VLADIVOSTOK, September 6. /TASS/. The Norilsk Nickel Company (Nornickel) plans to build a seven-storey campus of the Polar State University, Russia's northernmost university, by 2035, the company's Vice President Andrey Grachev told TASS on sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the forum Russia intends to develop universities in the Arctic.

"As part of the funding that Norilsk Nickel has allocated in addition to the four-party agreement on Norilsk's integrated socio-economic development until 2035, a modern student complex will be built opposite the university," the company's representative said. The project provides for the construction of a seven-storey building of three sections - a public block, teachers' section and a student sector. The complex will have accommodation both for students and teachers, a hotel, a hostel, a medical unit, administrative premises, an area for lessons, a conference room, a co-working area and recreational areas, he added. Work on developing an exhibition and educational space, dedicated to Norilsk's history of geological discoveries, is underway.

"From the project's implementation Norilsk will have a higher level of education by attracting teachers and students from other cities, will have additional options for learning and for social leisure for students," he continued, adding the university is important for Norilsk Nickel, as it is a source of qualified engineering personnel. The university has a number of corporate educational programs, and Nornickel's more than 50 managers and specialists teach basic academic subjects together with university's teachers.

The Fedorovsky Polar State University is the only state university on the Taymyr Peninsula in the Krasnoyarsk Region's north. According to Norilsk's strategy of socio-economic development, in 2035 the number of students at universities will increase from 1,500 to 2,200. The university in Norilsk is expected to become the best engineering university in the Arctic.

About the forum

The Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) is underway on the campus of the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok on September 3-6, 2024. The main theme of the EEF in 2024 is "Far East 2030. Combining strengths to create new potential."

The EEF is one of the largest international conferences in Russia. It has been held in the Primorsky Region’s Russky Island in Vladivostok since 2015. The Forum is the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who decreed that the event be held annually.

The forum's objectives and goals include promoting the accelerated growth of Russia’s Far East region; assessing its potential for exports; expanding international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region; showcasing the investment appeal of the region, its steadily progressing territories, and the Vladivostok free port.

The Roscongress Foundation has served as the Forum’s organizer since 2016.

TASS is the general information partner of the EEF.