Minutes of the Rector’s Meeting

Current issues with organising the teaching and learning process

Over the past period, the Virtual Reception received 57 enquiries submitted by students and academic staff, including 20 enquiries relating to academic and methodological issues, addressed to the Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities, with 15 enquiries registered at the student enquiry catalogue.

The enquiries vary in topics: excluding students from St Petersburg University; receiving an academic leave; St Petersburg University’s diploma recognition in Greece; correspondence of the disciplines to the curriculum; distance learning at the University; continuing the blended format of the teaching and learning process; working days in the period from 4 to 7 November; retaking a discipline; selling teaching guides and books to the University students; an online course ‘Counter-Terrorist and Counter-Extremist Activities’; non-degree programmes at the University; a timetable of the non-degree programmes at the University; an academic transfer to another university; recording extracurricular activities; documents for internships; vaccination for international students; delivering disciplines in History by using information and telecommunication technologies; re-electing a foreign language; and issuing a status notice. All enquiries are followed by checkups and responded in due course and manner.

On 22 September, there was a meeting of the Ethics Committee to discuss the issues recorded in the Minutes of the Rector’s meeting dated 13 September 2021 in relation to the activities of Vladislav Dubrovskii, a third-year bachelor’s student in Political Science. The Ethics Committee adopted the following decision: the student had brutally violated the University Student and Staff Code of Conduct, in particular Article 2 that stipulated: ‘To represent the University in a professional and worthy manner in extrauniversity environment, including in mass media, contemporary electronic means of communication, to support its status as a scientific and educational institution, to promote its reputation as the oldest university in Russia and a leading university in the country’. The Ethics Committee considers that the activities performed by Vladislav Dubrovskii do not correspond to the high status of a student of St Petersburg University.

Following the decision on the Ethics Committee, the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Admissions Aleksandr Babich sent a proposal to the Student Council at St Petersburg University to bring the student to disciplinary action and expel him from the University. The proposal was supported by the Student Council at the meeting held on 4 October. For violation of Clause 2.1.7 of the Internal Regulations of St Petersburg University for students, namely, to follow the moral and cultural traditions and spiritual values of the University, generally accepted moral and ethical standards, to comply with the University Student and Staff Code of Conduct, approved by Order No 3107/1 dated 31 August 2013, the student was expelled .

Vladislav Dubrovskii had been previously selected to participate in academic mobility at the University of Warsaw (Poland) according to the results of the competition for the University students to participate in academic mobility programmes implemented in the framework of inter-university agreements signed by St Petersburg University for the 2021/22 academic year. A letter that stated that Vladislav Dubrovskii had been expelled from St Petersburg University and to terminate academic mobility was sent to the partner-university (Can Mr Dubrovskii who was expelled from the University continue studies in the university abroad?). On 10 October 2021, the partner-university confirmed the cancellation of the semester of study for Vladislav Dubrovskii.

According to information from the heads of most academic and research divisions, classes are delivered according to the timetable in a blended format.

Enquiries are received from international students in Psychology in relation to organising the teaching and learning process by using information and telecommunication technologies. In this regard, the Dean of the Faculty of Psychology asked to send letters to students containing information about the format of the teaching and learning process at the University and grounds to apply for an individual schedule or an academic leave. It was explained that this newsletter had been sent at the beginning of the semester. If it is necessary to inform international students once again, this will be done in due course. Individual counselling of students is possible after contacting the head of the academic department by e-mail. Information about contacts is published on the official website of St Petersburg University.

Over the past week, some heads of the divisions did not meet with student councils.

The meeting between the Acting Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Physics and representatives of the Student Council discussed: the organisation of the teaching and learning process; possible changes in the timetable of classes in connection with the planned non-working days in the period from 30 October 2021 to 7 November 2021; and measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease among students and staff. It is clarified that if any changes are to be introduced in the timetable, students will be informed in due course.

The meeting between the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Political Science and representatives of the Student Council discussed current issues of organising the teaching and learning process and a blended format to deliver classes in the autumn semester of the 2021/22 academic year. Attention was also drawn to the need for students to get vaccinated as the epidemiological situation was worsening.

