Minutes of the Rector’s Meeting | St Petersburg University

St Petersburg University enters the world’s top 35 universities in the international ranking "The Three University Missions"

30 August saw the publication of the results of the Moscow International University Ranking "Three University Missions Ranking" (MosIUR). St Petersburg University has been ranked 35th among the world’s top universities, having improved its position compared to the results of the previous issues of this ranking. St Petersburg University has become the second best Russian university. Only Lomonosov Moscow State University has a higher place.

Year	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Positions of St Petersburg University in the rankings	72	61	41	40	36	35

The International University Ranking "Three University Missions Ranking" (MosIUR) is one of four international rankings officially recognised in the Russian Federation. It assesses the three key missions of the university: education; research; and interaction with society. Despite the annual increase in the number of participants, St Petersburg University regularly improves its position. This year, the ranking includes 1,800 universities from 103 countries, including 146 Russian higher education institutions.

In the top 100 of this ranking are consistently three Russian universities: Lomonosov Moscow State University; St Petersburg University; and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT). In the 2022 edition, 13 Russian universities are included in the top 300 of the Moscow International University Ranking "Three University Missions Ranking" (MosIUR):

Year	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Moscow State University	25	23	22	21	19	18
St Petersburg University	72	61	41	40	36	35
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT)	73	65	51	46	44	44
Higher School of Economics	107	122	121	120	120	142
Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPhI)	131	154	147	147	145	162
Tomsk State University	-	198	204	220	222	196
Novosibirsk State University	132	158	151	161	205	205
Ural Federal University	195	230	290	286	257	237
ITMO University	-	245	243	219	270	252
Tomsk Polytechnic University	136	205	237	266	28	258
Bauman Moscow State Technical University	-	296	351– 400	351– 400	300	262
Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)	-	-	451– 500	451– 500	451– 500	285
National University of Science and Technology MISiS	-	232	292	301– 350	301– 350	297

For reference:

Students are not transferred to St Petersburg University for a final year, except from educational institutions ranked in the top 300 in four international rankings (MosIUR, ARWU, THE, and QS)
Years of attendance at internationally recognised educational institutions, i.e. among the top 300 internationally recognised rankings in the Russian Federation, are credited without the examination procedure
Students at St Petersburg University can take online courses from the world’s leading educational institutions, i.e. those in the top 300 internationally recognised rankings in the Russian Federation, and have their results credited instead of the curriculum disciplines
When competing for grants of St Petersburg University for academic mobility of academic staff, projects with the world’s leading educational institutions, i.e. among the top 300 internationally recognised educational institutions in the Russian Federation, are given priority
When forming the composition of dissertation councils according to internal rules (for each defence), preference is given to experts working in the world’s leading educational organisations, i.e. among the top 300 according to international rankings officially recognised in the Russian Federation

Thus, according to the results published in the new issue of the Moscow International University Ranking "Three University Missions", the list of Russian universities the learning outcomes in which are recognised at St Petersburg University without additional recognition procedures and whose experts and cooperation projects with whom have priority, has been expanded.

The matriculation ceremony for first-year students

During the matriculation ceremony, the first-year students of the University read the oath to become part of the brotherhood of St Petersburg University and flags of the Russian Federation, St Petersburg and St Petersburg University were hoisted over Academician Sakharov Square.

Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University and Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, congratulated the students on the start of the new academic year. He noted that young people had already won as they had entered one of the best universities, having received opportunities to interact with outstanding academics and scholars and to use unique resources. St Petersburg University has a high-tech Research Park (23 resource centres, more than 250 highly qualified engineers, over 7.5 billion roubles invested in the equipment) and the best university library in terms of its collections and diversity of items (over seven million items, over 129 million electronic sources). The University offers the most popular online courses in Russia (over 300 online courses and over three million students).

