Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On October 1 in Ulaanbaatar, Rio Tinto signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National University of Mongolia (NUM), formalizing a partnership to sponsor the 2020 Startup Lab Program, offer real world work experience to students through internship opportunities and explore opportunities to establish a lecture series promoting responsible mining. 

NUM President Ya.Tumurbaatar and Rio Tinto Group Executive Corporate Relations Simone Niven signed the MoU, and the agreement to develop 2020 Startup Lab Program was signed by Rio Tinto Mongolia Mining Executive Kh.Amarjargal and NUM Deputy Director of research and cooperation Ch.Lodoiravsal. 

Rio Tinto Group Executive Corporate Relations Simone Niven said “Rio Tinto is delighted to partner with the National University of Mongolia to provide opportunities for students to gain essential skills required for entering the workforce. Rio Tinto has had a presence in Mongolia for over a decade and, as a major employer through Oyu Tolgoi, our continued success depends on developing future generations of Mongolians to manage operations for decades to come. 

NUM President Ya.Tumurbaatar said “We are thrilled to have formalized our partnership with Rio Tinto. Both organizations have a strong focus on innovation and a mutual interest in fostering economic and social development of Mongolia”. 

“The Startup Lab Program is a great way to encourage the thriving entrepreneurial spirit already evident in young Mongolian and we are excited by the opportunity to work with NUM to develop a lecture series exploring how a sustainable mining sector can contribute to Mongolia”. Under the Startup Lab Program, students and academics work together in teams over a seven-month period to develop business ideas culminating in a competition where teams compete head to head. The program was introduced in 2017 to foster entrepreneurship by giving students an opportunity to understand what it’s like to establish a business and has continued to go from strength-to-strength. Rio Tinto will fund MNT 30 million for the upcoming the 2020 Startup Lab Program, according to NUM Deputy Director Ch.Lodoiravsal.

During the signing ceremony, startup companies established at the NUM, such as Digital Solution and MBF - Mongolian Bio Future, presented some of their technological solutions being developed by the teachers and students of the university, including a virtual simulation complex system and an herbal mouth rinse capable of destroying antibiotic resistance bacteria and other types of pathogenic bacteria, which is planned to introduce to the market next year.