competencies of each of them. For example, the school of chemistry of rare metals, which was formed for decades at RTU MIREA, has not only been preserved today, but has received a new impetus for development due to integration with engineering areas. Chemistry students now work in a team with radio engineers and programmers, and this has a synergistic effect. This is especially important for the rare metal industry: the problem is not to "just extract" rare earth metal, but to create a finished product based on it. And this requires the joint work of chemists, materials scientists, and circuit engineers. It is precisely this interdisciplinary culture that we are developing at the university.

And the final question. What would you wish to the participants and guests of the Congress who will come to the RTU MIREA on May 20-22?

I wish all participants productive discussions, new contacts and, most importantly, an understanding that our common work is not just an industry task, but a contribution to the technological future of the country. Rare metals are the material from which the following technological structure is created. And the fact that we will gather at the same site to discuss their extraction, processing, application, and training is already a sign that we are thinking systematically. Welcome to RTU MIREA! I am sure that these three days will launch new projects and open up new names in science and industry.

Stanislav Alekseevich, thank you for this interesting conversation.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee of the RAREMET-2026 Congress, we would like to remind you that the International Congress on Rare Metals, Materials and Technologies will be held in Moscow on May 20-22, 2026 at the RTU MIREA site. The organizer is the Giredmet Institute. The congress program includes plenary sessions, four thematic scientific conferences (RAREMET:Minerals, RAREMET:Metallurgy, RAREMET:Chemistry, RAREMET:Functional), panel discussions, round tables and the specialized exhibition RAREMET:Expo. We invite students, postgraduates, young scientists, as well as all those involved in geology, chemistry, metallurgy, materials science and technologies for processing rare metals to join the congress.