The meeting between the Dean of the School of International Relations and the Student Council discussed the issues of providing feedback in relation to the students’ internship in Petrostat.

The meeting between the Senior Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Asian and African Studies and representatives of the Student Council discussed the issues in relation to the epidemic situation, vaccination, mask regime, and the need to provide information about coronavirus disease cases to the Academic Office. The Student Council had prepared a leaflet for students with instructions on entering information about getting vaccinated in their personal accounts. They also discussed the issue of organising an additional exam period in order to eliminate academic debts.

The Student Council of the Faculty of Asian and African Studies asked a number of questions. In particular, students were interested in whether they could have an access to the lecture materials in case of missing classes. The answer was that students have access to the syllabi of the disciplines and a list of literature that could refer to the published lecture materials.

As master’s students said, there was an uneven distribution of workload among the Khmer and Vietnamese languages. The number of hours and distribution of academic hours are specified in the curriculum. Any changes to be introduced into curriculum should be first discussed with the Head of the Department of the South-East and Korean Philology, the research supervisor of the master’s programme, and the teaching methodology committee in Asian and African Studies.

The Student Council also mentioned that some of the academic staff refused to provide online access to lectures to students who were absent. The response was that all members of the academic staff had been informed about the importance of providing an online access to lectures by using information and telecommunication technologies if students had good reasons to miss classes. The administrative staff of the Faculty will explain the situation to the academic staff.

The meeting between the Dean of the Faculty of Sociology and members of the Student Council discussed the current issues with organising the teaching and learning process. All were informed about the opening of a catering centre on the premises of the Smolny campus.

On 20 October, the Information Technology Service received the first enquiry relating to some Internet problems in the University’s Hall of Residence № 4 located at 25/1 Shevchenko Street. The user submitted the same enquiry to the Virtual Reception and through OTRS. The Information Technology Service planned to increase the capacity of the data-transmission channel. The works had been scheduled for November 2021. Following the enquiry, the Information Technology Service started to perform works on 22 October. The capacity of the data transmission channel in Hall of Residence № 4 was increased by 10 times.

The Information Technology Service monitors existing problems on a regular basis and improves the quality of services provided. On 19 October, the Information Technology Service modernised equipment in Hall of Residence № 14.

If any technical problems arise, it is necessary to contact technical support at: sd.spbu.ru . It is necessary to log in and select ‘Service-4_Internet in the halls of residence’, indicating the UID and the contact information. If there is no access to the Internet, phone: 363-60-30.

Organising the work at St Petersburg University in connection with the decree of the President of the Russian Federation ‘On non-working days in the territory of the Russian Federation in October — November 2021’

On 20 October, the Russian President Vladimir Putin signed Decree № 595 ‘On non-working days in the Russian Federation in October — November 2021’. According to the Decree, the period from 30 October to 7 November 2021 shall be considered as non-working days, with salaries being paid.

To ensure the operation of the University without having to violate the requirement stipulating the maximum number of working people established by Order № 2718/1 of the Vice- Rector for Human Resources dated 6 April 2020, the members of staff in the following areas will work:

1. medicine — 850 people
2. security guard and building maintenance — 800 people
3. maintenance of server equipment and information systems — 150 people
4. halls of residence — 100 people
5. supporting operation of high-tech research equipment — 50 people
6. carrying out routine care of collections of microorganisms, laboratory animals and fish — 50 people
7. others — 500 people

All extracurricular and sporting events during this period were cancelled. Schoolchildren of the Academic Gymnasium were on holiday. Classes at the University colleges and the military training centre were delivered as usual. Dining areas and canteens in the buildings of the University continued to work.

By the Presidential Decree, the authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation have a right to have non-working days before 30 October 2021 and (or) after 7 November 2021 taking into account the sanitary and epidemiological situation and the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the subjects, with salaries being paid. On 23 October, the Governor of St Petersburg Alexander Beglov signed Decree № 121 of the Government of St Petersburg ‘On amendments to the Decree of the Government of St Petersburg dated 13 March 2020’.

