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.
Events at the St Petersburg University Representative Office in Spain
On 11 January and 18 January, the Representative Office of St Petersburg University in the Kingdom of Spain hosted online lectures on contemporary Russian prose and the issues in psycholinguistics. The lectures were delivered by Nina Shcherbak, Associate Professor in the Department of English Philology and Cultural Linguistics at St Petersburg University. On 16 January, there was the online lecture "Working in a project team — the way to socialisation of personality". The lecture was delivered by Galina Danilova, Associate Professor in the Department of Pedagogy at the Institute of Pedagogy of St Petersburg University.
Cooperation agreement between St Petersburg University and the Universidad de Sancti Spíritus "José Martí Pérez"
A cooperation agreement has been signed between St Petersburg University and the Universidad de Sancti Spíritus "José Martí Pérez" (the Republic of Cuba). The text of the agreement can be found on the St Petersburg University portal in the list of Partner Universities in the International Cooperation section.
Development of academic programmes in the area of study "Artificial Intelligence"
St Petersburg University is one of the six leading universities in Russia that has been working for three years under a grant from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation to develop bachelor’s and master’s programmes in the area of study "Artificial Intelligence" and advanced training programmes in the field of artificial intelligence for academic staff at higher education institutions. The AI grant was announced by the Government of the Russian Federation as part of the implementation of the federal project "Artificial Intelligence" of the national programme "Digital Economy of the Russian Federation". A contest was held for universities of the Russian Federation. Twenty four applications were allowed to participate, which were assessed across a 100-point scale. St Petersburg University entered the top 5 of the rankings of universities for receiving subsidies, scoring 84.5 points. The top five universities, apart from St Petersburg University, included: Lomonosov Moscow State University, ITMO University, MIREA — Russian Technological University, and South Ural State University.
The objectives of the grant are outlined by the customer, i.e. the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, as follows:
- to develop bachelor’s and master’s programmes in the field "Artificial Intelligence", to further transfer these programmes to partner universities (at least five regional universities) and to admit and train a certain number of students in these programmes at St Petersburg University and partner universities; and
- to develop advanced training programmes in the field of artificial intelligence for academic staff of educational institutions of higher education and to train a certain number of lecturers at Russian universities according to these programmes
According to Marina Lavrikova, Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities at St Petersburg University, St Petersburg University is implementing this project, attracting partner universities from several regions of the Russian Federation. Among them are the following: Belgorod State University; Nizhnevartovsk State University; Sevastopol State University; Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University; Udmurt State University; and Yugra State University. Training programmes are implemented at St Petersburg University and six regional partner universities. This makes it possible to prepare specialists in artificial intelligence directly in the regions. More than 200 members of the University academic staff are involved in the implementation of the grant at St Petersburg University. Among them are the representatives from: the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Control Processes; the Mathematics and Mechanics Faculty; and the Faculty of Philology. The programmes are also implemented by the Centre for Robotics at St Petersburg University; administrating offices and services at St Petersburg University; and about 300 lecturers from other universities.
During the implementation of the grant, the following academic programmes were developed and opened at St Petersburg University and at partner universities.
Master’s programmes
- Mathematical Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, the partner university is Yugra State University
- Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Technologies, the partner universities are the following: Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University and Udmurt State University
- Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, the partner universities are Belgorod State University and Sevastopol State University
- Artificial Intelligence in Speech Technologies, the partner university is Nizhnevartovsk State University
Bachelor’s programme
- Big Data and Blockchain Digital Platform, the partner universities are Udmurt State University and Belgorod State University
- Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, developed in 2022, first enrolment under the grant is 2024
The programmes were developed jointly with the industrial partners that were involved in the implementation of the grant. Among them were the following: Sberbank of Russia; VK; Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna); St Petersburg Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Engineering Company "Neotech Marine"; and Tazmar IT Solutions. Based on the results of cooperation between St Petersburg University and Sberbank in 2023, St Petersburg University and Sberbank signed an agreement on the implementation of the master’s programme "Artificial Intelligence and Data Science" in a network format. There was a presentation of a Telegram bot developed jointly by specialists from Sberbank and St Petersburg University. It is based on the large language model GigaChat, which can answer questions related to the University life for students.
In 2022, 200 students were enrolled in the master’s programmes implemented as part of the AI grant. St Petersburg University enrolled 109 students, while 91 students were enrolled at partner universities. In 2023, 228 students were enrolled in the master’s programmes. This number exceeds the target number by 28 students. St Petersburg University enrolled 158 students, while 70 students were enrolled at partner universities. There were 119 students enrolled in the bachelor’s programme. This number exceeds the target number by 19 students. St Petersburg University enrolled 59 students, while 60 students were enrolled at partner universities.
Four advanced training programmes were developed for academic staff at St Petersburg University and partner universities. Among the programmes are the following: "Artificial Intelligence and Speech Technologies"; "Artificial Intelligence", module ‘Methodology for organising the teaching and learning process in the academic programme "Big Data and Blockchain Digital Platform"’; "Artificial Intelligence", module "Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Technologies"; and "Fundamentals of Practical Robotics and Artificial Intelligence". In 2022, 120 members of the academic staff at St Petersburg University (57 members) and regional partner universities (63 members) successfully completed advanced training programmes. In 2023, 108 members of the academic staff were trained under advanced training programmes. Among them were: 64 members at St Petersburg University and 44 members at partner universities.