Nikolay Kropachev stressed that the University is a community not only of students and faculty, but also of alumni and partners, contacts with whom make St Petersburg University particularly strong. Congratulations on the start of the academic year were sent to the University by: Dmitry Medvedev, Chairman of the University Board of Trustees, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation; Mikhail Mishustin, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation; Valentina Matvienko, Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Member of the Board of Trustees of St Petersburg University; Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation; Igor Krasnov, Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation; Andrei Fursenko, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation; Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Member of the Board of Trustees of St Petersburg University; Aleksandr Gutsan, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Northwestern Federal District; Alexander Sergeev, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Member of the Board of Trustees of St Petersburg University, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Igor Sechin, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rosneft, Member of the Board of Trustees of St Petersburg University; Boris Kovalchuk, CEO of Inter RAO, Member of the Board of Trustees of St Petersburg University; Alexander Drozdenko, Governor of the Leningrad Region, Member of the Board of Trustees of St Petersburg University; and many others. The festive events ended on the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island with the ceremony of setting the "Ships of Hope" afloat on the waves of the Neva River. The guests also had the opportunity to set their "wishing ships" afloat in an online format.

Current issues with organising the teaching and learning process

Over the past week, the Virtual Reception received 11 enquiries addressed to the Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities. Additionally, 27 enquiries were registered in the student enquiry register. The enquiries were on various topics, including: Possibility of transfer to government-funded places at St Petersburg Universit; and Possibility of continuing medical education at St Petersburg State University.

According to Marina Lavrikova, Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities, an analysis was conducted of the information provided by the heads of academic and research subdivisions on the issues that arose in connection with the start of the new academic year. Among the issues raised were those related to: the organisation of distance learning for some international students using information and communication technologies; and issuance of gate passes to name just a few. All of them have been resolved in due course.

The heads of academic and research subdivisions, the staff of the Academic Affairs Department and the Department for Youth Affairs are meeting with first-year students enrolled in non-university level higher education programmes, bachelor’s programmes, specialist’s programmes and master’s programmes, taking into account the start dates of their classes. On 1 September, there was a celebratory assembly for the students of the Faddeev Academic Gymnasium at St Petersburg University.

31 August saw a joint meeting of the Central Transfer and Reinstatement Committee and the Committee for Decisions on Transfer from Fee-Paying Education to Tuition-Free Education. In accordance with Order № 11980/1 dated 12 December 2018 "On Approval of the Regulations on the Activities of the Central Transfer and Reinstatement Committee, the Committee for Decisions on Transfer from Fee-Paying Education to Tuition-Free Education and Documents Acceptance Boards for Transfer and Reinstatement Issues" and Order № 11117/1 dated 17 November 2021 "On Working Hours of the Central Transfer and Reinstatement Committee, the Committee for Decisions on Transfer from Fee-Paying Education to Tuition-Free Education in 2022", applications from applicants for transfer and reinstatement are accepted from 6 June 2022 to 5 August 2022. Information on the availability of vacant places, time frames for transfers and reinstatements, required documents, forms and periods for assessment was published on the University portal.

Importantly, a number of measures have been adopted in 2022 to simplify the rules for transferring to the University from other higher education institutions:

academic failures and incompletes incurred during reinstatement and transfer to St Petersburg University from other educational institutions for fee-paying (contractual) places may amount to up to half of the curriculum
in the case of reinstatement or transfer to the University from other educational institutions, changes in the academic programme and changes in the type of study, all the assessment tests are conducted online, using information and communication technology

A total of 2,835 applications were submitted to the Central Transfer and Reinstatement Committee and the Committee for Decisions on Transfer from Fee-Paying Education to Tuition-Free Education, of which there were:

59 applications for doctoral and clinical residency programmes (41 applications from doctoral students and 18 applications from clinical residency students)
2,631 applications for bachelor’s, specialist’s and master’s programmes
145 applications for non-university level higher education programmes

Information on the recommendations of the Central Transfer and Reinstatement Committee and the Committee for Decisions on Transfer from Fee-Paying Education to Tuition-Free Education will be published on the portal.

Vladimir Eremeev, Vice-Rector for Human Resources, commented the issue of the organisation of the teaching and learning process. He said that, at the end of the last academic year and during the summer period, he was approached by the staff who had worked at St Petersburg University on the terms of external secondary employment during the last academic year and with whom it had been decided not to sign contracts of employment to support the educational process in the current academic year. He drew attention to the fact that, in this situation, it was not a question of extending the contract of employment but of concluding a new employment contract for a new period.

The teaching staff at St Petersburg University are employed depending on the current need to ensure the implementation of academic programmes and research activities in the relevant academic and scientific area.

