65 young compatriots from 17 countries visit St Petersburg University

The guests were greeted by Elena Chernova, Senior Vice-Rector of St Petersburg University, which will celebrate its 300th anniversary next year. The University follows global trends and is open to innovation to make the lives of the current and future generations of students more fascinating and divers

The University is a planet. It is a world where you gain new knowledge, skills and a profession and make life-long friends. You become part of the best, in our opinion, city in the world and part of the big Russian world.

Elena Chernova, Senior Vice-Rector of St Petersburg University

‘As prospective students of St Petersburg University, if you want to become one, you have great prospects to choose from. Our graduates are in demand throughout the world and work in a wide range of industries. Among only law students, there are more than 20 outstanding people who have become the most famous Russian experts in literature, artists, writers, and composers. The University is a place where talents are cherished and flourish,’ said Elena Chernova.

Today, St Petersburg University offers more than 500 academic programmes in various areas of study: from physical, mathematical and computer sciences to culture and art. Aleksandr Khurshudian, Head of the Admissions Department at St Petersburg University, presented the opportunities for applicants. He highlighted the peculiarities of accepting foreign citizens. He also introduced career guidance programmes and the University Olympiads for school pupils and students and answered questions from guests.

According to Sergey Andryushin, Vice-Rector for International Affairs at St Petersburg University, the University is one of the most international universities in Russia. Today, its partners are over 600 universities and research and educational organisations located in more than 100 countries around the world. Over the past few years, the University has opened representative offices in eight countries, a joint campus in China, and branches in Uzbekistan and Egypt. The University is actively engaged in international cooperation to ensure that the University students and international students can take part in exchange programmes with universities on different continents and have internships in a range of areas of study.

‘Our students actively use this opportunity. Every year, we send more than 1,000 people abroad as part of the exchange programmes and host approximately the same number of students at the University. In total, over 5,000 foreign citizens study at St Petersburg University, representing almost all countries of the world,’ said Sergey Andryushin.

The University is a huge international ecosystem. It is not limited to the borders of the Russian Federation and is represented in almost all corners of the world.

Sergey Andryushin, Vice-Rector for International Affairs at St Petersburg University

Aleksei Petrov is Deputy Head of the Department for Relations with Compatriots and Historical and Memorial Work at the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation. According to him, Russian education is, historically, highly rated in a range of countries. There are examples of graduates, including those who graduated from the universities of St Petersburg, who have become representatives of the political and economic elite in these countries.

‘Our major task is to attract compatriots to our country, to the place where they were born. Not everywhere they have the opportunities to receive education, especially in their native language. Gaining a degree is now becoming increasingly challenging due to the general situation,’ explained Aleksei Petrov. ‘In this regard, we offer a number of programmes that are set to identify young talents among our compatriots. Through the programme «Hello, Russia!», we are trying to show them the country and hope that many of these pupils will become interested in Russia and will subsequently pursue academic programmes at Russian universities.’

St Petersburg University is very prestigious and famous. Everyone knows which outstanding figures graduated from the University. These factors play a crucial role for St Petersburg University. Foreigners who visit the University cannot be indifferent to the University. It is among the reasons why many people choose your University to study at.

Aleksei Petrov, Deputy Head of the Department for Relations with Compatriots and Historical and Memorial Work at the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation

Throughout the history of the University, its graduates have become prominent figures who have made great contributions to the development of science, culture, art, sport, politics and business not only in Russia, but across the world. Mariia Edinova, Head of the Alumni Office at St Petersburg University, delivered a comprehensive presentation about these people. St Petersburg University is the alma mater for the leaders of the country’s government. Among them were the following: Pyotr Stolypin, Boris Shturmer, Alexander Kerensky, and Vladimir Lenin. The University is also the alma mater for the presidents of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev. The University was home to Ivan Turgenev, Nikolai Chernyshevsky, Alexander Blok, Alexandre Benois, Sergei Diaghilev, Igor Stravinsky and many other writers and poets, artists and musicians, and theatre and film figures. Among the graduates and staff of St Petersburg University are Nobel laureates, i.e. physiologist Ivan Pavlov, biologist Ilya Mechnikov, physical chemist Nikolay Semyonov, physicists Lev Landau and Alexander Prokhorov, mathematician and economist Leonid Kantorovich, economist Wassily Leontief, and poet Joseph Brodsky. The University was home to famous scientists, teachers, government and public figures, including Dmitry Mendeleev, Vladimir Vernadsky, and Dmitry Likhachev to name just a few.

‘We are proud of our graduates and are striving to develop comprehensive cooperation between the University staff, students and alumni throughout the world. Among the key tasks for the University today is maintaining strong ties between the University and its graduates’, said Mariia Edinova. ‘The unique experience gained within the walls of the alma mater unites the University staff, students and alumni and makes it possible for them to understand each other.’ Over the past ten years, citizens of many countries participating in the programme "Hello, Russia!" have become graduates and students at St Petersburg University. Among the countries are the following: Australia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Hungary, Germany, Egypt, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Portugal, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Leading scholars at St Petersburg University deliver educational lectures for young compatriots. Elena Riekhakainen, Associate Professor in the Lyudmila Verbitskaya Department of General Linguistics at St Petersburg University, introduced the results of the activities of her working group. Pavel Skutchas, Professor in the Department of Vertebrate Zoology at St Petersburg University, spoke about the most famous dinosaurs of Russia. Pupils also took a tour of the Botanical Garden of St Petersburg University. Ekaterina Klimenko, a student at St Petersburg University, spoke about student life at the University.

To mark the arrival of the participants in the programme "Hello, Russia!", the University has prepared a photo exhibition. It presents the photos depicting the visits of state leaders and diplomats to St Petersburg University.

The programme of cultural and educational trips to historical places of the Russian Federation "Hello, Russia!" has been implemented by the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation since 2014. It is one of the most significant projects for young compatriots living abroad. This year, 65 students from different countries have visited St Petersburg University. Among the countries are the following: Australia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Zambia, the Italian Republic, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Lebanese Republic, the United Mexican States, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the Federal Republic Germany.