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Empress Catherine II St. Petersburg Mining University

The Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University is celebrating its 250th anniversary. On the eve of this event, the British rating agency Times Higher Education (THE) included it in the top 100 best higher education institutions in the world in terms of financial income from the implementation of its research activities in production per employee. This is a clear indication that the university lives not so much on budgetary allocations as on independently earned funds.

The President of Russia has wished the faculty, staff, students, postgraduates and graduates of Russia’s first technical university success and all the best. On Tuesday, October 31, Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory telegram to the Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, which will celebrate its 250th anniversary tomorrow.

The Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University is celebrating its 250th anniversary. Today, Russia’s first institution of higher technical education is not only a forge of personnel for companies in the mineral resources sector, but also one of the country’s largest scientific clusters. There are 8 major structural subdivisions engaged in both applied and fundamental research in a wide range of areas, from reducing the anthropogenic impact on the environment to producing unique high-margin end-use products.

On Wednesday, 1 November, St. Petersburg Mining University will celebrate a significant date - 250 years since its foundation. Despite its advanced age, Russia’s first technical university is a modern institution of higher education that has introduced many advanced technologies, including augmented and virtual reality. Thanks to their availability, future oilfield workers or operators of automated mining equipment can get practical skills in their speciality even in their initial courses without leaving the classroom.

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.

Three of them became holders of the Order of Friendship, thirteen more became holders of medals of the Order ”For Services to the Fatherland” II degree.

Among the main problems hindering Russia’s economic development, the rector of the Mining University named the shortage of engineering personnel in the raw materials sector and the low level of young scientists studying at postgraduate programs.

He noted that without co-operation it is impossible to improve competitiveness in the international arena, to solve the problem of training personnel for high-tech mineral and raw materials complex and to increase the share of scientific and technical component in the educational process.

Among the main problems he named the transition to a two-tier system of higher education, as well as insufficient co-operation between universities.