Minutes of the Rector’s Meeting

International activities

The following events were recently held at St Petersburg University.

Open Day for students who started their studies at St Petersburg University in Cairo

Since October 2023, St Petersburg University, in collaboration with Egypt’s largest group of companies, Modern Group, has launched educational activities in the field of medicine in Cairo (the Arab Republic of Egypt).

On 20 October, an open day was held for students who started their studies at St Petersburg University in Cairo, with the participation of representatives from the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Online lecture at the St Petersburg University Representative Office in the Republic of Moldova

On 22 October, the St Petersburg University Representative Office in the Republic of Moldova hosted the online lecture ‘Regional and bilateral trade agreements: current trends’. The lecture was delivered by Vladimir Sherov-Ignatev, Associate Professor in the Department of World Economy at St Petersburg University.

Collaboration between St Petersburg University and the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan

The Tashkent branch of St Petersburg University and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan have signed a memorandum of cooperation. The document was signed by Ikrom Muslimov, Senior Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Makhmudzhon Ziiadullaev, Director of the Tashkent branch of St Petersburg University.

The cooperation involves joint training of high-quality lawyers in Uzbekistan and organising practical training for students at St Petersburg University and joint projects involving students at the St Petersburg University branch in Tashkent to ensure graduates can proceed to employment in the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Delegation from the Department of Education of Zhejiang Province visits St Petersburg University

On 24 October, the delegation from the Department of Education of Zhejiang Province (the People’s Republic of China) visited St Petersburg University. During the talks, various issues were discussed, including cooperation between St Petersburg University and governmental authorities and organisations in Zhejiang Province in areas such as academic exchanges, student internships at enterprises in Zhejiang Province, and joint research initiatives to name just a few. As part of the visit, a cooperation agreement between St Petersburg University and Wenzhou University was also signed.

Delegation from the Republic of Azerbaijan visits St Petersburg University

On 25 October, St Petersburg University was visited by representatives of the State Agency for Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction, Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University, Baku State University, and Baku Engineering University. During the visit, discussions focused on approaches to cooperation in the implementation of joint programmes, academic exchange and internship programmes, joint research projects, and the preparation of publications for international editions, among other topics.

Cooperation agreement between St Petersburg University and the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati

A cooperation agreement has been signed between St Petersburg University and the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (the Republic of India). 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.

Recommendation by the BRICS Business Council of the decentralised interbank messaging system developed at St Petersburg University for the BRICS countries

The BRICS Business Council approved a report with international payment instruments recommended for use in the BRICS countries, which included the Decentralised Interbank Messaging System (DCMS). The architecture for this system was developed at the Centre for Distributed Ledger Technologies at St Petersburg University. The main objective of the development is to enable any country to pursue an independent financial policy and ensure the confidentiality of transmitted messages.

Back in 2018, the development of the new payment system for the countries of the association was identified as one of the main areas of work for BRICS. The first steps in this direction were taken by experts from St Petersburg University back in 2019, and in 2022, a full version of a decentralised interbank messaging system was presented, which was especially relevant in the context of illegal restrictions on payments by a number of states.

The University’s development was awarded the prize "Technological breakthrough — 2022" in the nomination "Overcoming barriers and opening new opportunities" and was included in the list of initiatives to ensure Russia’s economic sovereignty. The DCMS components are successfully used today in the work of the platform for cross-border payments of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

It is planned that all financial instruments proposed in the BRICS Business Council report will undergo international testing and will be integrated into existing national payment systems in the BRICS countries. This will open up the possibility of easy and quick payments in national currencies using smartphones.

According to the proposal, the single multinational payment mechanism would help improve payment transparency, support innovation by providing financial institutions with new opportunities and tools, expand financial inclusion by establishing interaction between the national payment infrastructures of the BRICS countries, and increase the share of national currencies in cross-border payments.

Today, St Petersburg University pays great attention not only to academic programmes and research aimed at studying the BRICS countries, but is also actively involved in the international agenda to offer solutions to key issues in cooperation between the BRICS countries and act as an expert organisation on issues in international law, medicine, and entrepreneurship to name just a few. For example, several years ago, St Petersburg University presented its own project of an investment arbitration institute for the BRICS countries, which will simplify the dispute resolution procedure and increase the investment attractiveness of the countries of this interstate association.

