The International Centre for Digital Technology to be established at St Petersburg University
St Petersburg University will be establishing an international research and teaching centre in the field of mathematics, computer science and digital technologies. The University has won a 339 million rouble grant for its establishment. Faculty members of the University’s Graduate School of Management and Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science prepared the application. It was ranked second in the call for proposals.
The research and teaching centre will be engaged in the training and advanced training of Russian and foreign university faculty and experts in mathematics, computer science and digital technology. Its financing is provided for in the framework of the federal project ‘Personnel for the Digital Economy’ in the ‘Digital Economy in the Russian Federation’ national programme.
‘The Graduate School of Management has extensive experience in developing non-degree programmes for professional education. The Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science has unrivalled experts in its field. Together, they create a vivid synergistic effect, and the involvement of experts from top Russian and international companies in the centre’s activities will make it possible to propel educational and research programmes to a level that meets the challenges of the future. It is at the junction of sciences and in cross-disciplinary teams that we can now expect the most ground-breaking ideas to emerge,’ says Olga Dergunova, Director of the Graduate School of Management, St Petersburg University.
It is at the junction of sciences and in cross-disciplinary teams that we can now expect the most ground-breaking ideas to emerge.
Olga Dergunova, Director of the Graduate School of Management, St Petersburg University
‘These days, almost everyone needs high-quality mathematical training. It is impossible to imagine a successful scientist or engineer without it. Technology is now changing so fast that a deep understanding of basic things becomes crucial. Higher education should shape thinking and develop the ability to learn quickly new complex ideas. The establishment of the centre will make it possible to: diffuse best practices in teaching mathematics and computer science accumulated at St Petersburg University to other universities in Russia; improve academic programmes; and level up the standards of teaching mathematics and programming in them,’ says Stanislav Smirnov, a Fields medallist and head of the Chebyshev Laboratory, the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, St Petersburg University.
The International Research and Teaching Centre will include: the Educational Centre; the Laboratory of the University of the Future; the Centre for Teaching Innovations; and the Reference and Tutorial Centre. The Educational Centre will develop and implement programmes for training, retraining and advanced training for higher education personnel in such fields and areas as mathematics, computer science, digital technology, and digitalisation of the control process in academic activities.
The Laboratory of the University of the Future will be aimed at: studying the best practices in Russian and international higher education; as well as shaping the relevant agenda of the International Research and Teaching Centre.
The Centre for Teaching Innovations will organise research and academic internships for the faculty of Russian higher schools in both Russian and international universities, as well as in digital economy companies. The Reference and Tutorial Centre is designed to: accumulate a repository of materials on relevant and effective teaching tools; organise professional events; and create an information space for international interdisciplinary dialogue on current research.
The International Centre for Digital Technology, in particular, will develop and implement training programmes in such areas as: ‘Software Development and Data Analysis’; ‘Mathematical Education’; ‘Artificial Intelligence’; ‘Analysis and Interpretation of Big Data’; and ‘Practical Classes and Seminars in Mathematics and Programming’. Additionally, the monograph ‘Education for the Digital Economy’ will be published; and more than 30 interactive educational modules based on online platforms will be launched. It is planned that in 2020–2021 there will be an international summer school in mathematics and computer science as well as an international conference. It is estimated that more than 1,200 people will be trained under the programmes developed by the centre.
The University submitted two applications for participation in contests within the framework of the federal project ‘Personnel for the Digital Economy’ in the ‘Digital Economy in the Russian Federation’ national programme in 2019–2021. The first application was for the contest ‘Establishment and functioning of a network of international research and teaching centres to diffuse the best international practices for training, retraining and internship of advanced digital economic personnel in the fields of mathematics, computer science, and technologies,’ in which the University was victorious. The second one was for the contest ‘Establishment and management of a network of centres at educational institutions of higher education for the development of the “Digital University” models’, in which the University did not win and took 28th place out of 42.
For the University, this grant is not just the establishment of another division. It is an attempt to: take a fresh look at the system of mathematics education; and implement innovative approaches developed in local projects using a partner network.