St Petersburg University holds a meeting with the Consul General of Israel

Anastasiia Iarmosh, Vice Rector for Strategic Development and Partnership, welcomed the diplomat to the oldest university in Russia. She explained that St Petersburg University works within a wide range of academic and research fields: from humanities and social sciences to such areas as translational biomedicine or innovative materials with new functional properties. As such, cooperation with Israeli universities could develop even more intensively in the years to come. Currently, St Petersburg University has five partner universities in Israel, including the University of Haifa, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Ariel University, with the most popular areas of research being medicine, physics, astronomy, mathematics and Earth sciences.

'A hallmark of St Petersburg University is its state-of-the-art infrastructure for interdisciplinary programmes and science and technology projects. In 2011, St Petersburg University established the largest Research Park in Russia. Its facilities make it possible to run more than 150 research projects commissioned by the University's employees and partners on a daily basis,' said Anastasiia Iarmosh. 'The city of St Petersburg and St Petersburg University are currently implementing projects on the Development Area of the University and the Neva Delta Innovative Science and Technology Centre to house new teaching and laboratory buildings and an innovative technology centre. We hope that the planned and existing facilities will strengthen our scientific and educational capacity, including collaboration with partner universities in Israel.'

The Vice Rector for Strategic Development and Partnership also noted that in the past cooperation between St Petersburg University and Israeli universities had focused on historical and cultural projects, while today the emphasis has shifted to medicine. For example, in autumn 2021 the University opened the first-ever Centre for the Study of Autoimmune Diseases and the Effects of the New Coronavirus Disease, created in cooperation with Yehuda Shoenfeld, President of Ariel University.

Uri Resnick, Consul General of Israel, indicated that he attaches great importance to strengthening the interactions between universities and considers essential the steps that St Petersburg University is proposing in this regard. He noted that he is also interested in developing cooperation between educational institutions and businesses. This dialogue has not yet been very dynamic in Israel, so the Consul General was keen to hear about the cooperation between the University and companies, and the experience of the Research Park as proof of this initiative.

During the meeting Anastasiia Iarmosh made some proposals aimed at improving inter-university cooperation. She noted that the current academic exchange with Israeli universities is not intensive enough and the agreement with the Ministry of Education of Israel could change this situation. Such agreements enable universities to increase the number of double degree programmes and expand opportunities for students to participate in mobility programmes. Anastasiia Iarmosh, Vice Rector for Strategic Development and Partnership, also spoke about the possibility of inviting lecturers from Israeli universities to deliver lectures to students from St Petersburg University. Since it is not easy to plan trips abroad due to coronavirus restrictions, Uri Resnick, Consul General, suggested that he personally deliver some lectures on the application of game theory to students in management and international relations. He said that he would submit the syllabus of the course he teaches in Israeli universities, so that the University professors could determine which academic programme it best corresponds to. Anastasiia Iarmosh thanked the diplomat for his proposal and said that it would be a great honour for the students to attend a lecture by an expert with such expertise and professional experience.

While most universities in the world prioritise high-tech education and research, the humanities and culture studies should not be overlooked.

Anastasiia Iarmosh, Vice Rector for Strategic Development and Partnership

One of the topics discussed at the meeting was the organisation of conferences and forums between St Petersburg University and Israeli partner universities on Jewish culture, theology, Semitic languages and socio-cultural issues with the support of the Consulate. 'While most universities in the world prioritise high-tech education and research, the humanities and culture studies should not be overlooked,' said Anastasiia Iarmosh. 'The coming year has been declared the Year of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Russia. St Petersburg University has a lot to offer in the field of language teaching and cultural research. Their promotion can be facilitated by online courses.' The Vice Rector for Strategic Development and Partnership noted that St Petersburg University is one of the world leaders in online education and proposed to develop a joint course on the history and culture of Israel in Hebrew, English or Russian. She added that many universities and educational institutions use the online courses developed by the University, which she believes will help to advance the study of Jewish culture and related fields in Russia. The Consul General supported the proposal and indicated that online education is actively developing in Israel, so this initiative will definitely find support among his Israeli colleagues.

The meeting resulted in a decision to send detailed reports on the discussions and information on each of the proposals discussed to the Consulate. 'Hopefully, the cooperation between the universities of Israel and St Petersburg University, initiated in previous years by our predecessors, will continue,' said Anastasiia Iarmosh in conclusion.