Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University, awarded a badge of honour for his contribution to the development of the Leningrad Region
Alexander Drozdenko, the Governor of the Leningrad Region and a member of the SPbU Board of Trustees, awarded Nikolay Kropachev, the Rector of SPbU and a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the state insignia "For Contribution to the Development of the Leningrad Region". The ceremony to recognise outstanding professional contributions to the region and the country took place at the seat of the Leningrad Region Government.
The awards are presented every year for achievements in education, agriculture, public and charitable activities, and for many years of service in the civil sector.
Nikolay Kropachev, the Rector of SPbU and a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, stated that the University has been collaborating with the government of the Leningrad Region for many years. For example, supported by the Leningrad Region, the University is undertaking a project to create a state-of-the-art science and technology centre, The Neva Delta. The Leningrad Region government has transferred 300 hectares of land to the University for the project’s implementation. The Neva Delta project is being implemented in parallel with Area of St Petersburg University Development project. The latter aims to create an area with modern educational and scientific infrastructure. The Neva Delta Innovation Science and Technology Centre will be built in the Pushkinsky district (100 hectares) on the border between St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. Further development is planned in the Tosnensky District (300 hectares) of the Leningrad Region, in close proximity to the area of St Petersburg University development facilities. This ecosystem will enable scientists from SPbU and other scientific organisations in St. Petersburg, the Leningrad Region, and other regions of Russia to commercialise and implement their research results.
St Petersburg University is a centre for education, science, and culture. For 300 years it has served not only the city and the region, but also the whole country. I am proud that the University contributes to solving important issues for the development of the Leningrad Region, and this award underlines the importance of our work.
Nikolai Kropachev, the Rector of St Petersburg University and a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, serves as the Chairman of the St Petersburg and Leningrad Region Interregional Branch of the All-Russian NGO Association of Lawyers of Russia. He is also the Chairman of the Public Council of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. The Public Council is actively involved in addressing pressing and high-profile issues, including telephone fraud, car theft, and the prevention of extremism.
Every year, SPbU and the Leningrad Region Education Committee organise the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren. St Petersburg University students also contribute to the development of tourism in the Leningrad Region. At the 2023 Summer School, SPbU students presented their projects for Vyborg, Staraya Ladoga and Shlisselburg to experts from the Leningrad Region Committee for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage.
In collaboration with the Voeikov Main Geophysical Observatory, experts in physics, chemistry, biology, economics, and law are working to monitor climate-active gases and reduce carbon dioxide emissions at the Ladoga сarbon measurement supersite.