The University expands cooperation with leading universities in Iran
A delegation from St Petersburg University has visited the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was headed by Sergey Andryushin, Vice-Rector for International Affairs at St Petersburg University. The aim of the visit was to strengthen partnerships with the Iran’s higher education institutions. During the working visit, the delegation met with representatives of Tarbiat Modares University, the University of Tehran, and the University of Isfahan.
During the visit to the University of Tehran, Sergey Andryushin met with Elham Aminzadeh, Vice President for International Affairs at the University of Tehran. The meeting brought together Igor Demkin, Advisor to the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Iran; Konstantin Malkovsky, Advisor to the Vice-Rector for International Affairs at St Petersburg University; and Artem Andreev, Director of the Centre for the Study of the Islamic Republic of Iran at St Petersburg University. Interpreting was provided by Stanislav Krasutskii, Research Engineer at the Institute of History at St Petersburg University.
The parties discussed a wide range of issues related to the development of interuniversity cooperation. In particular, they discussed opportunities to develop a joint master’s programme in management at St Petersburg University and to offer lectures on the Russian language for Iranian students. They also discussed the work of the Faculty of Public Administration that was recently opened at the University of Tehran. The meeting participants highly praised the results of the joint research projects carried out within the framework of the joint contest of research initiatives "Mendeleev — Dehkhoda", which promotes the development of academic mobility of educators at the two universities. An additional agreement was signed to the protocol on the implementation of the programme.
The meeting between representatives of St Petersburg University and Tarbiat Modares University was both in-person and a remote format. The participants were Innokentii Karandashov, Associate Professor of St Petersburg University, Head of the Department of International Law; and Andrei Lesin, Director of the Language Testing Centre at St Petersburg University. Tarbiat Modares University was represented by Maryam Kamali, Director of International Scientific Relations; Hadi Baharloo, Deputy Director of International Scientific Relations; Naser Nikubakht, Director of the Centre for Teaching Persian as a Foreign Language; Hossein Negini, Deputy Dean for Research Affairs at the Faculty of Law; and Javad Morshedloo, Assistant Professor in the Department of History.
During the visit to Tarbiat Modares University, Artem Andreev gave a lecture on diplomatic documents of the Safavid era in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts and the history of Iran-Russia relations in the 17th century. The lecture evoked a lively response from the audience. There was a lively discussion between the St Petersburg University researcher and Maghsoud Ali Sadeghi, Associate Professor in the Department of History at Tarbiat Modares University.
"The article lists, or reports, by Russian ambassadors, which are extremely undervalued sources, contain amazing information about political, economic and social processes in Iran in the 17th century. At that time, Russia and Iran, as we see from the documents of that time, were equal partner-states," said Artem Andreev, Director of the Centre for the Study of the Islamic Republic of Iran at St Petersburg University.
During the visit, Artem Andreev gave a lecture to schoolchildren at the Russian Embassy in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Ambassador’s Advisor Igor Demkin moderated the meeting and told future applicants about the history of the University, areas of study, extracurricular activities of students, and the University’s work to stay connected with graduates.
Artem Andreev, Director of the Centre for the Study of the Islamic Republic of Iran at St Petersburg University, and Stanislav Krasutskii, Research Engineer at the Institute of History at St Petersburg University, visited the University of Isfahan. They met with Mohammad Amiryousefi, Director of the International Scientific Cooperation Office; Seyyed Masoud Bonakdar, Director of the Museum of the University of Isfahan; and representatives of the Department of Persian Language and Literature and the Faculty of Geology and Geography. Artem Pavlovskii, Head of the Department of Climatology and Environmental Monitoring at St Petersburg University, took part in the negotiations remotely.
Artem Andreev put forward an initiative to develop a joint master’s programme in the field of tourism, and his proposal was supported by the partner university. Artem Pavlovskii, Head of the Department of Climatology and Environmental Monitoring at St Petersburg University, invited Iranian colleagues to an international scientific forum on environmental issues held at the University and proposed to prepare a project to organise a joint winter and summer school on geology.
The delegation of St Petersburg University met with the Consul General of the Russian Federation in Isfahan Andrei Zhiltsov. The diplomat positively assessed the activities of St Petersburg University in Iran and expressed his readiness to provide support. He also suggested that St Petersburg University organise an exhibition in Isfahan at the consulate or the partner university.
Mohammad Amiryousefi said that Isfahan and St Petersburg are sister cities and expressed a desire to strengthen cooperation with St Petersburg University. Representatives of the University of Isfahan expressed their readiness to continue cooperation in the field of scientific and student exchange and offered assistance in conducting Persian language testing at St Petersburg University. Following the meeting, the parties agreed to develop a joint project to study Russian documentary heritage in Iran and Iranian documentary heritage in Russia.