Updated, the number of staff who got vaccinated (including those who have antibodies or medical exemption) is 5,719 people, among them are 5,000 vaccinated, 543 having antibodies, and 176 having medical exemption. On 25 October 2021, 59% of the permanent staff is vaccinated. The number of vaccinated students is 3,712 people, 58 students have medical exemption, and 310 students had COVID-19.

From 30 October to 7 November, it is planned to conduct 48,496 classes according to the timetable, with 3,872 academic staff being involved. The Rector’s meeting discussed the issue of the format of the teaching and learning process in the period from 30 October to 7 November. Options were suggested to adjust the timetable for the above mentioned period. During this period, the directors and deans suggested that all classes be conducted remotely using information and telecommunication technologies.

Vaccination against flu

Following the enquiries submitted to the Virtual Reception, it was explained that influenza vaccination for staff and students at St Petersburg University was organised by mobile vaccination teams from Outpatient Hospital № 3 and the Nikolaevskaia Hospital.

The schedule of the mobile vaccination teams was approved:

For students

Location	Date	Time
Medical Centre at the University’s Clinic of High Medical Technologies at 20 Korablestroitelei Street	21 October 2021	10am—1pm
	26 October 2021
	28 October 2021
	2 November 2021
	9 November 2021
	11 November 2021
Health Centre at the University’s Clinic of High Medical Technologies at 16-18, 7th Line, Vasilyevsky Island	20 October 2021	10am—1pm
	22 October 2021
	27 October 2021
	29 October 2021
Health Centre at the University’s Clinic of High Medical Technologies at 35 Universitetsky Prospekt	From 18 October 2021 to 22 October 2021	10am—4pm

For staff

Location	Date	Time
5 Mendeleevskaia Line	14 October 2021, 19 October 2021	10am—1pm
Health Centre at the University’s Clinic of High Medical Technologies at 35 Universitetsky Prospekt	From 18 October 2021 to 22 October 2021	10am—4pm

Due to the fact that a doctor was ill and there was no one to replace the doctor, the outpatient department of the Nikolaevskaia Hospital cancelled the work of the mobile vaccination team. Attempts to find a replacement for the doctor did not make it possible to send information about the changes in the vaccination schedule to the health centre in due course. As a result, there were two enquiries submitted by the University staff.

The head of the prevention department at the Nikolaevskaia Hospital proposed to cancel the work of the mobile vaccination team and suggested that those to be vaccinated should visit the outpatient department. Information was received about the heavy workload on the district general practitioners at the outpatient department due to the difficult epidemic situation in relation to the novel coronavirus disease and the seasonal rise in the incidence of acute respiratory viral infections.

In order to create a more favourable (and epidemically safer) conditions for the University staff and students who want to get vaccinated against influenza, the University agreed to extend the work of a mobile vaccination team at 35 Universitetsky Prospekt 11am to 1pm from 26 to 28 October. The relevant information was sent to the University staff by email.

During the period of work of the mobile vaccination teams from 14 to 22 October, 137 members of staff and 30 students were vaccinated.

The Senior Vice-Rector for Medical Care Petr Iablonskii said that these figures reflect the number of the University members who were vaccinated at the University. Most of them have been vaccinated at local outpatient departments. Those wishing to be vaccinated were informed that they could get vaccinated in medical organisations at the place of residence or other organisations that are convenient for visiting and perform this type of preventive care.

Moving between halls of residence for students

During the Rector’s meeting on 11 October (Minutes of the Rector’s meeting dated 11 October 2021), it was proposed to postpone adopting a decision to remove restrictions on free moving of students between halls of residence until 20 October, when the process of resettlement from the halls of residence located in the Petrodvortsovy District to the halls of residence located in the Vasileostrovsky and Nevsky Districts in St Petersburg would be over.

On 20 October, the results of the resettlement processes were summed up. 481 students moved. At the same time, no violations in how resettlement was organised were revealed. It was therefore decided to allow students to move between the halls of residence.

