Freiberg mining academy and russia: 250 years of business cooperation

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the 250th anniversary of Freiberg Mining Academy, the oldest European higher technical education institution with the mining specialization. It is an established fact that the roots of cooperation between Russian and German mining en-gineers go back to the time of Peter the Great, and which was later maintained as exemplified by the Demidovs, the dynasty of leading Russian metallurgical works owners. In terms of science, a signifi-cant contribution was made both by leading mining science experts of Freiberg and by their disciple M.V.Lomonosov, a great Russian scientist. The article focuses on the links between the Mining Academy and St Petersburg Mining School, which was founded a little later and became the first higher technical education institution in Russia. It gives numerous examples of professional de-velopment of Russian mining specialists who had practical training in Freiberg. The conclusion reviews the relations between the two education institutions over the last decades and identifies their prospects.