Society

In St. Petersburg, a three-day brainstorming session on improving the quality of school education concluded, with the participation of 350 school directors from across Russia, representatives from the university community, and invited experts. The All-Russian Academic Session ”Education in the Interests of the State and the Individual” was initiated by the Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University and the International Center for Competencies in Mining Education under the auspices of UNESCO to develop consolidated proposals on the stated topic.

The result of the working group’s trip from Saint Petersburg Mining University to Eastern India was two roadmaps signed with the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) in Kharagpur and Dhanbad.

A delegation from Black Gold Mining (Benshangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia) visited Saint Petersburg Mining University. The head of the corporation, Ms. Meseret Tsahai, spoke about the company’s extensive experience in coal mining in the country and how, thanks to the activities of the largest mining company in the region, Ethiopia became independent of foreign coal supplies.

At the end of February, three new supplementary professional competency programs were launched at the Student Creativity Center of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University: “Blacksmithing (Hand Forging),” “3D Printing Operator,” and “Mechanical Assembly Fitter.” These programs are designed for students of all specializations – the idea is to ensure that future engineers acquire basic hands-on skills as early as possible, familiarize themselves with tools and equipment, and, in general, develop an appreciation for working with their hands.

The QS World University Ranking by Subject 2025, published by the British ranking agency QS, has been released. Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University has entered the top five universities worldwide in its core discipline, ”Engineering - Mineral & Mining Engineering,” securing 4th place. Additionally, in the ”Engineering - Petroleum Engineering” category, it ranked among the top 100 universities globally. This marks the best result among all Russian universities this year.

Few people in Russia have heard of the provincial Indian city of Dhanbad or about the country’s new national philosophy—”Make in India”. In essence, this is similar to our work on import substitution, but on a vastly different scale. Here, the goal is not just to abandon Western technologies but to first study them and then surpass them. The objective is to make India self-sufficient in everything—from consumer goods to artificial intelligence in both industry and everyday life. In other words, India’s sovereignty is the republic’s primary concern.

India’s network of elite universities is known by the abbreviation IIT—Indian Institute of Technology.

Can one person be the author of the lyrics for the national anthems of three countries and one state? The answer to this riddle is simple—of course, he can, if he was born in the mid-19th century in West Bengal, became the first non-European Nobel laureate, and his name was Rabindranath Tagore.

The Rector of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, Vladimir Litvinenko, presented the results of the university’s second year of participation in the pilot project aimed at improving the national higher education system during a meeting of the Academic Council. The project was launched by a presidential decree on May 12, 2023.

The first newly commissioned Saint Petersburg metro station in the past five years has officially opened its doors. At 9:00 AM, the first train departed. Half an hour earlier, the opening ceremony took place in the presence of numerous media representatives. The event was attended by Governor of Saint Petersburg Alexander Beglov, Rector of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University Vladimir Litvinenko, Chairman of the City Parliament Alexander Belsky, metro construction workers, and mining university students.