During the discussion of the measures to stop the spread of coronavirus disease at the Rector’s meeting on 18 October 2021 (Minutes of the Rector’s meeting dated 18 October 2021), it was noted that students made a proposal to allow access to other halls of residence only for those who: have a vaccination certificate; have had coronavirus disease (COVID-19), from the moment of recovery of which no more than six months have passed; or have a certificate confirming medical conditions preventing them from vaccination against coronavirus disease. At the end of September, such a proposal was received from the Deputy Chairperson of the Student Council, D Kharlamov, and in October the same proposal was received from the Student Council of St Petersburg University.

From 21 October, according to Order № 10037/1 dated 20 October 2021, the following groups of students have been allowed to move between the halls of residence: students living in the halls of residence who have been vaccinated against COVID-19; those who have had coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from the date of recovery of which no more than six calendar months have passed; and students having a certificate confirming medical conditions preventing them from vaccination against coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

To be able to move freely between the halls of residence, students must submit to the Student’s Personal Account (https://my.spbu.ru): the information (the certificate) that confirms the full cycle of vaccination against COVID-19; or a medical certificate of having coronavirus disease that confirms the fact that the student has had coronavirus disease and no more than six calendar months have passed since the date of recovery; or a certificate confirming medical conditions preventing them from vaccination against coronavirus disease issued by the medical board of a medical organisation where the patient is observed for a disease, i.e. a medical condition preventing them from getting vaccinated. Information provided by students in their Personal Accounts is exported to the Access Control System (ACS). As a result, the student’s pass will be unlocked to visit the University’s halls of residence. Today, 742 students living in the halls of residence have an opportunity to follow this scheme.

Round table of the Association of the Leading Universities ‘Organising admissions. Problems and ways to solve them’

The Association of Leading Universities of Russia held a round table ‘Organising admissions. Problems and ways to solve them’ (St Petersburg University hosts a discussion on the legal aspects of the admission procedure). Aleksandr Babich, Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Admissions, made a presentation ‘Normative regulation of admissions to the degree programmes of higher education: broad opportunities or limited access’. The report is based on the conclusions made in the article ‘The Right of Access to Higher Education: Administrative and Legal Aspect’ by Aleksandr Babich, Yulia Linskaya, Nikolay Kropachev. It will be published in ‘Vestnik of St Petersburg University. Law’ (Presentation).

The directors and deans were invited to submit proposals to improve the existing admissions process at universities and make amendments to the proposed changes.

Participation in the Russian Census as one of the individual achievements in admissions to St Petersburg University

In accordance with Article 38 of the Procedure for admissions to academic programmes of higher education: bachelor’s, specialist, master’s programmes № 1076 approved by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation dated 21 August 2020, the list of individual achievements to take into account during admissions to master’s programmes and the procedure for their registration are independently established by the educational organisation.

The meeting of the University Admissions Committee will discuss an issue of accepting the fact of participation in the Russian Census as an individual achievement to be taken into account for admissions to master’s programmes with a score of 5 points to be included in the overall competition points of entrance examinations.

Implementation of the programme of the research and educational cluster ‘Mendeleev’

In order to increase the global competitiveness of Russian higher education and expand the contribution of St Petersburg University to the achievement of results determined by the national priorities of technological and socio-economic development of the subjects of the Russian Federation, St Petersburg University as a leading classical universities in the Russian Federation has been implementing its own programme the Mendeleev Research and Educational Cluster since 2020 (Order № 6870/1 dated 23 July 2020 with last amendments).

The University acts as a coordinator of the cluster and contributes to the development and implementation of relevant joint projects that bridge research, educational and innovative potentials and resources of organisations participating in the cluster. A unique educational, expert and research profile, research infrastructure, digital resources and tools at the University within the framework of the programme are aimed to solve the problems of sustainable regional and sectoral development of the Russian Federation.

The programme is implemented within the individually developed roadmaps for cooperation of each university participating in the programme. The implementation of the principle of open, barrier-free access to the public property of the University plays an important role in achieving the tasks set by regional universities. For example, the participants have the opportunity to conduct research or implement individual modules of academic programmes using the research infrastructure of the Research Park or use digital tools to conduct open voting in decision-making process ‘CryptoVeche’ (Far Eastern Federal University, RUDN University, Saratov State University).

