Embassy of France in Russia-SPbU collaboration

It focused on how to encourage collaboration between SPbU and France’s universities and how singing agreements with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France can benefit both parties. Ekatrerina Babeliuk told about the University as a classical academic university and interdisciplinary research centre with a specific focus on how it cooperates with the universities of Hungary, China and Germany, which has brought tangible results in academic mobility, publications and others. French language and culture, on the contrary, is not on the rise.

Mr Guillaume believes that we can open joint-degree programmes and have a scheme of mutual scientific supervision in post-graduate studies. Academic collaboration is a high priority with the University, as we have a positive dynamics in academic mobility among students and professors and agreements, says the Vice-Rector.  If we are interested in how to boost motivation and interest in France, we can work out some steps, apart from the seminars and round-tables discussions: for example, Russia-France research projects just like a recent competition held by St Petersburg University and German Research Foundation, she said.

The Cultural Counsellor to the French Embassy in Russia Olivier Guillaume told that it’s important to expand area of research and go beyond research in linguistics. “We know that a good many of outstanding mathematicians work with the University and we can collaborate in various spheres here:   research and scientific supervision in post-graduate studies”, — said Olivier Guillaume.

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St Petersburg University has 35 agreements with 26 universities and research institutions in France: for the last five years SPbU and our French peers from 10 universities have prepared over 100 publications. This year the number of students who come from France to study at SPBU is higher the number of the students who go to study at France’s universities.