Modernity and tradition: St Petersburg University presents its achievements at the K.U.B. exhibition at the Labour Forum

‘The challenges we face today are generally changing the palette of the labour market,’ said Elena Chernova, Senior Vice-Rector at St Petersburg University, at the opening of the exhibition. ‘However, we are ready to respond to them. Despite the sanctions restrictions, the University has 1,600 active contracts with various organisations, including foreign partners. We use all of our Russian language test venues located in foreign countries and offices of the University in Korea, China, Spain, Italy, Greece and other countries, where we promote the University academic programmes that are so in demand today in the context of restrictions, the changing landscape and the new requirements for professions, specialties and qualifications.’

Elena Chernova added that according to the results of public opinion monitoring conducted among residents of St Petersburg, more than 50% of respondents are ready to improve their qualifications and obtain allied professions. St Petersburg University is open to anyone who wants to gain knowledge and is ready to offer non-degree programmes and online courses.

This year, St Petersburg University presented the most significant, practice-oriented projects and achievements of scientists and students at the exhibition. Visitors were able to get acquainted with the Terroir Concept project, which was recognised as the winner of the SPbU Start-up 2021 contest. Its creators managed to develop a geographical information system for analysing soil to evaluate land areas planned for planting grapes and select the most suitable sites, taking into account climate conditions and the characteristics of the grape varieties. A year later, after working on real projects, the University team realised what the market needed at the moment, and revised the concept of their software solution. The team is now finalising the database architecture and developing the system design.

‘It will be a solution that will help establish a sustainable link between the planner and the vine grower,’ said Terroir concept team captain Aleksandr Averianov. ‘We are already present in the market, as we work with clients on individual projects. Our project is already attracting quite serious interest, and we have received investment proposals. We wanted to make the product international, but now it will be more relevant to pay attention to Russia and its lands, which are potentially suitable for vineyards, and in the future to look at other countries, such as Argentina or Brazil.’

In February, finalists for a new start-up contest were selected at St Petersburg University. Teams that are developing a system for voice-activated medical filing, a lightweight drone based on a convertor, a bioprinter, a metal corrosion rate estimator, and other original projects will compete for first place in 2022.

St Petersburg University’s stand also showcases the NeuroPrint neuroprosthesis, developed by a team of scientists led by Pavel Musienko, Professor in the Institute of Translational Biomedicine at St Petersburg University. The unique technology of soft 3D printing allows the activity of the spinal cord and brain to be stimulated and investigated, taking into account the individual characteristics of the patient. The scientists are currently working on optimising the technology in terms of biocompatibility and functionality, and working on combinations of materials that will have the closest possible mechanical properties to nervous tissue. The researchers are also conducting experiments to see how the technology can be used to create electrode arrays to restore motor, visceral and other body functions.

To give visitors a clear picture of how the technology works, they were shown a 3D-printed moulage of the spine with a neuroprosthesis, which is a silicone film into which electrically conductive channels are embedded to affect the neural network. Their main distinguishing feature is their flexibility and ability to stretch without damage. A composite of silicone with conductive particles can provide sufficient electrical conductivity to transmit signals to neural networks or from networks to recorders. The combination of functionality, the ability to communicate with neural networks and mechanics similar to those of neural tissue make the technology more biocompatible for neuroimplantology.

This is not the future, it’s the present. You can already touch samples that have been shown in experiments to be reliable and biocompatible. Behind all of this is the hard work of dozens of people who have been involved in various projects, as well as the millions of dollars invested to make this technology available and have the opportunity to be translated into production and clinical practice. We hope that we will be able to do this in the next 5-10 years.

Pavel Musienko, Professor in the Institute of Translational Biomedicine at St Petersburg University

The scientists from St Petersburg University are networking with clinical partners who are interested in this technology for future use, looking for common points of interest and learning about the possibilities and ways of optimal translation into clinical practice. In parallel, interaction is being developed with business representatives who know how to manufacture products on an industrial scale, in order to understand how to transfer the manufacture of neuro-implants into serial production.

An exhibition of books from the Peter the Great era from the collections of St Petersburg University opens at the University

The guests of the exhibition had an opportunity not only to get acquainted with the University’s latest developments, but also to immerse themselves in history. As part of the Year of Peter the Great, marking the 350th anniversary of the birth of the first Russian Emperor, St Petersburg University presented a book exhibition prepared by the Rare Books Department of the M. Gorky Scientific Library of St Petersburg University. The collection includes editions of Peter the Great’s epoch, connected with the first stage of foundation of the oldest Russian University: the first set of Peter the Great’s decrees, including the decree, dated 1724, on foundation of the Academy of Sciences, the University and the University gymnasium; and works of the first rectors of the 18th century — Gerhard Friedrich Müller, Mikhail Lomonosov, Stepan Krasheninnikov. The significance of these works has passed through the centuries and remains to this day. The Description of the Siberian Kingdom, for example, a study of the region, on which Müller spent many years on expeditions, is so fundamental that scholars still refer to it today.

Also, on the stand of St Petersburg University was a scale model of buildings of the era of Peter the Great, prepared by the University together with the "Petrovskaya Akvatoria" Scale Model Museum of St Petersburg and its suburbs.

The 6th St Petersburg International Labour Forum was held from 16 to 18 March in a mixed format. The in-person part of the Labour Forum was organised at three venues: the Tauride Palace, St Petersburg University, and the Expoforum Exhibition and Convention Centre. The Forum is organised by: the Government of St Petersburg; St Petersburg University; the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of States Members of the Commonwealth of Independent States with the support of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Russia; and the Federal Service for Labour and Employment.