Six agreements on the network implementation of academic programmes were signed with Sevastopol State University, Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University, Udmurt State University, St Petersburg Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences (two academic programmes under a grant), and Sberbank.
Following the results of the regular conference "Journey into the World of Artificial Intelligence", held on 24 November 2023, the President of Russia approved a list of instructions.
Among them, there is an instruction addressed to the Government of the Russian Federation, together with educational organisations of higher education that in 2023 took leading positions in the rankings of such organisations in terms of the quality of training specialists in the field of artificial intelligence. The instruction is to ensure an increase in the admission quotas of government-funded places for these organisations in specialties and areas of study related to the development of artificial intelligence technologies. The instructions also include an instruction to: the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation together with the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation; educational organisations of higher education that in 2023 took leading positions in the rankings of such organisations in terms of the quality of training specialists in the field of artificial intelligence; and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology. The instruction is to implement a set of measures aimed at preparing world-class scientists and developers in this field.
Organisation of the teaching and learning process
Over the period from 15 January to 19 January, 18 enquiries were addressed to the Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities. The majority of enquiries relate to preparation of various documents. 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. Interim assessment is held in due order according to the timetable. As of 19 January 2024, the information was not sent by Kirill Chistyakov, Director of the Institute of Earth Sciences.
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 Faculty of Biology; the Faculty of Physics; the Faculty of Philology; and the College of Physical Training and Sports, Economics and Technology.
Results of the selection of applications from organisations to receive grants from the federal budget for the implementation of measures aimed at updating the scientific and technical equipment
Recently, the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation summed up the results of the selection for the grants in 2024 to update scientific and technical equipment. The development of research infrastructure is critical to ensure Russia’s technological sovereignty. As part of the national project "Science and Universities", a programme to update scientific and technical equipment is being implemented. In 2024, 195 scientific organisations will receive grants to update their equipment in the amount of about 11.3 billion roubles.
According to Sergey Mikushev, Vice-Rector for Research at St Petersburg University, St Petersburg University has won the grant contests for updating scientific and technical equipment for the fourth year in a row. In total, the University received about 800 million roubles, the last tranche was 162.2 million roubles. One of the conditions of the grant is the purchase of Russian scientific equipment. Requirements for the volume of purchased Russian-made scientific equipment are increasing every year. In 2021, this figure was 10%, and in 2024 it already reached 25%. Thus, the programme is set to stimulate both research teams and Russia’s high-tech manufacturers.
Each organisation had to submit a number of mandatory documents, including a programme for updating the equipment and justification of the need for scientific laboratory instruments or equipment. At St Petersburg University, such need was determined by queues for the use of equipment at the resource centres at the Research Park or by proposals from the heads of research teams, especially in relation to new devices. The size of the grant in each case was determined based on a number of parameters. Among them were the following: the volume of the scientific and technical equipment; the area of the organisation’s scientific activities; its effectiveness; technical equipment; productivity; and the number of researchers.
Work of representatives of St Petersburg University in the expert councils of the Higher Assessment Committee in 2023
Academic staff at St Petersburg University take part in the expert councils of the Higher Assessment Committee under the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. The University regularly monitors these activities. According to Anastasia Yarmosh, Vice-Rector for Strategic Development and Partnership at St Petersburg University, an analysis was carried out of the participation of St Petersburg University staff in the work of the expert councils of the Higher Assessment Committee in 2023.
Answering questions from participants in the Rector’s meeting, Anastasia Yarmosh explained that this information shows the overall picture, and directors of institutes and deans of faculties have an opportunity to see the degree of participation of each member of the team in expert activities and compare their work. They can also notice that for some groups of scientific areas and areas of study, experts from St Petersburg University are not represented. This information can also be used to organise interdisciplinary work.
Website of the Institute for Cognitive Studies at St Petersburg University
In 2020, the Institute for Cognitive Studies was opened at St Petersburg University. It is set to develop relevant scientific, expert and educational activities in the interdisciplinary field, which is included in the list of priorities in the Russian Federation and in the world. The Institute for Cognitive Studies has a high international reputation and is one of the most important subdivisions at the University. It is headed by Tatiana Chernigovskaya, Member of the Russian Academy of Education, Professor, a recognised expert in the field of cognitive science, the author of more than 360 scientific papers, and a winner of numerous awards in this field of science.
The website began to be actively developed in April 2023. According to Dmitriy Shishmakov, Head of the Marketing and Media Communication Department at St Petersburg University, during this time many problems were solved, many discussions were held, and finally in December 2023 the website was launched. According to Dmitriy Shishmakov, in 2023 the template of University’s websites was significantly updated. In this regard, the websites of other academic and research subdivisions will be gradually transformed to suit the new format.
Sales of printed and souvenir products with the symbols of St Petersburg University
The University presents printed and souvenir products with the symbols of St Petersburg University to guests and provide them for sale in museums, shops and other points. A report on sales in 2019–2023 was presented at the meeting. The indicators are growing from year to year, the products are finding their buyers. These figures show not only the growth of the University’s income, but also the growing interest in St Petersburg University from the University staff, students, alumni and guests.