The required number of teaching staff is calculated based on the volume of planned teaching assignments for the current academic year. When distributing the workload, the competence profiles of the staff are analysed first. The second step takes into account the format of the expert’s employment: whether St Petersburg University is their primary or secondary place of employment.

One of the documents that have guided the University’s approach in recent years is the programme of measures to improve the efficiency of financial and economic activities developed with the participation of various federal agencies and approved for St Petersburg University. The number of teaching staff and the number of students at the University are aligned with the provisions of this programme. The number of external part-time staff has been reduced over the years from 927 employees in 2016, to 864 employees in 2018, and 782 employees in 2021. Vladimir Eremeev noted that this had freed up some of the funds that had been used to increase the salaries of teaching staff for whom St Petersburg University is their primary place of employment.

In this regard, the participants in the meeting drew attention to the fact that there were discussions on the Internet that the University ‘had not extended the contracts of employment’ with two lecturers, and the decision on the so-called "dismissal" of employees had been made without the consent of the students.

However, the primary places of employment of the teachers in question are other organisations. At St Petersburg University, these persons carried out academic activities as secondary job employees. Their contracts of employment expired back in June (Minutes). The academic courses that they delivered will be taught by other teachers − sociologists and philosophers − in accordance with the subject syllabi (On the contracts of employment with lecturers of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences).

Unfortunately, this is not the first situation where students have been involved in solving labour relations issues. However, if the lecturers wish to work at St Petersburg University on a permanent basis, they have the possibility to submit documents to participate in the competition for academic positions. If they win the competition, they can start working at the University as their primary place of employment.

Study guide "History of Russia"

St Petersburg University is one of the leaders in the field of online education. Until the blocking of Russian online products (1 March 2022), the University ranked first in Europe and was among the top 4 universities in the world in terms of the number of online courses hosted on the largest international educational online platform Coursera. The University also became the only Russian educational organisation that was a co-founder of the Global Alliance for Massive Open Online Courses initiated by the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education.

St Petersburg University is the first Russian university to place its online courses on XuetangX platform, which is the largest Chinese national educational online platform. St Petersburg University is also a co-founder of the Russian national educational online platform Open Education, where it ranks first both in terms of the number of educational products (272 courses out of 958) and audience coverage (more than 2.4 million students).

According to Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities Marina Lavrikova, the University has developed more than 300 online courses. Among them is a course "History of Russia". It is hosted on the Open Education platform in Russian and English (History of Russia: from Ancient Rus to the Time of Troubles, History of Russia: from Peter the Great to the Revolution; History of Russia: from NEP to Modern Times). It is also available in Chinese on the XuetangX platform.

This online course is included in all bachelor’s and specialist’s programmes at St Petersburg University. It is also actively used in other Russian universities. Among them are: Pushkin State Russian Language Institute; Siberian Federal University; Ural Federal University; and Southern Federal University to name but a few.

An international student contacted the St Petersburg University Virtual Reception. She studied this online course. Yet she found it difficult for a foreign audience to understand. She suggested preparing a study guide in addition to the course. Based on the results of consideration of the enquiry, a decision was made to prepare an appropriate study guide.

By 1 September 2022, the study guide "History of Russia" was published by the St Petersburg University Publishing House. The team of authors included Tatiana Burkova, Elena Besedina, Abdulla Daudov, Roman Nalivaiko, and Natalia Portniagina. The study guide is intended for international students with basic knowledge of the Russian language. It includes 14 chapters that correspond to the modules of the course. The publication is intended to help international students in the development of topical issues of the history of Russia. The format of the study guide includes a glossary, questions for repeating and consolidating the material, and information on materials recommended for further study.

The presentation of the study guide "History of Russia" is scheduled for 2pm on 20 September 2022 in an online format. Information about the event will be published on the St Petersburg University website.

Marina Lavrikova said that all authors of Russian-language online courses should conduct a survey among international students in terms of how they understand the material and, if necessary, prepare similar teaching aids, following the example of the lecturers in history.

Violations by students of the legislation of the Russian Federation and by-laws of St Petersburg University

Information about the violation of local regulations and provisions of the legislation of the Russian Federation by St Petersburg University students in 2021 and 2022 was discussed at the Rector’s meetings held on 20 June 2022; 16 May 2022; 18 April 2022; 17 January 2022; 11 October 2021; and 15 June 2021.

