• The friendship between HDU and ITMO started in 2012.
• ITMO delegation visited HDU in April, 2013, which initiated the cooperation between the two universities.
• In April 2014, Prof. Bessmertny and Dr. Chepinsky visited HDU again and gave a lecture.
• In October the same year, HDU delegation visited ITMO.
• ITMO delegation visited HDU in March and April 2015 to work with HDU colleagues.
• Vice President of ITMO visited HDU in May 2015, and signed the updated MOU.
• The HDU-ITMO Joint Laboratory on Control for Cyber-Physics System was unveiled in 2016, and researchers on both sides collaborated on 25 SCI papers.
• HDU delegation visited ITMO and the Agreement for Sino-foreign Cooperative Education programs were signed in 2017.
• In 2018, the HDU-ITMO Joint Institute was approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education.
• Altogether 431 HDU students visited ITMO from 2016 to 2020.