St Petersburg University in China

An active collaboration between the University and the province Heilongjiang started in 2014, when they signed a memorandum on education and research collaboration. SPbU and Heilongjiang are collaborating within Russia-China partner relationships, said Mr Lu Hao. “We think that we have a strategic potential for collaboration, as today Russia-China relations are historically on the rise, due to substantial support from our governments, — said the Governor. — Collaboration between the University and Heilongjiang is a real example of humanitarian ties on a high level which is an important contribution to partner relationships between the regions”.

St Petersburg University develops its strategies reflecting the current trends and responding to the challenges. As one of the two universities in Russia awarded a special status, SPbU is entitled to develop its own educational policy and adapt it to the employment requirements locally and globally. For that end, the University has an efficient system of the councils of the educational programmes headed by the non-SPbU world’s leading experts. The Council of the educational programme in Mathematics is headed by Stanislav Smirnov, Fields Medals winner and head of the Chebyshev Laboratory at SPbU; the council of the educational programme in BRICS Studies by Sergei Riabkov, Deputy Minister of the Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; the council of the educational programme in the Greek Language by Costas Cadiz, Minister of Education and Culture of Cyprus. “For the last six months, our invitations to work in the councils were accepted by the Ambassadors of France, Iran, Hungary, and the Secretary General of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea”, — said Nikolay Kropachev. The Governor, who has a degree in economics, accepted Nikolay Kropachev’s offer and agreed to become a chairperson of the council of the undergraduate educational programme in Economics with a focus on Chinese economy and language.

The main concern of the meeting was also projects on how to expand the mission of the SPbU’s representation office in China. The parties discussed SPbU’s office in Harbin Institute of Technology, which is to be opened in 2017 and to become a centre for the Russian language and culture, and popularize SPbU’s educational and research projects.

They also discussed mutual research projects with HIT. Let us remind that SPbU and HIT are implementing a number of big projects, including those in plasma physics, ecology, environment, and   cultural heritage preservation of the Chinese Eastern Railway.

SPbU also proposed a new format of collaboration as legal expert support for business. “The University, as a Russian leading centre for expert evaluations, executes the orders from the Russian Government and has rich experience in legal support of the foreign partners concerning differences in legal systems in Russia and other countries”, — said the Senior Vice-Rector Ilia Dementiev. It has a potential to develop, said the Governor, as Heilongjiang is one of the China’s leading centres which has business in Russia, and this format will ensure a balanced relationships between Russia’s Government and China’s enterprises, as well as understating in academic and business communities.