Irkutsk State Railway University (IrGUPS)

What Irkutsk State Railway University (IrGUPS) does

Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education 'Irkutsk State University of Railway Transport' (IrGUPS / ИрГУПС) is the only transport university in Eastern Siberia, headquartered in Irkutsk, Russia, under the regulatory authority of the Russian Federal Agency for Railway Transport (Roszheldor) and the Ministry of Transport. Founded in 1975 as the Irkutsk Institute of Railway Transport and elevated to university status in the early 1990s, the institution was restructured in 2015 into an interregional university complex encompassing the main Irkutsk campus and four branch campuses: the Krasnoyarsk Institute of Railway Transport (KrlZhT), the Transbaikal Institute of Railway Transport (ZabIZhT) in Chita, the Ulan-Ude College of Railway Transport (UUKZHT), plus the Medical College of Railway Transport (MKZhT) and the Siberian College of Transport and Construction (SKTiS) in Irkutsk. Its primary function is workforce supply for OJSC Russian Railways and the broader railway transport sector across Eastern Siberia and the Transbaikal region.

The core offering spans higher education programs (bachelor's, specialist, master's, postgraduate/aspirantura) in railway transport engineering, economics, and management, plus secondary vocational programs at branch colleges and continuing professional development through the Institute of Additional Education. Technology infrastructure is conventional e-learning: an Electronic Information Educational Environment (EIOS), an SDO distance learning portal (sdo.irgups.ru), TrueConf video conferencing, an IRBIS-based Scientific-Technical Library with access to multiple commercial electronic library systems (Lan, University Library Online, Urait, UMC ZhDT, Znanium, BOOK.RU), Microsoft Teams for the medical college, and Yandex.Metrika for web analytics. Supporting offerings include the Startup School 'CIFRA', patent registration services, multiple scientific journals, the Youth Scientific Center, the Small Transport Academy pre-university program, and the Sports Complex 'Izumrud'. There is no documented AI/ML capability.

Revenue mechanics combine federal budget allocations (state-funded student places), contract-based paid tuition (with per-branch fee schedules published on sveden/paid_edu pages), targeted ('целевое') training commissioned by OJSC Russian Railways under social partnership agreements, and corporate professional development revenue. Go-to-market is event-driven through a centralized admissions commission (priemnaya komissiya) and dedicated admissions portal (abit.irgups.ru), supplemented by integration with the national Gosuslugi online enrollment portal, multi-platform social media (VK, Telegram, OK.ru with ~700K members, Yandex Zen, Rutube), regional branch presence across four Siberian cities, and pre-university outreach via the Small Transport Academy.

Name

Irkutsk State Railway University (IrGUPS)

Legal name

Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education 'Irkutsk State University of Railway Transport' (FGBOU VO IrGUPS)

Website

https://irgups.ru

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IrGUPS is the only transport university in Eastern Siberia, a federal state institution under Roszheldor headquartered in Irkutsk, delivering secondary vocational to doctoral railway education across branches in Krasnoyarsk, Ulan-Ude, and Chita, primarily serving OJSC Russian Railways' workforce needs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education (Railway Transport)

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Junior Colleges (61121), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Polytechnic & Applied Sciences Universities (EDAHAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Transfer/University-Parallel Community Colleges (EDAHADAF)

Keywords

• Railway transport education
• Higher education services
• Vocational training programs
• Professional development courses
• Transport engineering education

Headquarters

HQ city

Irkutsk

HQ country

Russia

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. State Budget Funding: As a federal state-funded educational institution (ФГБОУ ВО), the university receives government budget allocations for educational services under federal programs.
2. Tuition Fees (Paid Educational Services): Revenue from fee-paying students enrolled in paid educational programs across bachelor's, specialist, master's, doctoral, and secondary professional levels. Each branch publishes its own tuition costs and contract templates.
3. Corporate Training and Professional Development: Additional professional education programs for enterprise clients (e.g., OJSC Russian Railways and subsidiaries) through the Institute of Additional Education, including qualification upgrades and professional retraining.
4. Social Partnership with OJSC Russian Railways: Targeted training programs funded or co-funded by Russian Railways for railway sector workforce supply, including dedicated enrollment quotas and employer-sponsored students.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

