Minutes of the Rector’s Meeting

St Petersburg University takes part in the 10th Moscow International Education Salon

The 10th Moscow International Salon of Education was held on 23 and 24 March. The MMSO.EXPO-2023 exhibition space brought together the most advanced solutions for both educational institutions and individual consumers − teachers, students and their parents. At the largest educational exhibition in Russia, St Petersburg University presented projects in the field of clinical form of education and innovative entrepreneurship. The University also presented its academic programmes and online courses. This year, the event brought together for the first time the Faddeev Academic Gymnasium at St Petersburg University and the Centre for Teaching Excellence at the Graduate School of Management at St Petersburg University. This year, the Graduate School of Management celebrates its 30th anniversary.

The St Petersburg University exhibition stand presented a variety of the University’s clinics. Students and specialists from the Sociological Clinic presented a sociological laboratory; linguistic experts conducted functional testing in the Russian language; while the Clinic of Communication Projects at St Petersburg University offered workshops and career guidance events. The visitors could take part in the clinic contests to win souvenirs with the symbols of the University.

The design of the St Petersburg University stand emphasised the connection between generations, unfolding the story of Nobel laureates and talented early-career researchers. The visitors could take part in a quiz on knowledge of the history of St Petersburg University to mark the 300th anniversary of the oldest university in Russia. Modern science was presented by the finalists of the SPbU Start-up 2022 contest of innovative projects. The Lingvera team is developing an aggregation application for foreigners and hearing impaired to quickly find specialists in interpreting, translation and sign language translation. At the exhibition, the visitors could learn more about the project, test and download the application developed by St Petersburg University students.

The atmosphere of involvement was created by interactive stands. The performance "Selfie-Mirror" was especially attractive for the visitors. Everybody could take a photo in a robe and get photos instantly (St Petersburg University takes part in the 10th Moscow International Education Salon). You can watch recordings of broadcasts of online events on the St Petersburg University website.

Representatives of St Petersburg University take part in the Russian Ministry of Justice conference "Traditional Family Values"

On 22 March, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation hosted the conference "Traditional Family Values". It was attended by representatives of St Petersburg University: Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Maiia Rusakova, Head of the Centre for Monitoring the Quality of Education at St Petersburg University; and Vladislav Arkhipov, Head of the Department of Theory and History of State and Law at St Petersburg University (The Russian Ministry of Justice hosts a discussion on the state policy on preservation and strengthening traditional family values).

In his welcoming remarks, Vsevolod Vukolov, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation, noted that in order to protect traditional spiritual and moral values, including family values, it is necessary to develop effective legal regulatory mechanisms, taking into account that the private life of citizens will remain inviolable.

The conference participants discussed promising directions for further strengthening the institution of the family. They discussed: the issues of improving the Family Code of the Russian Federation and protecting the rights and legal interests of minors; the role of commissioners for children’s rights and public organisations in protecting the family institution; and a set of social support measures aimed at raising the status of motherhood.

Rector’s meeting with winners of the Russian Presidential Prize in Science and Innovation for Young Scientists

On 21 March, Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University, held a meeting with Irina Timofeeva and Andrei Shishov, Associate Professors of St Petersburg University, who won the 2022 Presidential Prize in Science and Innovation for Young Scientists.

They were awarded for the development of materials and methods for instrumental chemical analysis of industrial, natural and biomedical objects. The young chemists at St Petersburg University are developing new ways of chemical analysis of food, natural, man-made and biological objects that will make the work faster and less harmful to the environment (Minutes of the Rector’s Meeting held on 22 February 2022).

During the meeting, they discussed the organisation of scientific research and the educational process at the University. The Rector informed the laureates of the new decisions: they will be entitled to participate in the University competition for postdoc supervision and the right to use the equipment of the resource centres of the St Petersburg University Research Park out of turn. The Rector also instructed Sergey Mikushev, Vice-Rector for Research, to submit a list of distinguished scholars of St Petersburg University who may be granted such right to use the equipment out of turn.

Rossiya Airlines aircraft branded to mark the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg University

St Petersburg University has started voting to select a special University logo, which will complement the Rossiya Airlines’ aircraft livery. The project is timed to mark the 300th anniversary of higher education in Russia and is dedicated to the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg University, the oldest university in the country.

The University students and employees can cast their votes on the CryptoVeche platform. The blockchain-based e-voting system, developed by the Distributed Ledger Technologies Centre at St Petersburg University, guarantees reliability and security throughout the entire voting cycle. The voting results cannot be tampered with. The University community will have to choose a special 300th anniversary logo from seven design options that take into account the airline’s brand identity (Rossiya Airlines aircraft branded to mark the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg University).

The voting takes place from 24 March to 1 April 2023. The logo design with the most votes will be incorporated in the new Rossiya Airlines livery design later this year.

Cultural events at St Petersburg University from 27 to 31 March 2023

Elena Lebedkina, Head of the Main Department for Exhibitions, Museum, Library and Publishing Activities, has presented the digest of cultural events of the University, which will take place from 27 to 31 March.

Online exhibition "Lyubov Mendeleeva-Blok. It’s young she was and beautiful too, a madonna for no man’s taking"

On 27 March, Theatre Day, as part of the work of the Dmitri Mendeleev Museum and Archives of St Petersburg University, an online exhibition "Lyubov Mendeleeva-Blok. It’s young she was and beautiful too, a madonna for no man’s taking". The exhibition features photographs of Lyubov Mendeleeva, the eldest daughter of Dmitri Mendeleev, a talented actress, historian of Russian ballet and classical dance.