Russian universities regard the goals of the Mendeleev programme and the principles of its organisation proposed by St Petersburg University as those that meet their own strategic plans and an effective system for improving the quality and competitiveness of research and education. This aims to reduce the outflow of students from the regions and provide conditions for retaining early-career professionals in the subjects of the Russian Federation. Today, the programme includes 20 universities from 18 subjects of the Russian Federation, with eight universities being flagship universities in their regions and two universities being federal universities in Russia.

In October 2021, 10 universities participating in the programme were selected as winners by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in the competition to participate in the programme of strategic academic leadership ‘Priority 2030’. Four universities (Far Eastern Federal University, Omsk State Technical University, St Petersburg State Marine Technical University, Siberian Federal University) also received a special part of the programme grant on the track ‘Territorial and (or) industry leadership’. Strategic initiatives are identified in the strategic plans of these universities according to the Priority 2030. They will be implemented with St Petersburg University. For example, St Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design included in the map of strategic initiatives has a project to create a joint research laboratory in the area of ​​Smart Fashion with the University. In this regard, it is planned to combine the competencies of the University in the field of novel materials and St Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design in the field of design technologies for light industry products to create innovative solutions in the field of ‘smart textiles’. Some strategic initiatives are directly related to the regional agenda. For example, Murmansk Arctic State University and the University are developing a profile of an academic programme on artificial intelligence for the Arctic region.

Applications to join the cluster are still being submitted by academic and research organisations.

Providing members of research teams with office equipment and consumables

The Virtual Reception received an enquiry submitted by Elena Kustova, Professor in the Department of Fluid Mechanics and Project Manager of the Russian Science Foundation project № 19-11-00041 ‘Modelling of nonequilibrium carbon dioxide flows in modern problems of space aerodynamics and environment’. She asked to specify the procedure for providing office equipment and office consumables (paper, stationery) to research teams working on the projects of the Russian Science Foundation to provide working conditions of research teams to carry out the projects of the Russian Science Foundation.

Today, the University academic staff are fully provided with necessary working places in accordance with their functional responsibilities. For example, to carry out grant projects/contracts, workplaces are equipped with office equipment. In 2018, the University purchased computer equipment and updated the equipment to satisfy the enquiries submitted by academic staff. In particular, in order to ensure the conditions to conduct research at the request of the applicant, the team of this project was provided with the following equipment: a personal computer (two sets); a Xerox MFP; an HP printer; and an Asus laptop (two pieces). In 2022, it is also planned to update computer equipment in order to equip working places, including those to conduct research within grant projects. The relevant procedures have already been started.

After the University has purchased necessary equipment, it will be possible to send an application to obtain necessary office equipment. Information on the availability of material and technical resources and information on submitting applications can be found at the IT service of St Petersburg University.

Including reports on the main achievements of scientists at St Petersburg University in the agenda of meetings of the Academic Councils

On 8 February 2024, St Petersburg University will celebrate its 300th anniversary. On behalf of the Rector, the heads of academic and research divisions are preparing for the solemn events and have organised the preparation of publications on the achievements of the University researchers in the relevant subject areas. Some of the materials have already been published. For example, on 30 June 2021, a thematic issue of the journal ‘Information Age’ was prepared. It was dedicated to the 75th anniversary of education in journalism at St Petersburg University. The issue includes materials from the research project ‘Academic Schools of Journalism in Russia’; reviews of the achievements of researchers in journalism and communications at St Petersburg University; and memories of graduates of St Petersburg University. An article by Sergei Bakhin ‘St Petersburg School of International Law: Traditions and Continuity (to the 75th Anniversary of the Restoration of the Faculty of Law as part of Leningrad State University)’ was prepared. The article focuses on the achievements of St Petersburg University in the field of international law. For the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg University, the Institute of History is preparing for publication a collection of memoirs of the University students (18th — 19th centuries) in two volumes, the first volume has already been published.

Konstantin Khudoley, Professor in the Department of European Studies, offered to discuss at meetings of the Academic Council of St Petersburg University the reports of directors of institutes and deans of faculties on the main achievements of the University in the relevant fields of education and research as part of the preparation for the 300th anniversary. The participants of the Rector’s meeting supported this initiative and proposed to include such reports in the agenda of meetings of academic councils of academic and research divisions.

