Minutes of the Rector’s Meeting

International activities 

The following events were recently held at St Petersburg University. 

Opening of a representative office of St Petersburg University in Brazil 

A solemn ceremony was held in the Federative Republic of Brazil to mark the opening of a representative office of St Petersburg University at the State University of Campinas, one of the leading universities in Brazil and across the continent. This is the first representative office of St Petersburg University in Latin America. 

The project aims to enhance the prestige of higher education in Russia and Brazil, promote the development of academic and research programmes, and strengthen cooperation among the BRICS countries. Today, the University focuses not only on implementing academic programmes and conducting joint research with BRICS scientific organisations, but also serves as an expert centre on key issues in international law, medicine, entrepreneurship, economics, and other fields. 

"The Representative Office of St Petersburg University in Campinas will become a vital centre for cultural dialogue and mutual understanding between Russia and Brazil. It will provide a platform for joint academic programmes, scientific collaborations, and international conferences. St Petersburg University and the State University of Campinas, on the basis of which the new office has been established, are both classical world-class research institutions that deliver innovative projects and achieve breakthrough results across various disciplines. It is symbolic that Campinas, like St Petersburg, is a university city—an academic city," said Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University, at the opening ceremony. 

St Petersburg University currently has its Representative Offices in the People’s Republic of China, Thailand, Spain, Uzbekistan, the Republic of Korea, Greece, Iran, the Republic of Moldova, the Republic of Belarus, and other countries. The Representative Office of St Petersburg University in Brazil is the thirteenth international representative office of the University (St Petersburg University opens a representative office in Latin America). 

Events at the St Petersburg University Representative Office in Spain 

On 18 July, St Petersburg University and its Representative Office in the Kingdom of Spain held the online lecture "Markers of cognitive, emotional and behavioural difficulties in preschool children. What can be done?". The lecture was delivered by Liubov Tkacheva, Associate Professor in the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology of Education at St Petersburg University.

Organisation of the teaching and learning process 

Over the past week, 31 enquiries were addressed to the Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities. The majority of enquiries relate to preparation of various documents. 

Meetings were held with student activists: group heads, and representatives of student councils and student scientific societies to name just a few. They discussed issues with organising the teaching and learning process. The meetings were held at: the School of International Relations; the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Control Processes; the Faculty of Physics; and the Faculty of Philology

Amendments to Order No 11181/1 dated 19 November 2021 "Procedure for awarding academic degrees at St Petersburg University" 

• A draft Order "Amendments to Order No 11181/1 dated 19 November 2021 'Procedure for awarding academic degrees at St Petersburg University (as amended and supplemented)'" has been prepared. Based on numerous proposals from the academic and research staff of St Petersburg University, it is proposed to introduce the following amendments to the Regulations: the dissertation council of St Petersburg University shall be composed of: employees of the University; members of the Russian Academy of Sciences; members of academic councils of RAS institutions; and experts from universities ranked among the top 300 in the Moscow International University Ranking "Three University Missions Ranking"
• if members of the dissertation council of St Petersburg University are members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, they may be experts either in the subject of the dissertation being defended or in the relevant scientific speciality
• The current requirement for the mandatory inclusion of foreign specialists in the composition of the dissertation council of St Petersburg University shall be removed

The qualifications and scholarly achievements required of members of the dissertation councils of St Petersburg University must not be lower than those established by the Government of the Russian Federation. Higher requirements for members of the University’s dissertation councils may be introduced by order of the Vice-Rector for Legal Affairs, based on a resolution of the Academic Council of St Petersburg University.