Rector Vladimir Litvinenko emphasized that on November 1, the birthday will be celebrated not only by the university itself, but also by the entire system of higher technical education in the country.
On Tuesday, October 24, the Catherine the Great St. Petersburg Mining University revealed some details of the program of events dedicated to the upcoming anniversary. On this day, in particular, the opening of the monument to the founder of the first higher educational institution of Russia - Empress Catherine II and the memorial complex dedicated to the heroism of employees and students of the university during the Great Patriotic War is scheduled.
However, the festive date itself will be only a starting point in a series of events initiated by Mining University. As its rector Vladimir Litvinenko emphasized, it is quite logical, because on October 21, 1773 (old style) Catherine the Great signed a decree on the establishment of the university, but the first classes began in 1774, and the first graduation took place in 1776. These three years can be rightfully considered the birth of higher technical education in our country.
"We are not planning any grandiose celebrations on the occasion of our anniversary. However, over the next three years, up to the 250th anniversary of the first graduation of Russian mining engineers, we intend to hold a series of large-scale events aimed at emphasizing the importance of the mineral and raw materials complex for enhancing the sustainability of Russia's socio-economic development and preserving its sovereignty. The birthday of our university, and, in fact, of the entire system of higher technical education in the country, is a great opportunity to emphasize to the public the challenges we are facing today. First of all, we are talking about the need to improve the process of training engineering personnel for industrial enterprises, as well as the need to create and improve the efficiency of technologies demanded by mining and processing industries. Both these tasks are being successfully solved at our university," said Vladimir Litvinenko.
He also drew attention to the cyclical nature of history. A quarter of a millennium ago, in connection with the Polish events, the victorious but extremely difficult war with the Turks, the need to suppress the Pugachev rebellion, Russia was in urgent need of additional volumes of iron, copper, bronze and other ore for the production of armaments. There was also an obvious shortage of specialists capable of mining and processing minerals, as there was no training of engineers in our country at that time. The resolution "so be it", imposed by Catherine II on the proposal of the Senate to establish the School of Mining, created conditions for personnel and technological import substitution.
"In the 250 years since our university was founded, a lot has changed, of course. But natural resources are still the cornerstone of any technological chain. There is no doubt that copper, nickel, rare earth elements, aluminum, iron ore and many other metals, as well as hydrocarbons, will become even more in demand in the future. Otherwise, our civilization and our country will be doomed to regress. In order to avoid this, we need to make the process of training young competent engineers as efficient and effective as possible, because this is the only way to ensure the continuity of generations in industry. That is why we are participating in the pilot project to improve the higher education system. I am sure that our ideas and decisions taken this year in the process of curriculum transformation will contribute to the realization of the tasks facing the state," emphasized Vladimir Litvinenko.
Among the large-scale events that Mining University plans to organize over the next three years, he named the Russian-African Forum "Subsoil of Africa", the World Mining Congress, as well as the opening ceremony of the Russian-Chinese Raw Materials University, the creation of which St. Petersburg university has agreed with its colleagues from China.