Round table ‘University museums in the era of digitalisation: educational and cultural opportunities’

This year, the University has joined the Union of Russian Museums. On 15 October, as part of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Union of Russian Museums, St Petersburg University held a round table ‘University museums in the era of digitalisation: educational and cultural opportunities’. The round table was held online and lasted over five hours (with an hour break). Presentations were made by: representatives of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation; specialists in working with online platforms; and representatives of university museums. 11 reports were made on the current aspects of digitalisation of the activities of museums and the specifics of this process in museums of higher educational institutions.

What was done in this sphere by St Petersburg University was highly appreciated. In the report, Andrei Vorobev, Deputy Director of the Main Information and Computing Centre of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, said: ‘St Petersburg University is at the forefront of museum activities. The University is actively engaged to ensure that museums can operate. The key to the success of St Petersburg University is that its administration understands that museum collections can work for a wider audience, for the city, for the country.’

Oksana Turskaia, Deputy Director for Development of the izi.TRAVEL Platform, gave a positive assessment of how the University museums work online: ‘The top example, our blockbuster is the Department of Exhibitions and Collections of St Petersburg University. The guys are doing incredible things. When the pandemic started, they avalanched on the izi.TRAVEL platform, in a good way. They started making audio guides for their museums. They make audio guides for each exhibition.’

It was noted at the Rector’s meeting that the University museums moved online largely due to the pandemic. During the lockdown period, museums were forced to move online. They registered in social networks to present collections and place temporary exhibitions on online platforms.

Despite the tight deadlines for the implementation of online projects and moving in social networks, the museum teams tried to build digital communication based on the following goals:

• attracting a new audience
• increasing the level of loyalty
• increasing brand awareness of the University and museums
• ensuring accessibility and openness of collections

and on the following communication principles:

• Diversity — both news and educational content is published on social networks of museums
• Uniqueness — each museum makes original content based on unique collections
• Relevance — the University museums are open to everything new, including new trends in social networks. In 2020, some of the museums registered in the new social network TikTok, the content of which is significantly different from other sites
• Accessibility — museums are featured on most popular social networks and online platforms. Thus, each visitor can choose the most suitable format for presenting information.
• Openness — museums are not only open to new things, but open to different points of view, to different visions. They engage students of St Petersburg University in the preparation of online content.

Today, the University museums have 19 accounts on social networks. The main of them is VK. The Nabokov Museum and the Mendeleev Museum are also featured on TikTok. As for other digital platforms, the University museums are widely represented on izi.Travel, Artefact, and Online Collections: KAMIS.

The museums publish the following content on social networks: news and thematic posts; quizzes and contests (for example, the Butterfly for Nabokov contest, over 250 participants); video content (lectures, video tours, workshops, video interviews; for example, there are online lecture courses in the St Petersburg University History Museum, Nabokov Museum, Mendeleev Museum); and inter-museum events (for example, museum week).

In 2020-2021, the University museums achieved the following results:

• the total number of subscribers is 16,178, an increase in three quarters of 2021 is over 5,000
• museums have prepared over 120 online exhibitions during this period, recorded over 60 lectures

• exhibitions were viewed 20,000 times, and lectures — 312,000 times (Presentation)

The museums are planning to ensure positive dynamics to solve the following tasks:

• professional development of employees/attraction of specialists
• shift in orientation from quantitative indicators to qualitative indicators
• expansion of online presence — development of new sites, formats
• creation of inter-museum content and projects

The University researcher Olga Kuznetsova is a laureate of the Vladislav Krapivin International Literary Prize

In 2021, there was a record number of writers who took part in the competition for the Vladislav Krapivin International Literary Prize. The works by 378 authors from 14 countries, including Germany, France, Italy, the USA, the Republic of Cyprus, and Finland, were presented to the jury, with only 14 of them reaching the final.

