Minutes of the Rector’s Meeting
International activities
According to Vice-Rector for International Affairs Sergey Andryushin, a number of new events have recently taken place.
Her Highness Omani Princess Mona bint Fahad Al Said visits St Petersburg University
The Princess of the Sultanate of Oman has visited St Petersburg University. Her Highness Mona bint Fahad Al Said met with Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University and Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The meeting was also attended by: Dr Jamal Al-Moosawi, Secretary General of the National Museum of the Sultanate of Oman; Hamoud Salim Abdullah Al Tuwayah, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Sultanate of Oman to the Russian Federation; Abdullah Bin Hamed Bin Saif Al Riyami, Director of the Department of Cultural Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum, Dean of the Faculty of Asian and African Studies of St Petersburg University; and university professors and staff.
The meeting discussed cooperation with Sultan Qaboos University, the National Museum and other organisations in the Sultanate of Oman. Following the meeting, the parties reached an agreement to: organise academic and student exchanges (the first five students in Arab studies from St Petersburg University will be sent to Oman for internships early next year); hold open door days for each of the counterparty university; invite experts from St Petersburg University to participate in conferences on mathematics and pedagogy at Sultan Qaboos University; create joint online courses; and invite Russian professors to Oman to deliver lectures.
After the meeting at the Petrovsky Hall, Sergei Romanov, Arabist and Middle East scholar, made a presentation of his collection of Omani proverbs and sayings with Russian semantic equivalents and translations. The collection includes about 900 proverbs in Arabic and over 1,000 Russian analogues explaining the meaning of the Arabic folk sayings. The proverbs are divided into 34 thematic sections; thus, there are proverbs and sayings about friendship, enmity, love, and power to name but a few. According to Sergei Romanov, the side-by-side arrangement of proverbs from two cultures in one book helps in understanding each other better and faster.
Events at the St Petersburg University Representative Office in Spain
On 4 December, the St Petersburg University Representative Office in the Kingdom of Spain hosted an online lecture on cooperation in teaching. It was delivered by Irina Pisarenko, Associate Professor of the Institute of Pedagogy at St Petersburg University. On 7 December, there was an online lecture entitled "Sergei Yesenin and Isadora Duncan: Myths and Memories". It was delivered by Nina Shcherbak, Associate Professor in the Department of English Philology and Cultural Linguistics at St Petersburg University.
St Petersburg University receives award for outstanding achievements in popularising Chinese language examination
Representatives from St Petersburg University took part in the First World Chinese Language Conference, held in Beijing from 7 to 9 December. The event was organised by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, the Centre for Language Education and Cooperation, the Chinese International Education Foundation, and the International Chinese Language Learning Community. About 2,000 people from 160 countries were invited to the conference. It discussed changes in the administration and assessment of the HSK exam (Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì), developed by Hanban (an agency of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China) and Beijing University of Language and Culture.
As part of the conference, an award ceremony was held for authorised foreign HSK (Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì) and HSKK (Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǒuyǔ Kǎoshì) centres. Margarita Iablokova, Head of the Foreign Languages Department at the Language Testing Centre at St Petersburg University, received an award for the University’s success in popularising the HSK exam in 2023.
At present, St Petersburg University conducts three types of exams in eight Russian cities through 28 testing centres:
- Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì (HSK), i.e. the Chinese proficiency test
- Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì (HSKK), i.e. on oral exam in Chinese; and
- Youth Chinese Test (YST), i.e. a Chinese language exam for children under 15 years old
The number of test takers is increasing every year. In 2020, there were 160 of them. In 2021, 288 people took exams. In 2022, there were 714 test takers and in 2023 the number reached 1,486. In March 2023, the University launched distance learning courses for HSKK preparation for primary and secondary levels. Three streams of students have already been trained. Courses to prepare for the HSK written examination for the third and fourth grades have been opened since 31 October.
New branch of St Petersburg University in Egypt welcomes over 400 students
So far, over 400 students have started studying at the St Petersburg University branch in Cairo in three academic programmes: "General Medicine"; "Dental Medicine"; and "Pharmacy". After completing their studies, students will receive diplomas of St Petersburg University in accordance with the University’s educational standards and generally accepted international quality standards of higher education.
The University branch was established with the support of the Egyptian company Modern Group, which specialises in providing services to the education, pharmaceutical and construction industries. Earlier, Modern Group JSC also signed an agreement with the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population to use hospitals as clinical bases for the branch of St Petersburg University. This makes it possible to train highly qualified medical personnel and promote the development of the medical field in Egypt.
According to Svetlana Medvedeva, First Deputy Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities (via an online video conference from Cairo), classes in the Egyptian branch started on 9 December. The first group of teachers in Latin and Chemistry began their work. Prior to that, the applicants were tested in English: only those who passed the test for level B1 or above were accepted.
In order to train future doctors in Egypt, the curricula were adjusted to take into account the peculiarities and current demands of the region. St Petersburg University responds to the needs of various sectors of the Egyptian economy for highly qualified personnel. In future, the Egyptian branch of St Petersburg University plans to open a bachelor’s programme in nursing, a master’s programme in artificial intelligence, and a specialist’s programme in physiotherapy.
As part of international cooperation, St Petersburg University has been implementing the programme of representative offices of the University for many years. At present, the University has representative offices in Korea, the People’s Republic of China, Spain, Greece, Italy, Iran, and Thailand. St Petersburg University is also the first Russian university to have recently opened its own representative office in the Navoi Free Economic Zone (the Republic of Uzbekistan).
Organisation of the teaching and learning process
Over the past week, 15 enquiries were addressed to the Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities. The majority of enquiries relate to preparation of various documents, and transfer to St Petersburg University. An analysis of the information on the organisation of the teaching and learning process provided by the heads of academic and research subdivisions has been carried out. Classes are held in due order according to the timetable.