Among other developments of the University, which can be further developed and adapted to solve the problems of the BRICS unification, is the CryptoVeche system. This service, which operates on the blockchain technology, allows for secure and confidential remote voting. Today, it is used by more than 150 organisations, both commercial and state ones.

Another promising product developed by St Petersburg University is InsurDoc, a system for managing intellectual property rights that allows for the decentralised monetisation and storage of copyright results for works of art, literature, and science using smart‑contracts. Another development by St Petersburg University is a decentralised platform for electronic cargo documents for sea transportation, which can speed up the document flow in this area to several hours, whereas today ships spend several days in ports to process the necessary papers.

St Petersburg University also has digital solutions for the scientific sphere. For example, Research IMS is a research infrastructure management system to ensure a continuous chain of scientific services with control over all stages of execution (from the customer’s request to the final result). This approach not only increases the efficiency of scientific equipment operation, but also allows for the automation of routine accounting and control operations. The system takes into account equipment and its load, consumables, and manages research and projects.

The visit of the Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Eduard Sheremettsev to St Petersburg University

Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Eduard Sheremettsev has visited St Petersburg University. The University experts told him about the activities of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science at St Petersburg University and presented advanced developments and research in the field of AI, which are currently being carried out at the University.

Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Eduard Sheremettsev said: "Today, work is actively underway to create AI testing grounds that will allow testing and improving various products in the field of artificial intelligence. For this work to be effective, it is important that companies and scientific organisations work together, using each other’s resources and potential. This is the approach that is being implemented today in the artificial intelligence centres at St Petersburg University."

Among the current areas of work of the centre is a project of the designer of solutions for embedded artificial intelligence, i.e. a platform of strong AI of the Internet of Things. According to Sergey Mikushev, Vice-Rector for Research at St Petersburg University, the development of the platform is critically important for increasing the efficiency of high-tech production and ensuring industrial and economic security of the country.

The modular AI platform being developed at the University will make it possible to predict the actual service life of specific equipment in future, which will allow for a flexible approach to maintenance and repair and reduce the costs of large enterprises. Today, the University is not only developing software, but also working on the ethical and legal aspects of using artificial intelligence. The University is formulating standards for the Internet of Things.

Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) is a combination of AI technologies with the Internet of Things infrastructure aimed at achieving more efficient IoT operations, improving human-machine interaction and data management and analytics. The result of the St Petersburg University project to create an AIoT‑platform should be an applied industry technology solution that will be implemented by industrial partners and will improve work efficiency.

The Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science was established at St Petersburg University in 2020. In 2023, it received state support for the development of an industry research centre in the field of AI. The funding is aimed at creating a modular digital platform for strong artificial intelligence of things, which allows combining and processing information from thousands of sensors associated with high-tech enterprise facilities and ensuring the security of the system with connected IoT devices. The project involves St Petersburg University’s partner LarTech, a supplier and manufacturer of automated information systems and integrated solutions in the field of the Internet of Things, a part of ER-Telecom Holding.

Organisation of the teaching and learning process

Over the past week, 23 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. 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 History; the Institute of Philosophy; the Institute of Chemistry; the Faculty of Asian and African Studies; the Faculty of Faculty of Foreign Languages; the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Control Processes; the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the Faculty of Physics; the Faculty of Philology; the Faculty of Economics; and the College of Physical Training and Sports, Economics and Technology.

Organisation of employer-sponsored education of specialists for the Republic of Karelia

As part of the implementation of the joint action plan of the Government of the Republic of Karelia and St Petersburg University, a working meeting was held with the participation of Larisa Podsadnik, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Karelia for Social Affairs; Roman Golubev, Minister of Education and Sports of the Republic of Karelia; and Aleksandr Babich, Senior Vice-Rector for Youth Policy and Admissions at St Petersburg University. During the working meeting, issues in organising work on employer-sponsored education of specialists for the Republic of Karelia at St Petersburg University were discussed.

The interaction in this direction is planned to be built in terms of organising admissions within the quota for places for employer-sponsored education and within the framework of practical training of students at St Petersburg University in organisations and enterprises of the Republic of Karelia. The meeting discussed issues in organising career guidance work with students of general education; the need for closer ties with employers; and work with enterprises of the real sector of the economy.