IrGUPS is a multi-regional federal university complex that delivers railway transport education from secondary vocational through doctoral (aspirantura) levels at its main Irkutsk campus and branches across Eastern Siberia. Its core offerings include bachelor's, specialist, master's, and postgraduate programs in railway transport, engineering, IT, economics, and management, plus secondary vocational training at branch colleges and corporate professional development through the Institute of Additional Education. The university also runs targeted training programs commissioned by OJSC Russian Railways to supply the regional rail workforce pipeline.

Product overview

IrGUPS is a multi-regional branch university complex and the only transport university in Eastern Siberia. The core offering consists of higher education programs (bachelor's, specialist's, master's, and postgraduate) across railway transport, engineering, and economics disciplines. The university operates through a hub-and-spoke model with the main campus in Irkutsk and four branch institutions (KrlZHT in Krasnoyarsk, ZabIZhT in Chita, UUKZhT in Ulan-Ude, MKZhT medical college, and SKTiS college). Supporting educational products include additional professional education, a scientific publishing program with multiple journals, a startup school, patent services, and a youth scientific center. The university provides a distance learning system via its SDO portal and TrueConf video conferencing. Infrastructure includes a Scientific-Technical Library with access to multiple electronic library systems, sports facilities, and student dormitories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Higher Education Programs Bachelor's, specialist, master's, and postgraduate (aspirantura) degree programs in railway transport, engineering, economics, IT, and management offered at the main Irkutsk campus and branch institutes. Available in both state-funded (budget) and contract-based (paid) formats for Russian and international students.
• Secondary Vocational Education Programs Two to three-year secondary vocational (СПО) programs in railway transport operations, construction, and medical disciplines offered through branch colleges: Krasnoyarsk Institute of Railway Transport (KrlZHT), Trans-Baikal Institute of Railway Transport (ZabIZhT), Ulan-Ude College of Railway Transport (UUKZHT), Medical College of Railway Transport (MKZhT), and Siberian College of Transport and Construction (SKTiS). Includes programs in Nursing, Dentistry, and railway technical specialties.
• Additional Professional Education Continuing professional development programs including professional development courses (повышение квалификации), professional retraining (профессиональная переподготовка), and professional training (профессиональное обучение). Delivered through the Institute of Additional Education to enterprise clients including OJSC Russian Railways and subsidiaries.
• Distance Learning Programs Distance education programs delivered via the educational portal (sdo.irgups.ru) and TrueConf video conferencing server, with Microsoft Teams used for Medical College distance learning. Provides remote access to coursework for students unable to attend on-campus classes.
• Targeted Training Programs (Целевое обучение) Employer-sponsored targeted training programs where OJSC Russian Railways commissions dedicated enrollment quotas and co-funds student education. Includes curriculum alignment with industry needs, guaranteed internship placements, and post-graduation employment commitments with the sponsoring railway enterprise.
• Medical College Healthcare Programs Secondary vocational medical education programs at the Medical College of Railway Transport (MKZhT) including Nursing (34.02.01), Preventive Dentistry (31.02.06), Therapeutic Affairs (31.02.01), and Orthopedic Dentistry (31.02.05). Prepares graduates for healthcare roles along railway corridors in Eastern Siberia.
• Small Transport Academy (Малая транспортная академия)