The fourth meeting − a film screening of the series "Reflections"

On 28 March at 5pm, the reading room of the M Gorky Scientific Library of St Petersburg University at 7-9 Universitetskaya Embankment hosts the fourth meeting − a film screening of the series "Reflections". The meeting features Pavel Khan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Design, St Petersburg University.

Presentation of the book "Only About the Personal: Pages from Young People’s Diary. Lyrics" by Tatiana Znamerovskaia

On 29 March at 4pm, the bookshop of St Petersburg University at 5 Mendeleevskaya Line holds a presentation of the publication "Only About the Personal: Pages from Young People’s Diary. Lyrics" by Tatiana Znamerovskaia. The book continues the publication of manuscripts by the prominent national art historian Tatiana Znamerovskaia and contains her diary entries. Anna Morozova, Associate Professor in the Department of Western European Art at St Petersburg University, will speak about the preparation of the book.

Online exhibition "Fauna of the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen shale"

On 31 March, the online exhibition "Fauna of the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen Shale" is launched as part of the activities of the Palaeontology Museum of St Petersburg University. Thanks to the effort of Aleksandr Inostrantsev at the end of the 19th century, the collection of the University’s Geological Cabinet was replenished with a significant collection of both original palaeontological samples of Solnhofen shales and a number of their professional copies made by the F. Krantz company.

International activities

According to Vice-Rector for International Affairs Sergey Andryushin, a number of new events have recently taken place.

Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in St Petersburg Ms Wáng Wén Lì visits St Petersburg University

On 23 March, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in St Petersburg Ms Wáng Wén Lì visited St Petersburg University. During the meeting with Rector Nikolay Kropachev, they discussed approaches to: development of academic programmes with a Chinese component at St Petersburg University; development of academic programmes with a Russian component for implementation in leading universities of the People’s Republic of China; and issues of interaction between educational institutions and employers. Consul General of the People’s Republic of China Ms Wáng Wén Lì also delivered a lecture for students and teachers. She spoke about the outcome of the summit meeting between the leaders of the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation − Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.

Online lecture at the St Petersburg University Representative Office in Spain

On 23 March, St Petersburg University and its Representative Office in Spain held the online lecture "Utopian worlds in contemporary literature". It was delivered by Nina Shcherbak, Associate Professor in the Department of English Philology and Cultural Linguistics of St Petersburg University.

Events at the St Petersburg University Representative Office in Italy

On 24 March, the Representative Office of St Petersburg University in the Italian Republic hold the online lectures: "Narrating modernity. Italian writers facing a changing world" by Anna Baldini, Professor from the University for Foreigners in Siena; and "Dante in Russian culture" by Marina Samarina, Professor at the Faculty of Philology and Head of the Department of Italian Studies at St Petersburg University.

Agreement on cooperation between St Petersburg University and the University of Macao

A cooperation agreement has been signed between St Petersburg University and the University of Macao (the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China). 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. Cooperation agreement and coordination contract to implement academic programmes between St Petersburg University and the Beijing International Studies University

St Petersburg University and the Beijing International Studies University (the People’s Republic of China) have signed a cooperation agreement and a coordination contract to implement academic programmes. The texts of the agreements can be found on the St Petersburg University portal in the list of Partner Universities in the International Cooperation section.

Organisation of the teaching and learning process

Over the past week, 13 enquiries were addressed to the Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities. The majority of enquiries relate to preparation of documents on studies and the procedures for granting academic leaves.

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 according to the timetable in due order. As of 24 March 2023, the information was not sent by: Anna Germer, Director of the Medical College; and Mikhail Koryshev, Dean of the Faculty of Philology.

The heads of academic and research subdivisions continue to hold meetings with student activists: group heads, and representatives of student councils and student scientific societies to name just a few. Over the past week, meetings on the organisation of the teaching and learning process were held at: the Institute of History; the Institute of Earth Sciences; the Institute of Philosophy; the Institute of Chemistry; the Faculty of Biology; the Faculty of Foreign Languages; the School of International Relations; the Faculty of Political Science; the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Control Processes; the Faculty of Sociology; the Faculty of Physics; the Faculty of Philology; the Faculty of Economics; and the College of Physical Training and Sports, Economics and Technology (the minutes of the meeting were not formalised and not submitted for publication).

The work of the committees to check compliance with the timetable of classes and interim assessments is underway. Over the past week, 179 inspections were conducted. No cases of violations were identified.

Medical examinations for the University students and staff at the Pirogov Clinic of High Medical Technologies at St Petersburg University

St Petersburg University staff and students have a discount on all types of dental, ophthalmic, and ENT examinations at the Pirogov Clinic at St Petersburg University. You can save 30% on all types of dental treatment, 15% on prosthetics and 15% on implantation.

You can have 30% discount on an appointment with an ophthalmologist and an ENT doctor. To this end, the University staff and students need only show a University ID card or a student card when paying for the services. You can book an appointment by submitting an enquiry on the Clinic’s website or by calling the contact centre 8 (812) 676 25 25.

Also, the St Petersburg University Clinic temporarily offers non-invasive skin cancer diagnosis using artificial intelligence, i.e. digital dermatoscopy FotoFinder. At present, it is the most reliable method for early detection of neoplasms that ensures accurate results in 98%. Until the end of April, the Clinic offers a 50% discount (Dental, ophthalmic, and ENT examinations are now cheaper: special conditions for the University staff and students at the Clinic of St Petersburg University).