The issues in implementing a new model of admissions to employer-sponsored education were also discussed, including the functioning of the website "Work in Russia," and the formation of personnel needs for 2025. Next year, the relevant work with state and local government bodies and enterprises of the real sector of the economy will continue.

Renewal of the infrastructure of the Military Training Centre at St Petersburg University

Large-scale works on capital repairs of the premises of the Military Training Centre have been carried out at St Petersburg University. The main result is a single platform for training students in military training programmes for reserve officers and reserve sergeants. During the renovation, a closed and open-type training complex was equipped for studying the types of weapons, according to the academic programmes. Heated specialised training rooms with samples of weapons, military and special equipment, and the latest devices and simulators were equipped. In all rooms, there is a visual poster base that meets the requirements of military training programmes.

In 2017, following an inspection conducted by a committee of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, the University made a decision to reorganise the Military Training Centre. The small space of the open training area, which was available for the placement of weapons and military equipment, did not allow for high-quality organisation of training sessions with training platoons of different areas of military training.

The previously existing premises of the Military Training Centre did not allow them to be equipped with weapons and special equipment, and simulators for general military training. The premises did not fully comply with the requirements of the governing documents for conducting practical training sessions using weapons, military and special equipment. At present, the situation has changed significantly due to the allocation of additional space to the Military Training Centre and the major repairs carried out in them. Samples of weapons, military and special equipment, simulator complexes were distributed among specialised training classes. A separate training ground was created, allowing for practical training of students to perform special tasks in accordance with modern conditions.

As a result of the reorganisation undertaken by St Petersburg University as part of the strategic plan for infrastructure development in full compliance with the requirements of the Russian Ministry of Defence, the University could transfer all military units, previously distributed across various districts of St Petersburg to a single special site, including specialised classrooms and open and closed training complexes.

Practical experience of special military operations is widely introduced into the training process of military specialists.

At the present stage, the level of the teaching staff, engineering and technical, educational and support personnel, and the availability of the necessary educational and material base make it possible to successfully and efficiently train military personnel from among the students at St Petersburg University.

In future, further development of the Military Training Centre at St Petersburg University is planned. The centre is planning to modernise other premises, where additional equipment will be installed for several classrooms intended for practical classes.

Cooperation agreement between St Petersburg University, Emperor Alexander I St Petersburg State Transport University, the Russian Railway Museum, and the Central Museum of Railway Transport of the Russian Federation. New passenger waiting shelters on the Universitetskaya platform in the year of the University’s 300^th anniversary

As part of the celebration of the 300^th anniversary of St Petersburg University, new passenger waiting shelters have been installed at the Universitetskaya railway platform of the Oktyabrskaya Railway, a branch of Russian Railways. The presentation took place at the Russian Railway Museum.

The work on the development of the Oktyabrskaya Railway has several areas, including transport logistics, rail freight services and passenger railway services. One of the important elements is the development of passenger rail infrastructure. A railway station, a stopping point, a platform are the first thing that passengers come into contact with, and it is these facilities and amenities that create their first impression.

The Universitetskaya railway platform was opened in Peterhof in 1972 for students and staff of Leningrad State University who studied and worked in the Petrodvorets Training and Research Complex. Today, four academic and research subdivisions at St Petersburg University and resource centres of the St Petersburg University Research Park engaged in research in the field of nanotechnology and materials science, biomedicine and human health, and information technology are located in Peterhof. The new passenger waiting shelters on the Universitetskaya platform were built by our joint industrial partner, Russian Railways, in the year of the University’s 300^th anniversary.

As part of the presentation, a multilateral agreement on cooperation in the development of youth popular science tourism was signed between St Petersburg University, Emperor Alexander I St Petersburg State Transport University, the Russian Railway Museum, and the Central Museum of Railway Transport of the Russian Federation.

The partners will develop individual tourist programmes and create routes to the objects of research, museum, production and innovation infrastructure of organisations. Together with museums, universities plan to organise youth scientific and educational events as part of travels. Industrial partners and representatives of the expert community will be involved in their organisation and implementation. The document also involves the development of joint academic programmes in a network format and academic mobility programmes for students.