Olga Kuznetsova (literary pseudonym Olga Zamiatina), Chief Research Associate in the Department of Applied Cybernetics at St Petersburg University, is a laureate of the award in the nomination ‘Commander’s Choice’. Previously, the winners of the nomination were selected by Vladislav Krapivin himself. The award was presented by Irina Krapivina, the honorary commander of the ‘Caravel’ detachment, the widow of the writer, and the chairperson of the jury.

In her free time, Olga Kuznetsova writes books for children and adolescents. She has been awarded the International Korney Chukovsky Prize.

Staff of academic and research divisions

The analysis of academic staff and results in education and research in academic and research divisions at St Petersburg University is still underway. The results of the activities of the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Control Processes and the Institute of Chemistry have already been discussed (Minutes of the Rector’s meeting dated 26 July 2021, Minutes of the Rector’s meeting dated 18 October 2021), with the Faculty of Economics and the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences being next to be analysed.

It was noted at the meeting that such a detailed analysis was essential and necessary not only for the heads of academic and research divisions, but also for members of the institutes and faculties. Following the analysis, the tasks for the divisions are outlined, a roadmap of priority actions is approved. There is a redistribution of the teaching load, decisions are made to promote employees to higher positions (four employees have already been promoted). The directors and deans were instructed to submit proposals to improve the indicators to assess the staff of academic and research divisions. The Director of the Institute of Chemistry Irina Balova informed the meeting participants that, following the discussion recorded at the Minutes of the previous Rector’s meeting, the Academic Council of the Institute of Chemistry decided to petition the Academic Council of the University for the reorganisation of some units of the Institute.

Meetings of the heads of academic and research divisions with student councils, representatives of the trade union organisation, etc.

The employment agreements of the heads of academic and research divisions have obligations to have regular meetings with: the heads of the departments; representatives of the Student Council; and representatives of the Trade Union of employees and students. Such meetings are necessary to: discuss the pressing issues; explain to colleagues and students their position on controversial issues; and clarify opinions, arguments, suggestions from colleagues and students. Employment agreements stipulate the responsibility of heads to provide and publish reports of these meetings. Their assistants from the Administrative Control Department assist them with the preparation of these reports.

In September, the heads of the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Psychology, the Faculty of Economics, and the Institute of History carefully followed these instructions. However, not all directors and deans fulfil this responsibility in good faith. The analysis showed that throughout September none of the above meetings were organised at the Graduate School of Management, the Higher School of Journalism and Mass Communications, the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, the Faculty of Law, and the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Medical Technologies. Deans of the Faculty of Biology, the Faculty of Asian and African Studies, the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences were not active enough in this direction in September.

Publication of the minutes of the meetings and receptions is essential. Analysis of the published materials enables the University members to get essential information to make verified decisions in due course and time (including those relating to management and administration), adequately respond to emerging problems, and take measures to resolve them.

Comparative analysis of international activities

A comparative analysis of the international activities of the University in 2019-2020 showed that, despite the large-scale restrictions introduced to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease COVID-19, the University managed to maintain positive dynamics and, in general, to realise its potential to implement previously reached agreements and develop international cooperation. This was largely due to several factors and circumstances. First, the University ensures stability in reaching the indicators of the qualitative characteristics of the degree programmes at the University, with the number of international students having significantly increased. Second, the University managed to make a rapid transition to distance learning in the context of the pandemic, ensuring the high quality of education. Third, the activities of the University in international associations are expanding, with new joint projects being launched.

For example, in 2020 the University was one of the first in Russia to start to use information and communication technologies in education and research, with the total number of international events (most of them were held online) increasing twofold compared to the previous year. Thus, the University expanded the geography of the countries-organisers of the meetings and provided access to a larger number of speakers and co-speakers: Russian and foreign citizens.

It was noted that in 2020, despite unfavourable circumstances, two new global projects were launched. St Petersburg University and Harbin Polytechnic University in China laid the foundation stone of their joint campus (St Petersburg University and Harbin Institute of Technology start building a joint campus in China). The University and our Uzbek partners opened a branch of the University in Tashkent in Uzbekistan according to a decree issued by the President of Uzbekistan (St Petersburg University to open a branch in Uzbekistan). In the short- and long-term perspectives, these two events will have a significant positive impact on the development of research and education on a global scale.

