Elena Chernova: 'The area of St Petersburg University development to become a new centre of gravity in the city'

The concept offered by St Petersburg University meets all these requirements, even though it was created long before they were formulated. Elena Chernova, Senior Vice-Rector of St Petersburg University, speaks about the development of the project and its prospects.

SPIEF’21: St Petersburg University signs agreements on the establishment and development of ‘The Neva Delta’ Science and Technology Centre

According to Valery Falkov, Minister of Science and Higher Education, campuses should incorporate three components: education, science and innovation. They should also conform to the modern education model and provide individual educational paths. How should these aspects be built into the University's development concept?

I should note straight away that the area of St Petersburg University development is not exactly a student campus. It is an area that will provide opportunities for: conducting global-scale research by creating a modern scientific and educational infrastructure; and offering an educational format that will serve as a model for other Russian universities. This model shall comply with the principle of the trinity of education, science and innovation, which can be achieved by locating buildings in one location. This was a key point that was emphasised by all the speakers.

The former idea of a student campus was associated primarily with a place where students lived compactly. Of course, it is good if the residences are close to the university, but, in principle, other locations are also acceptable. A student campus is a model that does not meet the requirements of modern university development. Only the integrated localisation of the teaching and research infrastructure and innovation facilities, together with the compact accommodation of the students, can provide a solution to these three challenges.

The concept of the area of St Petersburg University development was designed with a view to this model long before the President of Russia issued an order in April 2021 to create a network of world-class university campuses. Moreover, in order to ensure an innovative component, it is planned to locate the ‘Neva Delta’ Innovative Science and Technology Centre of St Petersburg University, home to high-tech production and research departments of major Russian companies, nearby. The centre will facilitate the transfer of scientific knowledge and research results created at the University directly into production. This will help to reduce the traditionally not very short research and production cycle.

Will scholars have the opportunity to set up their own innovative enterprise near their place of work or study?

Certainly, the concept of the University development area and the Neva Delta Innovative Science and Technology Centre, suggests such a possibility. This would be the most natural way of translating universal knowledge and introducing it into production and commercialisation. When a researcher, a holder of a particular idea, after ensuring a certain scientific result, has an opportunity to invest this intellectual component as equity capital in a small innovative enterprise, they shall have an interest. Once the enterprise is close to their place of work or study, this interest only increases.

During the meeting it was emphasised on a number of occasions that the campus should be part of the urban environment, a point of attraction for the residents of the region. Would you please tell what is planned to be done for this purpose as part of the project of St Petersburg University area development?

The University's project on its area development is absolutely unique. This is because it allows the concentration of high-tech enterprises in an area that has so far been a residential area, museums and parks, and agricultural production suburbs. It will also make it a development area not only for the University, but for the whole city. St Petersburg is extremely interested in promoting this project. The reason for this is that all the convenient areas to the north have been exhausted. Also, the city will be developing in the south-west, where the development area and the Neva Delta Innovative Science and Technology Centre will emerge. Thus, the University has a chance to become a driver for the development of the city and a centre of gravity. The location of St Petersburg University in this area will make the Pushkinsky District and the surrounding area extremely attractive for citizens and those who want to connect their lives with science, research, and education at the University.

Many of the university campuses built in the 1960s and 1970s do not meet modern requirements: their maintenance is expensive for universities, and space is used inefficiently and has high energy costs. What solutions will be used to avoid these problems in construction now?

To begin with, the training and research complex of the University in Peterhof, where our chemists, mathematicians, physicists and other scientists live and work, was built in the 1960s and 1970s after Rector Aleksandr  Aleksandrov  visited the USA. He saw what university campuses looked like in America and decided to create a similar one here. A site near the village of Timiashkino was selected for construction of the campus. Separate resolutions of the government and the Central Committee were issued and funds were allocated. The campus was built. However, transport accessibility was poor, as the planned express tram line and a separate highway, which could have provided good communication with the city, had not been constructed. As a result, the space that was supposed to be transferred to the University for the further improvement and accommodation of biologists, geographers, geologists and other specialists was handed over to commercial organisations. Today, there are no opportunities for development in the location of the Peterhof campus, and the city's infrastructure does not provide the accessibility that the territory development project will have in the Pushkinsky District. The proximity of the airport, the upcoming construction of a high-speed motorway, a metro line from Shushary station, an express tram line, and the creation of a nearby train station are a completely different level of infrastructure that can ensure the attractiveness of this area.

Buildings were built in the 1960s and 1970s. In this regard, we are talking about a certain architectural style and large spaces, the use of non-ecological and inefficient materials in construction. Such buildings require very high maintenance costs compared to today's requirements. To be functional they would require major renovations that would be comparable to the cost of constructing new buildings in the development area that would be suitable for university residents. Such a solution therefore makes no sense.  Even if we were hypothetically allocated funds for major renovations, the problems of transport accessibility, job creation and the accommodation of all University residents in the buildings concentrated in Peterhof would not disappear. We therefore believe that the new model of the campus and the architectural solutions that will be proposed for it will provide significant cost savings in the maintenance of the University buildings, ensure that these buildings are environmentally friendly to operate and provide a high level of energy saving.

The University pays a lot of attention to environmental issues, and it is not only about scientific research in the field of environmental management: the University staff and students are actively involved in community clean-ups, opening new eco-points, and more and more students and teachers are getting involved in the separate waste collection programme every year. How will the principle of sustainability be implemented in the project of St Petersburg University area development?

The sustainability of the new territory and the innovative centre will be achieved through new technological solutions and the use of environmentally-friendly construction materials. The construction of new buildings today uses completely different technologies to ensure energy savings. A closed-circuit heating system makes it possible to reduce costs and keep the building warm during the long periods of cold weather in our latitudes.

Today, the costs of maintaining the infrastructure and facilities of universities account for about 20% of budgets. We also observe, especially at St Petersburg University, the inefficient use of space. Our palaces, where the educational process and research are concentrated in the city, are cultural heritage sites    The protection requirements do not allow us to deploy a research process that meets the modern requirements of scientific knowledge. We are unable to accommodate the necessary research installations in the Twelve Collegia building.

In all circumstances, we are forced to look for locations for construction outside the University area. As for the campus in Peterhof, our foreign partners are unwilling to work there on joint projects because of its inconvenient location. This is something that cannot be ignored.

A modern university campus should provide a high level of density and intensive communication for those who work and live there. The space should meet the requirements of openness, modernity, and convenience. The solution lies in multipurpose rooms – spaces that can be quickly and easily transformed to suit any purpose. This model has been implemented in Skolkovo, and this is the task set before the designers of Studio 44 involved in the project of St Petersburg University area development. A modern campus has to meet modern requirements. This includes flexibility, the possibility of working 24/7, and accessibility of public spaces, such as a library or a conference room, in the evening. After all, the schedule of life, especially that of the students, does not always coincide with the schedule of academic classes. When a campus meets these criteria, it becomes an integral part of the urban environment.

There are estimates that convincingly show that sustainable campus development can only be ensured if there are 30,000 to 50,000 students living there. The project of St Petersburg University area development meets all these parameters. Nowadays, many universities raise the question of creating inter-university campuses, but considering the size of the University, it would lead to an ill-managed monstrosity. The project of St Petersburg University area development meets all the criteria of a modern university campus. Responding to the needs of our partners, we are leaving some space in the valley for research centres, institutes, and companies developing new technologies. We therefore very much expect that the area of the University development will become the new centre of city life in St Petersburg.