Under the framework of the "Belt and Road" initiative and the collaboration on the large wide-body aircraft project, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Moscow Aviation Institute, in partnership with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), China Aero-Engine Corporation (AECC), United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), and United Engine Corporation (UEC) of Russia, established the Sino-Russian Joint Research Institute. This initiative explores new models of deep integration between education and industry, as well as international talent cultivation. Within this framework, a dual master's degree program was launched in 2017, followed by a dual bachelor's degree program in 2018. In the second half of 2019, the SJTU-MAI master's program was approved as a Sino-foreign cooperative education program by the Ministry of Education.
To date, the SJTU-MAI bachelor's and master's programs have enrolled nearly 550 Chinese and Russian students over eight cohorts. The faculty comprises top experts from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Moscow Aviation Institute, and leading aerospace enterprises from both China and Russia. Courses are taught entirely in English, with the values of professional dedication and aerospace passion instilled throughout the curriculum. The programs aim to cultivate a new generation of elite engineers, capable of meeting the challenges and demands of the future development of the aerospace industries in China and Russia.