We continue turning the pages of the history of the Belarusian National Technical University. This week, we look back at events related to international cooperation, the establishment of faculties, and the recognition of the achievements of the university's scholars.
March 17
Exactly three years ago – in 2023 – Pskov State University served as the venue for the first Russian-Belarusian Student Media Forum, "Media Industry." This large-scale event brought together representatives from 20 higher education institutions across both countries. The BNTU delegation at the forum was led by Rector Sergey Kharitonchik, while the university was represented in the student sessions by journalists from the BNTU Media Center and activists from university youth organizations.
The signing of an agreement to establish the consortium "Russian-Belarusian University Union 'Together'" marked the culmination of the forum. In addition to BNTU and Pskov State University, this alliance includes the P.M. Masherov Vitebsk State University and the Francysk Skaryna Gomel State University. Today, the consortium continues to actively foster a unified scientific and educational space, bringing to life the ideas first conceived in Pskov.
March 20
The war interrupted academic activities at the Belarusian Polytechnic Institute, but it did not break its spirit. During the arduous post-war period – when Minsk lay in ruins – the faculty and students of the BPI accomplished a true feat: they not only resumed their studies but also, with their own hands, rebuilt their university buildings literally from the ashes.
A particularly significant milestone of this era was March 20, 1946 – the day the Faculty of Power Engineering, originally founded in 1920, resumed its operations. It was on this very spring day–when the country was just beginning to recover from the wounds of war–that the first 74 students commenced their studies across three academic years. These young men became the hope of the Republic. Amidst an acute shortage of skilled personnel, they prepared to provide the vital energy needed to power the nation's recovering industrial giants: the automobile, tractor, and machine-tool plants.
Alexander Rutsky became the first dean of this new academic division. At that time, the curriculum focused on training electrical and thermal power engineers; moreover, to accelerate the graduation of specialists as much as possible, special study groups with shortened training periods were established. Thus, step by step, the BPI solidified its status as a leading technical university–not only within the Republic but throughout the entire Soviet Union.
March 21
In 2011, the work of a distinguished BNTU scholar was recognized with a state award. By a Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus, Gennady Pastushkov – Doctor of Technical Sciences and Professor in the Department of Bridges and Tunnels – was awarded the Medal "For Labor Merits." This honor served as a testament to the significance of his decades-long contribution to the fields of science and education.
Gennady Pavlovich is a worthy representative of the renowned Pastushkov engineering dynasty, a family inextricably linked to BNTU. Under his professional guidance, unique centrifugally cast columns were developed and – for the first time in global engineering practice–successfully implemented during the construction of a reactor building at the Voronezh Nuclear Power Plant. To this day, the professor's hundreds of scholarly works and dozens of original design projects serve as a foundational bedrock for the training of new generations of civil engineers.
The past inspires us to achieve new heights in the present. We take pride in our history and continue to build the future – together with BNTU!