According to Senior Vice-Rector for Youth Policy and Admissions Aleksandr Babich, from 18 June to 2 September 2022, violations of by-laws of St Petersburg University by seven students were recorded on the University premises. Among them are: two students of non-university level higher education programmes; three bachelor’s students; one master’s student; and one doctoral student. By the areas of study, there are: two students in Physical Education (college); one student in Earth Sciences; one student in Management; one student in Mathematics and Mechanics; one student in Applied Mathematics and Control Processes; and one student in Sociology.

Types of violations:

Clause 2.2 of the Regulations on the access control and intra-object regimes at St Petersburg University, namely: access and trespass to the St Petersburg University facilities, in respect of which other by-laws have not established a special admission regime, is through checkpoint − 1
Clause 10.1.9 of the Accommodation Regulations in St Petersburg University Halls of Residence: failure to pay rent for accommodation and utilities − 1
Clause 10.1.3 of the Accommodation Regulations in St Petersburg University Halls of Residence, namely: non-observance of cleanliness and order in the living premises − 1
Clause 10.2.8 of the Accommodation Regulations in St Petersburg University Halls of Residence, namely: bringing unauthorised persons into the hall of residence, violation of access control − 1
Clauses 2.1.7, 2.1.10, 6.1.9 of the Internal Regulations for Students of St Petersburg University, namely: non-compliance with safety regulations, fire safety and other special rules both in the process of studying and during other periods of stay on the University premises; disturbing peace and quietness at night − 2
Clauses 10.2.1, 10.2.5, 10.2.7, 10.2.13 of the Accommodation Regulations in St Petersburg University Halls of Residence, namely: unauthorised relocation from one room to another room in the St Petersburg University halls of residence; performance of work in the premises of the hall of residence and the commission of actions that create increased noise and vibration that violate the normal living conditions of students in other residential premises; commission of actions on the territory and in the halls of residence of St Petersburg University that may entail the application of measures of disciplinary, material, civil, administrative, and criminal liability − 1

Explanatory work was carried out with students. Sets of documents were formed for announcing disciplinary sanctions. These documents were sent for consideration to the Student Council of St Petersburg University. After receiving the opinion of the Student Council of St Petersburg University, a decision will be made on bringing students to disciplinary responsibility. In respect of one student, a set of documents for declaring a disciplinary sanction will be sent for consideration to the Student Council of St Petersburg University after the student returns from the academic leave, in early December 2022. Currently, the Student Council of St Petersburg University is considering 53 sets of documents. Twenty four of them were sent more than four months ago; 20 documents were sent more than three months ago; and six documents were sent more than a month ago.

Last week, the main stage of settling in the halls of residence for non-resident students enrolled in St Petersburg University for the first year was completed. The University officials receive information from students that certain students and (or) third parties appear on social networks to commit illegal actions on the premises of St Petersburg University halls of residence. Among them is violation of the St Petersburg University Internal Regulations, including the rules on compliance with silence at night and a ban on the consumption of alcoholic products on the territory of the hall of residence complex. In this regard, Aleksandr Babich said that such violations on the part of students were recorded at the beginning of the previous academic year, namely: on the night of 18-19 September 2021. This situation and its consequences were discussed at the Rector’s meetings held on 20 September 2021; 4 October 2021; 1 November 2021; 8 November 2021; and 30 November 2021.

Violation of public order led to the detention of seven students of the University by law enforcement officers and bringing them to administrative responsibility for committing offenses under the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation: consumption (drinking) of alcoholic products in prohibited places (Article 20.20); appearing in public places in a state of intoxication (Article 20.21); petty hooliganism, i.e. a violation of public order, expressing a clear disrespect for society (Article 20.1); and disobedience to the lawful order of a police officer (Article 19.3). As a result, six students were expelled from the University, while one student was reprimanded.

Aleksandr Babich asked the heads of academic and research subdivisions to discuss the following issues during meetings with representatives of student councils, group heads and representatives of student associations. Among these issues are: inadmissibility of violating public order on the premises of St Petersburg University, including the St Petersburg University’s hall of residence complex; and the consequences of committing students of such actions, i.e. application of disciplinary measures against students up to expulsion from the University.

