The first participants were students and postgraduates from Iran. Together with them, a representative delegation of teachers from Shiraz University, as well as Organizations of Mining Engineers from Fars province, arrived at the oldest technical university in Russia.
On Friday, July 5, the season of short-term educational programs created specifically for young people from partner higher education institutions started at the Empress Catherine II St. Petersburg Mining University. Each of them is designed for exactly two weeks and includes not only lectures, but also practical and laboratory work, familiarization with the technological chains of a number of industries in the northern capital and, of course, a cultural program.
Summer schools are organized jointly with the Competence Center in Mining Engineering Education under the auspices of UNESCO.
Senior students and graduate students from Shiraz University were the first to arrive in the city on the Neva River, they will take part in the summer school "Modern trends in the oil and gas industry". The classes provided in the program are devoted to such topics as "Modern well drilling technologies", including in deposits with abnormally low or, conversely, high reservoir pressure, "Carbon footprint minimization", "Offshore field development".
In addition, one of the days will be entirely devoted to teaching guests from the Islamic Republic the basic principles of evaluating the economic efficiency of profile projects, the correct interpretation of the data obtained and making informed management decisions.
As for trips outside Vasilyevsky Island, Iranian boys and girls are expected, for example, at the Alfa Horizon site. Its specialists develop in their own laboratories and produce in their own workshops various components for the lower completion systems of oil and gas wells, which are used in areas located directly in the production zone.
Other locations include the "Gazprom VNIIGAZ" research Center and, without exaggeration, the unique educational and scientific training ground of the Mining University in Sablino, where various samples of oil and gas equipment are collected on an area of several square kilometers. All of them are active and students of the St. Petersburg university and its partners undergo practical training at each of them. This is necessary in order for future engineers to get the most complete understanding of the various technologies used in the industry.
«We are glad to take part in the summer school prepared by our Russian friends. I am sure that, as always, it will be organized at the highest level. The development of academic mobility is an extremely important area of our strategic cooperation, but looking ahead, I must say right away that it is far from the only one. Together with our students, a group of scientists also came to St. Petersburg from Shiraz in order to continue working on projects that we are implementing as part of joint research groups», - Ali Hafizi, Vice-Rector for Scientific Work at Shiraz University, said.
His colleague from Gorny, Vice-rector for Special Programs Marat Rudakov noted that student exchange is necessary for the development of integration processes in the international academic community. And they are extremely important, because combining efforts, in whatever area it occurs, allows you to create synergy and eliminate your weaknesses through partnership.
«Summer schools that take place abroad allow young people not only to gain new knowledge and skills or to master previously unknown teaching methods, which differ slightly from each other in different regions of the world. They also provide an opportunity to learn more about the history, culture and traditions of the countries where they are held, to communicate with peers from abroad, to learn to accept them as they are, regardless of mentality. That is, the development of student mobility, among other things, is also an effective tool for preserving friendly relations between countries in the future. That is why the visit of the delegation from Iran is very important for us, it will increase the level of our scientific communication and lay a solid foundation for numerous joint projects in the future. So, we have already started planning this year's "winter school" at Shiraz University for Mining students participating in a pilot project to improve the system of domestic higher education», - Marat Rudakov emphasized.
It should be noted that in addition to representatives of the Islamic Republic, Chinese students are also expected in St. Petersburg Mining and the Competence Center for Mining Engineering Education under the auspices of UNESCO in July. An extensive two-week program dedicated to modern mining technologies has been prepared for them. This is quite logical, because unlike Iran, whose competitive advantage is huge deposits of hydrocarbons, China specializes primarily in the extraction of solid minerals. Last year, over 34 billion tons of raw materials of this type were brought to the surface from the depths there, including 4.6 billion tons of coal. For comparison, the indicators of the closest competitors – both the USA and India – are 4.25 times less.