Quantifiable outcome

• 11 student startup projects won the 'Student Startup' competition (federal level)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• OJSC Russian Railways (ОАО «РЖД»)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary social partnership (социальное партнерство) agreement. Russian Railways commissions targeted training programs, participates in curriculum development, provides internship bases, and sponsors student enrollment quotas. The partnership is a foundational element of the university's industry alignment and career pipeline.
• Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation (МИНТРАНС РФ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal ministry exercising oversight of railway transport education. IrGUPS operates under the regulatory authority of the Ministry of Transport as part of the sectoral education system.
• Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science (РОСОБРНАДЗОР)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegulatory body overseeing compliance with federal educational standards. IrGUPS operates within its licensing and accreditation framework.
• Federal Agency for Railway Transport (РОСЖЕЛДОР)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSectoral federal agency responsible for railway transport education institutions. IrGUPS is subordinated to Roszheldor as a federal state-funded educational institution.
• Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation (МИНПРОСВЕЩЕНИЯ РФ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal ministry responsible for general education policy, including secondary vocational education programs offered by university branch colleges (СПО).
• Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (МИНОБРНАУКИ РФ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal ministry overseeing higher education institutions including universities and doctoral programs (аспирантура). IrGUPS operates under its regulatory framework.
• National Center for Science and Technology Evaluation (НЦПТИ)minorOthersNational information center supporting scientific and technical activities of educational institutions.
• Charitable Foundation 'Zvezda' (Благотворительный фонд «Звезда»)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharitable foundation with which IrGUPS signed a cooperation agreement for social and educational initiatives.
• Irkutsk Oblast GovernmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional government authority. Deputy Chairman of Irkutsk Oblast Government and regional ministers have publicly acknowledged university's role in regional education and transport workforce development.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Russian University of Transport (RUT / MIIT): Largest and flagship Russian transport university headquartered in Moscow, offering the full multi-level education stack across all transport modes. Comparable as a federal transport polytechnic with direct RZhD ties, but operates at national scale versus IrGUPS's regional Eastern Siberian footprint.
• Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU): Russia's leading applied sciences/engineering university. Comparable as a top-tier Russian polytechnic with engineering research output and federal designation, but broader in scope without transport specialization.
• Moscow Polytechnic University (Mospolytech): Large Moscow-based polytechnic university offering engineering and applied sciences programs at multiple levels. Comparable as a Russian federal polytechnic competitor for STEM applicants, though without railway specialization.

Direct peers

• Emperor Alexander I St. Petersburg State Transport University (PGUPS): Second major Russian railway/transport university with historical pedigree and full bachelor's-to-doctoral program stack. Most direct peer to IrGUPS in mission and federal sectoral designation; competes for RZhD-sponsored enrollment and federal funding allocations.
• Ural State University of Railway Transport (UrGUPS): Ural-region transport university under Roszheldor with similar multi-level (secondary vocational through doctoral) programs and direct RZhD partnership. Closest geographic peer to IrGUPS outside the Eastern Siberian region, with comparable scale and institutional structure.
• Far Eastern State Transport University (DVGUPS): Far Eastern counterpart transport university based in Khabarovsk, also serving the BAM corridor and Eastern Polygon. Shares IrGUPS's RZhD-tied mission and is the most relevant competitor for talent pipeline across the eastern rail network.
• Samara State University of Railway Transport (SamGUPS): Volga-region railway transport university offering bachelor's through doctoral programs under Roszheldor. Comparable federal institutional design, though operating in a different regional labor market.
• Rostov State Transport University (RGUPS): Southern Russia transport university with analogous federal sectoral designation and multi-level railway engineering programs. Directly comparable in Roszheldor oversight structure and RZhD employer partnerships.

Regional players

• Irkutsk National Research Technical University (INRTU): Local Irkutsk-based technical university competing for the same applicant pool in Eastern Siberia. Directly comparable in geography and applicant catchment; offers overlapping engineering programs though without railway specialization.
• Siberian State University of Water Transport (SSUWT / NUWC): Adjacent Siberian transport university (water rather than rail focus) headquartered in Novosibirsk. Comparable as a regional Roszheldor-aligned institution serving Siberian transport education, but in a different transport mode.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTuberutube.ru/channel/25145236
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/irkutsk-state-railway-university-irgups-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Irkutsk State Railway University (IrGUPS)