Creative Youth Support Programme

An important factor in strengthening the staff of academic and research subdivisions at St Petersburg University is to constantly attract young talented scholars. However, without creating conditions for attracting and retaining young people, it is difficult to solve this problem.

According to Vladimir Eremeev, Vice-Rector for Human Resources, St Petersburg University has successful programmes to support talented young researcers. These programmes have been operating for more than ten years at the Institute of Chemistry and the Faculty of Physics. The staff resource registers stipulate the number of the positions of assistant lecturers and assistant professors for young promising scholars and young candidates of science under the age of 33 who are elected by competition. The winners of the competitions are granted a reduced teaching load to ensure that they have an opportunity to conduct active scientific work along with teaching. At the Institute of Chemistry, a separate bonus fund is allocated from the funds placed at the disposal of the Director of the Institute of Chemistry to stimulate the achievements of young scientists. Similarly, but in a different format, the participants in the programme at the Faculty of Physics are stimulated. The duration of the programme is five years (three years for assistant lecturers and two years for assistant professors).

In total, there have been more than 100 employees participated in the programme to support creative youth at the Institute of Chemistry. 72% of them received higher education at St Petersburg University. The programme currently enrols 21 people. 68% of the total number of programme participants are currently in labour relations with the University on various positions. It should be noted that Anastasiia Penkova (33 publications in Scopus /Web of Science Core Collection for the period from 2018 to the present) and Konstantin Semenov (58 publications in Scopus/ WOS CC for the period from 2018 to the present) took part in the programme. They became professors at the Institute of Chemistry at the age of under 40.

Associate Professors of the Institute of Chemistry who started their teaching career with the Creative Youth Support Programme have 645 publications in Scopus / WOS CC from 2018 to the present. On average, each of these associate professors for the specified period has 19 publications in Scopus / Web of Science Core Collection. During the same time, all associate professors at the Institute of Chemistry have an average number of publications equal to 15.7.

Among the employees of the Faculty of Physics, more than 90 people participated in the programme. 89% of them received higher education at St Petersburg University. Currently, the programme has 19 participants. 66% of the total number of programme participants are in labour relations with the University, working in various positions.

Associate professors of the Faculty of Physics who began their teaching career with the Creative Youth Support Programme have a total of 560 publications in Scopus / WOS CC from 2018 to the present. On average, each of these associate professors for the specified period has 25.7 publications in Scopus / Web of Science Core Collection. During the same time, all associate professors of the Faculty of Physics have an average number of publications equal to 12.1.

Thus, Vladimir Eremeev said that the programme to support creative youth ensured we could attract and retain talented young people among academic staff at St Petersburg University. More than 70% of the programme participants are graduates of the University. This indicates its high attractiveness among our graduates who remain within the walls of St Petersburg University to continue their professional research and teaching careers. Academic staff who have been employed at St Petersburg University as part of the Creative Youth Support Programme demonstrate publication activity rates that are on average 37% higher than the average rates of the teams where they work.

At the same time, the programme has a wide untapped potential to attract talented and promising graduates of other universities to participate in it. They, along with our graduates, can significantly strengthen the University’s human resources in future.

Starting from 2021, based on the proposals of the heads of some academic and research subdivisions (Director of the Institute of History and Dean of the Faculty of Economics), the relevant teams also launched a programme to attract young talented lecturers and researchers to work at the University. Due to the optimisation of the staff, special competitions were announced for young scholars to take positions in the area of study of "Economics" (four positions of an assistant lecturer) and in the area of study of "History" (two positions of an assistant lecturer; an one position of an assistant professor). Fixed-term employment agreements (for three years) were signed with the winners of the competitive selection. These agreements stipulate increased obligations of employees. Among them are: an individual trajectory of their development; participation in conferences; and publication of scholarly articles in top-rated journals to name but a few.

The heads of academic and research subdivisions were instructed to discuss and present within two weeks proposals how to attract, retain and support creative young people, active young scholars and researchers.

Directors and deans are encouraged to develop similar support programmes for young researchers.

Implementation of the professional development programme for secondary school teachers "Teaching social science in the context of finding answers to big challenges"

In the spring of 2022, Sirius University implemented a professional development programme for school teachers in history. In August, Sirius launched the first professional development programme for secondary school teachers in social studies. It is "Teaching social science in the context of finding answers to big challenges". St Petersburg University is a partner of the programme.