In 2020, there was a stable growth in almost all indicators related to research projects implemented in partnership with international organisations and international associations. The first region in terms of the number of agreements to ensure international mobility of students and academic staff remains Europe (54%), with the countries of the Asian region (23%) being second. The number of agreements with universities in the Americas, East Africa, and the Middle East has slightly increased.

International collaboration and engagement, joint projects with international organisations and international associations, and the University’s authority in the global research and educational community ensured the quality of education to fulfil its earlier obligations and create potential for further development after easing the coronavirus restrictions.

Organisation of interaction with alumni

The issue of the legal form of the future organisation to bring together the University graduates is being discussed. In the course of the analysis of alumni associations operating on the territory of the Russian Federation, potential models were identified. Federal Law № 7-FZ dated 12 January 1996 does not prohibit state institutions from being the founders of other non-profit organisations, but the legal capacity of a state institution depends on the charter. According to Clause 18 of the Charter of St Petersburg University, the University has the right [...] to establish, in the manner prescribed by the legislation of the Russian Federation, non-profit organisations and other organisations whose activities are aimed at implementing the activities of St Petersburg University. Based on the analysed cases, the University can be the founder or a co-founder of autonomous non-profit organisations, foundations, and non-profit organisations.

There are cases where the key centre of interaction with alumni is the structural unit of the University (centre, department, service, division, etc.). Among the strengths of the structural unit are the following: a higher level of control; efficiency of the management system; promoting the University brand recognition; development of the University endowment fund (a more reliable option for corporate partners); and a short ‘path’ from the University to the graduate bypassing the association. Among the weaknesses are the following: membership in the alumni community; no opportunity to participate in competitions for grant support (since grants are usually allocated by non-profit organisations); and complicated procedures for spending funds (restrictions on the budgetary organisation).

In 38% of the analysed cases, there is a form of ownership ‘property of public associations’ (the All-Russian Classifier of Forms of Ownership (OKFS)-53). The public organisation protects the rights and legitimate interests prescribed in the charter. The public organisation conducts its activities at the expense of internal and external contributions and at the expense of the activities of the organisation’s members. Thus, the public organisation owns the property transferred to it by its participants. Among the strengths of public associations are the following: membership; the opportunity to carry out entrepreneurial activities; the ability to operate without state registration and acquisition of the rights of a legal entity, which reduces the time to establish an association; and the opportunity to participate in competitions for grant support. Among the weaknesses is the following: public associations can act as founders along with citizens, while other legal entities are not entitled to act as founders and members of an organisation.

In 35% of the analysed cases, there is a form of private property (OKFS-16): autonomous non-profit organisations or foundations. Among the strengths of autonomous non-profit organisations are the following: the ability to carry out entrepreneurial activities; they are easy to manage; the founder can be one person; influence on the appointment of governing bodies of autonomous non-profit organisations and making key decisions; and the opportunity to participate in competitions for grant support. Among the weaknesses is the lack of membership.

Consideration of Maksim Drozhzhin’s enquiry by the Ethics Committee

Gennady Bogomazov, Chairperson of the Ethics Committee and Professor Emeritus of St Petersburg University, informed that on 8 October the Ethics Committee began considering an enquiry submitted by Maksim Drozhzhin, a student of St Petersburg University. The master’s student wanted to join the folklore ensemble of St Petersburg University. Ekaterina Golovkina, Head of the ensemble, allowed him to join, but then sent a text message to the student, where she said that he should not be a member of this ensemble (she made this decision after viewing his account on the social network). In this regard, Maksim Drozhzhin submitted the enquiry to the Ethics Committee with a request to assess actions of Ekaterina Golovkina. At the same time, someone posted the above-mentioned message from Ms Golovkina to Mr Drozhzhin on social networks. After this publication on the Internet, according to Ekaterina Golovkina, there were attacks on her.

Professor Bogomazov said that the Ethics Committee had not yet made any decision (Who distributes false information about the meeting of the Ethics Committee on the enquiry from student Maksim Drozhzhin?). An inspection is being carried out by law enforcement agencies, and the Committee has suspended the consideration of the issue until the end of the inspection.