DUSHANBE, September 11, 2012, Asia-Plus -- A new faculty – the Faculty of Engineering and Technical Studies – has been opened at Tajik Technical University in Dushanbe.  This faculty is a joint brainchild of two universities – Tajik Technical University and Belarusian National Technical University.

An official opening ceremony took place in Dushanbe on September 11 was attended by Ms. Ruqiya Qurbonova, Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan and Mr. Sergey Maskevich, Minister of Education of Belarus.

According to Belarusian media sources, the new faculty will train specialists in the following spheres: construction and architecture; energy; mechanical engineering and metallurgy; road and transport; information technologies; and marketing, management, ad enterprise.

The establishment of this faculty is a personal initiative of the presidents of both countries and an appropriate agreement between the two universities was signed on October 28, 2011.

Founded in 1956, Tajik Technical University now has eight faculties.  More than 20,000 students now study at Tajik Technical University in Dushanbe.

Belarusian National Technical University (BNTU) is the major technical university in Belarus.  In 1920, Minsk Polytechnic became Belarusian State Polytechnic Institute.  In 1991, it was renamed to Belarusian State Polytechnic Academy and in 2002, Belarusian State Polytechnic Academy was renamed to Belarusian National Technical University.  In 1997, the university was granted a leading engineering education institution status in Belarusian educational system.  Belarusian National Technical University now has seventeen faculties and lyceum under BNTU.