According to the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Sergei Belov, the programme brought together 50 selected teachers from various regions of the Russian Federation and 30 teachers from the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic. Sergei Belov is one of the two co-directors of the programme.

St Petersburg University offered lectures as the main content of the programme. For St Petersburg University, the project became interdisciplinary. Representatives of the Institute of Philosophy, the Faculty of Sociology, the Faculty of Political Science, the Faculty of Economics, and the Faculty of Law took part in the programme.

An important principle of the University was to try, relying on a common concept and common content approaches, to link the disparate issues of sociology, economics, politics, and law in the school course of social science. Yet, the task was not to hold seminars on the methods and methodology of teaching social science at school. The goal was to orient teachers in how the school course could provide answers to the most controversial topical social issues. These are the questions that the University experts should help school teachers to understand.

Along with St Petersburg University, the programme was supported by Southern Federal University; the University of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation; and teachers and methodologists from schools that were members of the association of Sirius partner schools, including Presidential Physics and Mathematics Lyceum No 239 in St Petersburg.

Organisation of publication of papers in scholarly journals in preparation for the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg University

At the Rector’s meetings held on 10 March 2021 and 27 June 2022 , the issue of organising publication of papers on the achievements of St Petersburg University in the relevant subject areas in journals was discussed. This is part of preparations for the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg University. These articles by academic staff should be published in third-party journals of the 1-2 quartile level in Scopus / Web of Science or the Russian Science Citation Index. Based on the results of the meetings, an instruction was sent to the chairpersons of the scientific committees to prepare information on such publications in 2022 and 2023 by 12 September 2022. This information should include full names of the authors of St Petersburg University; working title of the planned publication; name of the journal; planned date of publication; or the number and year of publication of the journal with the article.

Elena Chernova, Senior Vice-Rector of St Petersburg University, thanked those colleagues from whom the relevant information had already been received. She also asked everyone who had not submitted it yet to send the data by 12 September 2022.

St Petersburg University joins the International Council of Museums

St Petersburg University has joined the International Council of Museums (ICOM) as a collective member. Currently, the council has more than 45,000 members in 141 countries around the world. Membership in the ICOM gives the University the following:

the right of priority participation in specialised conferences on the development of museums and museum business in Russia with the participation of experts from the ICOM and UNESCO
the pre-emptive right, together with ICOM Russia, to prepare and conduct projects and workshops in the field of professional development of museum staff with the participation of the ICOM and UNESCO experts
the right to participate in programmes to provide support and ensure professional integration of young employees, including with the use of programmes, projects, and scholarships from the ICOM and UNESCO
the use of the services of ICOM Russia and the ICOM for the development of their collective members (creating concepts for the development of the museum; development programmes; and planning and conducting activities to improve the management and development of museums and other organisations that contribute to the development of museum business)
the use of the resources and opportunities of ICOM Russia and the ICOM for the search and selection of Russian and international experts in museum design, exhibition work, restoration, museum pedagogy, museum management, fundraising, etc.; support and assistance to ICOM Russia for the exchange of exhibitions, materials, experience between Russian and foreign museums and other organisations that contribute to the development of museum business
the pre-emptive right to receive professional advisory services and specialised professional information from ICOM Russia

The unique collections of St Petersburg University museums are waiting for their researchers and are worthy of wide updating at the international level. This will be facilitated by the expansion of professional contacts within the most influential supranational organisation of museum specialists. The entry of St Petersburg University into the ICOM is in line with the St Petersburg University’s fundamental orientation towards the development of international research and cultural cooperation.

Collaboration between St Petersburg University and the newspaper "Russian Koreans"

As part of the implementation of the agreement between St Petersburg University and the newspaper "Russian Koreans", an agreement was reached to include a new column, i.e. "Opinion of St Petersburg University Experts", in the newspaper "Russian Koreans".