Over the past week, meetings were held with student activists: group heads, and representatives of student councils and student scientific societies to name just a few. They discussed issues with organising the teaching and learning process. The meetings were held at: the Institute of Philosophy; the Institute of Chemistry; the Faculty of Biology; the School of International Relations; the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Control Processes; the Faculty of Sociology; the Faculty of Physics; the Faculty of Philology; the Faculty of Economics; and the College of Physical Training and Sports, Economics and Technology; and the Medical College.
Grants for major research projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development in 2024-2026
The Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education has announced the start of the competitive selection process for grants for major research projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development in 2024-2026. Applications will be accepted until 9 January inclusive. Research institutions and universities can take part in the competitive selection. Click here to submit an application on the portal of financial state support measures.
The maximum grant is 100 million roubles per year. Grants will be awarded for a period of three years (2024-2026) with the possibility of an extension of up to two years.
Competitive selection will be carried out in eight priority areas of scientific and technological development in medicine, biotechnology, energy, novel materials, information and telecommunications technologies, including developments in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Click here to see the full list. The winners will be determined following the results of an assessment prepared by experts from the Russian Academy of Sciences.
According to Sergey Mikushev, Vice-Rector for Research, St Petersburg University can only submit one application for this competition. Initiative groups of the academic staff therefore first submit applications to the Research Projects Department. Then, these applications are evaluated by the University’s experts according to the competition criteria to identify the best one.
In 2020-2022, 41 major research projects were funded, including four projects from St Petersburg University. The first phase of these projects was completed in December 2022. Based on the results of the review prepared by experts from the Russian Academy of Sciences, it was decided to renew 21 projects for 2023, two of which will be carried out by research teams from St Petersburg University.
Lawyers of the University awarded by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation
The Director of the Legal Clinic at St Petersburg University received the Mikhail Speransky Medal. The award was presented to Viacheslav Nizamov by Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation Konstantin Chuychenko during a meeting with representatives of higher education institutions on the occasion of the Lawyers Day. The Mikhail Speransky Medal is a departmental award of the Ministry of Justice, which is awarded for participation in the development of civil society, improvement of legislation, and development of legal science and education.
As the Director of the Legal Clinic at St Petersburg University, Viacheslav Nizamov works to improve the system of free legal services in our country and develop legal education using the most modern methods of practical training of future lawyers. The Legal Clinic at St Petersburg University is the first of its kind in the country. It was opened in August 1998. Since then, about 20,000 people have found answers to their legal questions with the help of lawyers from St Petersburg University.
Viacheslav Nizamov became the head of the University’s Legal Clinic in 2019. Under his guidance and with the help of lecturers, future lawyers gain important practical work experience: they conduct receptions of citizens, analyse real legal issues, provide legal advice, and draft legal documents. Thanks to the training at the Legal Clinic of St Petersburg University, students who have worked as legal advisers during their studies, by the time they graduate from the University, already have work experience that is as close as possible to real legal practice.
Mikhail Schwarts, Professor of St Petersburg University was awarded the medal ‘For Assistance’. He has been teaching at the University for over 25 years and heads the Department of Civil Procedure. Mikhail Schwarts is the author of numerous articles and monographs on civil procedure, arbitration procedure, enforcement proceedings, notary, and administrative procedure. He successfully combines teaching and research activities with legal practice and is a member of the St Petersburg Bar Association.
Honorary certificates of the Ministry of Justice for their contribution to the development of legal science and education, training of qualified legal personnel were also awarded to: Aleksandr Kuzmenko, Associate Professor in the Department of Labour and Social Law; Marina Mitina, Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Procedure; and Andrei Novikov, Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Law. Andrei Tuzov, Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Procedure and Criminal Investigation, was honoured with a gratitude from the Ministry of Justice.
Mariia Kulikova, Lecturer at St Petersburg University, was also awarded an honorary certificate as a young scientist from the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. Mariia Kulikova’s research interests include: philosophy of law; sociology of law; the study of judicial practice as exemplified by the interaction of tax and criminal law norms; the theory of judicial reasoning; and constitutional justice.
Winners of the Justitia Legal Award
The Russia — My History Multimedia Historical Park has hosted a ceremony honouring the winners of the Justitia Legal Award. The award is given annually to the best lawyers of St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region for their contribution to the development of the rule of law, legal education of citizens, legal assistance and support to the residents of the city and the region, and active public activity. The award ceremony was timed to coincide with the professional holiday — Lawyer’s Day, which is celebrated in Russia on 3 December. The event was also attended by Alexander Beglov, Governor of St Petersburg and Member of the Board of Trustees of St Petersburg University.
‘A lawyer is one of the most in-demand professions. There is not a single sphere that can do without legal support. St Petersburg has always had the strongest legal school,’ said the Governor. Four of the seven recipients are Leningrad State University / St Petersburg University alumni:
- The Justitia Award in the Major Contribution to Legal Education of Citizens category was awarded to Svetlana Konovalova, Head of the Legal Department of the Office of the Legislative Assembly of St Petersburg
- Fedor Zamiatin, Deputy Chairman of the Election Commission of the Leningrad Region, was the winner For Success in Legal Practice category
- Vadim Shalov, a notary of the Vyborg Notary District of the Leningrad Region, was the winner in the For Legal Assistance to Refugees, Participants in the Special Military Operation and Their Families; and
- Andrey Kaplunov, Professor in the Department of Administrative Law at St Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, was the winner in the Academic Credentials category
The Justitia Legal Award is an award of the Interregional Branch of the All-Russian Public Organisation "Association of Lawyers of Russia" for St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, chaired by Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University and Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.