Marina Lavrikova: ‘St Petersburg University is ready to help everyone who wants to study at the University’

Among the crucial measures to support the participants of the special military operation of the Russian Federation and their children is to provide additional opportunities to exercise their right to receive higher education. The proposal to amend the Federal Law ‘On Education in the Russian Federation’ was sent by Rector of St Petersburg University Nikolay Kropachev to the Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov.

The participants in the special military operation of the Russian Federation and their children will have the right to enrol in bachelor’s and specialist’s programmes without having to take entrance examinations. If they have a higher education, they will receive second or subsequent higher education of the level they already have gained. It is free of charge.

Today, St Petersburg University is at the forefront in terms of demand among international applicants. During four consecutive years, according to the results of the admissions, St Petersburg University has become the first among Russian universities in terms of the number of applications from foreign citizens.

Marina Lavrikova, Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities at St Petersburg University

‘In 2021, international applicants submitted about 21,000 applications for 1,000 places. This is a huge responsibility for us, and we intend to maintain this status. We try to help all students who, due to the current circumstances, experience any difficulties. St Petersburg University has decided to provide opportunities for distance learning for international students who were forced to leave Russia but are ready to continue their education at St Petersburg University,’ said Marina Lavrikova, Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities at St Petersburg University. All international students who are temporarily cannot continue their studies at the University or submit an application will have academic leave.

Additionally, St Petersburg University was among the first to introduce an opportunity to transfer to St Petersburg University for students from the DPR, the LPR, and Ukraine and for Russian students who study at universities abroad and experience any difficulties with continuing their studies in other countries. Currently, more than 40 requests have been received.

Students can submit their applications by e-mail spbu@spbu.ru with the subject ‘On transfer to St Petersburg University from a university abroad’. Applications can be sent via an electronic form. Detailed instructions on how to transfer from foreign educational institutions to St Petersburg University are available via the link.

St Petersburg University has also set up a special fund to provide financial support to St Petersburg University students who are citizens of the DPR, the LPR and Ukraine in a difficult life situation. To receive support, students can apply for financial assistance in a free form by email: urm@spbu.ru .

St Petersburg University has the Psychological Clinic and the Legal Clinic. Students who need psychological or legal assistance can submit their applications to receive psychological or legal advice. It is free of charge. The Centre for Financial Literacy at St Petersburg University is ready to advise students who may need clarification about banking, insurance, money transfers, and other similar issues.

Today, our psychologists advise students who are in a difficult situation and are ready to provide students with psychological support. The lawyers of the University, in their turn, are ready to give recommendations on how to cope with various difficulties, for example, those associated with the collection or preparation of relevant documents. Today, such consultations are a priority for our clinics.

Marina Lavrikova, Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities at St Petersburg University

St Petersburg University also provides humanitarian assistance: humanitarian aid centres for refugees from the DPR, the LPR and Ukraine, organised by the St Petersburg University Volunteer Centre as part of the #MYVMESTE project, have also been opened at St Petersburg University.

The centres for receiving humanitarian aid at St Petersburg University are located at: Offices 2-6, 2^nd floor, 13b Universitetskaya Embankment; Offices 10-11, 6 Birzhevaya Line, Vasilyevsky Island; Office 4329, 28 Universitetsky Prospect, Peterhof.

Opening hours are: Monday, Wednesday, Friday — from 10 am to 5pm; Tuesday, Thursday — from 2pm to 8pm. Detailed information about what is accepted as humanitarian aid can be found here .

The University is in contact with the students of the University who are now on inclusive education in other countries, said Marina Lavrikova, Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities. Channels for communication have been developed.

‘Education and science should not be under influence of politics. We are ready to help everyone who wants to continue education and research at St Petersburg University. The heads of the University institutes and faculties regularly meet with students to provide support, discuss emerging problems, and receive feedback from students. Such meetings are also held with students from the LPR, the DPR and Ukraine. Our experience of organising the teaching and learning process during the pandemic helps us quickly respond to students’ requests, to provide opportunities for remote learning to those who are forced to use this format,’ added Marina Lavrikova.

As it was previously reported, students across the globe who study on the Coursera platform, which has suspended cooperation with Russian universities, will be able to study online courses from St Petersburg University, which are hosted on the Open Education platform and on St Petersburg University’s own online educational platform.

Since 2017, St Petersburg University has been actively engaged in developing online learning. Today, the University is a leader of online education. In terms of the number of online courses hosted on the Coursera platform, St Petersburg University ranks first among European universities and is among the top 5 universities in the world — partners of Coursera. On the Open Education platform, St Petersburg University ranks first both in terms of the number of courses (165) and programmes (21) hosted and in terms of audience reach (more than two million students). Additionally, St Petersburg University was the first Russian university to launch its courses on the Chinese XuetangX platform: 16 courses are currently being implemented there. Currently, St Petersburg University is the only Russian university represented on the foreign online education platform (XuetangX).