Society

Improving higher education is impossible while the school system remains at a dead end. Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University consistently draws the attention of the public and the country’s leadership to this problem—thereby provoking dissatisfaction within the tutoring community: a high-quality school system would deprive them of their “bread and butter.” At times, open resistance emerges from education entrepreneurs. A recent example is an appeal to the President of the Russian Federation by a Saint Petersburg Russian-language tutor, Roman Minasyan.

Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University has signed an international cooperation agreement with one of India’s most prestigious universities, the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.

In the foreseeable future, India intends to make a strategic shift—from serving as a global supplier of talent to becoming a “magnet” that attracts gifted students from all parts of the world.

Most of the Antarctic field season is already behind them, yet even now it is clear that within the relatively short summer period, the researchers have managed to accomplish a great deal. On the eve of the expedition, the Rector of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University and Scientific Supervisor of the university’s project “Comprehensive Geological and Geophysical Studies of the Deep Structure of East Antarctica” outlined for the team the key tasks to be addressed by Russian scientists:

After the extended New Year holidays, the first working week has finally commenced. Unlike the majority of Russians, the Polar Team of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University resumed its duties in the very first days of January. The intensive schedule of tasks assigned to the scientists leaves little room for lengthy rest. This season marks the start of the practical implementation of the long-term research project “Comprehensive Geological and Geophysical Studies of the Deep Structure of East Antarctica,” supervised by the University’s Rector, Vladimir Litvinenko.

Participants in the international educational program “Management of Subsoil Use Facilities” at Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University completed a one-week off-site internship in the city of Almetyevsk (Republic of Tatarstan).

The 71st season of the Russian Antarctic Expedition (RAE) became a record in terms of the number of participants from the Polar Team of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University. This is explained by the increased scope, nature, and level of the planned work. Nine people remained at Progress Station, while two headed to Vostok. Although the main tasks this year are associated with the Antarctic coastline, the importance of continuing research deep in the interior of the continent is beyond doubt.

Article 13 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation establishes a mandatory norm: no ideology may be instituted as state-sponsored or obligatory. The Constitution was adopted following a nationwide referendum in December 1993.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin has signed a law ratifying the agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the International Competence Centre for Mining-Engineering Education on the renewal of its status under the auspices of UNESCO until 2033.

Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University was visited on a working visit by a representative delegation from one of Jordan’s leading private universities—the Jadara University. The delegation that arrived in the city on the Neva included not only the senior management of the educational institution, but also its owner.