SPbU signed a trilateral cooperation agreement with the Republic of Dagestan

Elena Chernova, Senior Vice-Rector of SPbU, welcomed the guests. She noted the positive dynamics of interaction between St Petersburg University and Dagestani colleagues in scientific research under a number of grants from the Russian Science Foundation and stressed that cooperation should be developed in other directions as well. ‘We provide support and exchange professional staff for collaborative research in various fields, including physics, chemistry and philology. This cooperation can develop in these areas as well as in new ones. Dagestan has a very powerful historical and philosophical school, so we can pursue our scientific research in history, for example,’ says Elena Grigorievna.

During the meeting, the parties identified priority areas for development and discussed plans for joint scientific and educational events. As one of the main guidelines of the University, the SPbU Senior Vice-Rector emphasised the training of highly professional staff, ready to meet the demands of the modern market. For his part, Zaur Askanderov, Chairman of the People’s Assembly of the Republic of Dagestan, noted that the region has recently been facing an acute shortage of highly qualified specialists.

We hope that the great opportunities for joint work and the use of intellectual resources that St Petersburg University offers us today, will make it possible to organise the professional training of teachers on the basis of higher education institutions and to conduct joint scientific research.

Zaur Askanderov, Chairman of the People’s Assembly of the Republic of Dagestan

The SPbU Senior Vice-Rector noted that the University is prepared to offer a wide range of educational programmes, including additional professional development programmes, if there is demand from the partner region. In addition, Elena Chernova initiated cooperation in organising training for Dagestani residents returning from the Special Military Operation Zone. She also proposed the creation of special programmes in secondary and higher education that would enable demobilised soldiers to adapt more quickly to the social environment and acquire skills and competences to work in currently in-demand professions.

Elena Grigorievna also told the guests about the expert potential of the University, which can be used by colleagues from the republic within the framework of the research and education cluster. ‘We do not only provide legal expertise, but also linguistic, chemical, historical and other very different types of expertise. In this sense, the SPbU is unique in that it is interdisciplinary in nature. And when preparing any expert conclusion, we mobilise the resources and potential of the whole university’, — emphasised Senior Vice-Rector Elena Chernova.

Universities today are in a state of flux. They are no longer closed enclaves that only deal with training specialists. They are becoming the driving force behind the socio-economic development of the country’s regions. On the one hand it is a very challenging mission, but on the other, it is also a great opportunity.

Elena Chernova, the SPbU Senior Vice-Rector

The parties also defined their future actions in the framework of youth policy. These include: career counselling for schoolchildren at the University of Dagestan, joint youth forums, round tables, and cooperation within the framework of the "Youth Innovation Class" project, and various international Olympiads, where a victory earns 100 points in the primary subject for university admission. 

Under the agreement, students and young scientists will also be actively involved in education and science through the provision of grants and scholarships from participating universities, as well as the organisation of internships and academic exchanges. 

In order to build relationships between universities and promote the effective functioning of the higher education system as a whole, the Universities of St Petersburg and Dagestan have agreed to jointly develop new online courses — in particular on the history and culture of Dagestan.

Today, SPbU runs more than 350 online courses, is ranked first in terms of number of courses on the Open Education platform, and has an audience of more than 3 million people.

Participation in the Mendeleev Research and Education Cluster requires that both the initiating and participating universities are ready to respond to the needs of the Russian regions and focus available resources on solving the most pressing problems. 

An important step in creating a unified system of quality education is open access for all students and staff to the potential of educational institutions. St Petersburg University is ready to offer partners its technological and educational resources, such as the SPbU Research Park, which today includes 23 resource centres. 

Summing up the results of the partners’ meeting, Murtazali Rabadanov, Rector of Dagestan State University, expressed the hope that the cooperation would help promote interaction between Dagestan State University and higher education institutions. ‘Together with SPbU, we will be able to maximise the skills of our students and train high quality staff. We believe that our cooperation, which was already good, will become even better,’ said Murtazali Rabadanov. 

The agreement between St Petersburg and Dagestan universities was signed during the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Rasul Gamzatov, the People’s Poet of the Republic. The meeting ended with a solemn floral tribute to his monument at the SPbU.