Society

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.

Leading specialists from government authorities and companies of Africa’s mineral resource complex who are participating in the one-year educational program “Management of Subsoil Use Facilities” at Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, were given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with key specialized institutions in Moscow.

During the period from 19 to 20 December 2025, a delegation from Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University took part in the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum, held in the capital of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Cairo, under the chairmanship of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov.

The scientific project “Hope – Mobile Intelligence,” which Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University is implementing jointly with Shiraz University, has reached its two-year milestone. A representative delegation from the Iranian university arrived in the city of Neva to work with colleagues in defining plans for the future.

From 19 to 20 December, the foreign ministers of African countries and Sergey Lavrov will convene in Cairo. A delegation from Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University has also been invited to the meeting. The University plays a flagship role in educational cooperation with Africa, through the “Nedra Africa” consortium and the International Competence Centre for Mining Engineering Education under the auspices of UNESCO.

Russia lagged behind Europe by more than six centuries in the opening of classical universities. The first in the world, Bologna, was founded in 1088. In Ancient Rus’, the centers of knowledge at that time were monastic schools. In engineering education, the picture is fundamentally different: Russia, together with the most advanced countries of Europe, stands at the origins of the creation of the first specialized technical higher schools.

Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University continues to accelerate its scientific and educational cooperation with Africa. Alongside holding large-scale forums and summits, the creation of specialized consortia, and the signing of memoranda on cooperation, targeted promotion of Russian technical universities plays an important role in building a strong engineering corps for the continent.