As Deputy Rector for International Affairs Sergey Andryushin said, this section is planned to publish the opinions of the University’s experts on issues related to cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea. On 30 August 2022, the newspaper published the first article. It includes comments by St Petersburg University employees. Among them are: Konstantin Khudoley, Professor in the Department of European Studies and Head of the Korea-Russia Dialogue’s Working Group on Politicy and International Relations; Sergei Belozerov, Professor, Head of the Department of Risk Management and Insurance; Elena. Sokolovskaia, Associate Professor in the Department of Risk Management and Insurance; and Maria Tsenzharik, Associate Professor in the Department of Economics of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. The article focuses on the Korean-Russian economic cooperation under sanctions.

Sergey Andryushin asked the participants in the Rector’s meeting to prepare proposals on the topics of publications and a list of experts who could take part in the relevant work.

Alumni Day of St Petersburg University (Leningrad State University)

Today, among the tasks of St Petersburg University is to maintain links between the alma mater and alumni. On 10 September 2022, Alumni Day of St Petersburg University (Leningrad State University) will be held in the Twelve Collegia building. It is organised for alumni, their families, staff and students.

The programme includes business and popular science parts. Among them are: sessions, workshops, scientific debates, stand-up, exhibitions, excursions, and other events. Their topics range from issues of the future of the University, blockchain and literature to the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, biomedical chemistry and Japanese culture. The programme of the event can be found on the St Petersburg University website. You can register for the event by following this link.

St Petersburg University opens the innovative creative space "Mendeleev" in St Petersburg

In St Petersburg (in the building at 1 Nevsky Prospekt), the Mendeleev Conference Centre of St Petersburg University will be opened. It is a unique communication platform for scholars, entrepreneurs, and students. The new space of the University will be opened during the celebration of St Petersburg University Alumni Day as part of the Decade of Science and Education in the Russian Federation announced by the President of the Russian Federation. This centre will be used to implement projects with the University’s technology partners and scientific organisations around the world. Additionally, it will conduct interdisciplinary research and events. Among them are: workshops, strategic sessions, hackathons, and conferences to name just a few.

As part of St Petersburg University Alumni Day, the Mendeleev Congress Centre of St Petersburg University will host a discussion "Chinese-Russian Scientific and Technical Partnership: Trends and Prospects".

The participants in the Rector’s meeting discussed new opportunities that could be implemented at the Mendeleev Conference Centre. In the Mendeleev Conference Centre, Irina Balova, Director of the Institute of Chemistry, is going to hand over student cards to students in the academic programme implemented jointly with Sirius.

Solemn closing ceremony of the season in the St Petersburg University Botanical Garden

On 2 to 4 September 2022, the solemn closing ceremony of the summer season took place in the St Petersburg University Botanical Garden as part of the University Autumn Festival (The St Petersburg University Botanical Garden completes the summer season).

In June 2022, the St Petersburg University Botanical Garden for the first time became a venue for events in the field of botany, biology, ecology, landscape architecture, and design. More than 25 workshops, lectures, and presentations were held. The St Petersburg University Environmental Clinic was opened. There was an exhibition-competition of thematic student gardens "University seasons 2022". The events were attended by representatives of the professional community, residents of St Petersburg, and guests of the city.

The end of the season is a time not only for caring for plants, but also for summing up and making plans for the future. According to the organisers of the closing ceremony of the summer season, in order to preserve plants in botanical gardens, it is important not only to properly care for them, but also to pay attention to issues of ecology and environmental safety, urbanism, environmental protection and sustainable development. These are the topics that the days of the University Autumn festival focus on. As part of the event, creative workshops, excursions around the Botanical Garden, a presentation of the book by the St Petersburg University Publishing House, presentation of the online course "Japanese for Beginners", a presentation of the projects of the St Petersburg University Environmental Clinic, and a floristic show were held.

Choosing a corporate identity for the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg University

St Petersburg University continues to develop and approve a corporate identity for the anniversary of Russia’s oldest university. In February 2022, a working group was formed to select concepts for creating a corporate identity for the anniversary, chaired by Senior Vice-Rector Elena Chernova. The working group considered the projects of the University departments and implementing companies. It was followed by a detailed analysis of the presented options. A proposal was formed to organise an exhibition of design projects and public discussion at the University. The first round of voting among the University students and staff took place in May (Minutes of the Rector’s meeting dated 11 May 2022).

In three rounds of voting, three out of 14 submitted projects were selected. Elena Chernova asked directors and deans to take part in the fourth round of voting and present their opinion on the best project.