Jordan, Russia mull launching ‘student satellite’

AMMAN — Russia and Jordan are currently working on an idea to launch a student satellite (StudSat) to be conceptualised and managed by undergraduate students across the Kingdom.

In an interview with The Jordan Times on Wednesday, Director of the Russian Cultural Centre (RCC) in Amman Vadim Zaychikov said that the envisioned StudSat will be developed in Jordan by a consortium of engineering students from Russia's Kursk State University and Jordanian state universities. 

"The student-initiated satellite is still an idea but work is under way to realise it," Zaychikov said, adding that the StudSat will be used for aerial photos and telecommunication purposes.

In a related development, Zaychikov announced that the Moscow-based People's Friendship University of Russia and Irbid-based Jordan University of Science and Technology have already signed an agreement to produce plastic Formula 1 cars.

Zaychikov also said the RCC is part of the Russian Federal Agency for International Cooperation which has around 90 affiliates around the world.

Russia offers around 15,000 scholarships for overseas students every year, he said, adding that the number of scholarships for Jordanians has increased from 20 in 2013 to 62 in 2014 and 118 in 2015. 

He also said that a high-profile delegation comprising presidents of 12 Russian universities recently met with their Jordanian counterparts and Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour after which several cooperation agreements were signed.

"Russia, which was chosen to implement Jordan's first ever nuclear reactor, will offer MA and PhD scholarships for Jordanian students in atomic engineering."

He also said that the centre offers Russian language courses and specialised training programmes on music and art in addition to organising events and concerts during Russia's national and historic occasions.  

Russia is the third spoken language in Jordan after Arabic and English, he said, attributing the reason to the around 20,000 Jordanian graduates from Russia and former Soviet Union states, and also the advanced level of cooperation and partnership between the two countries. 

Zaychikov described Jordanian-Russian cooperation as advanced at all levels, all due to "the strong friendship between His Majesty King Abdullah and Russian President Vladimr Putin".