St. Petersburg State University commemorated 300 years since its founding

Photo: Boboev Shamsudin

ST PETERSBURG - June 21 /GNEWS-CZ- Nikolai Mikhailovich Kropachev, Rector of SPGU, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Elena Kazakova and Alexander Babich opened a press conference in St Petersburg at the TASS news agency. Nikolai Mikhailovich Kropachev, Rector of SPSU and Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation, delivered the opening remarks. In his introduction he assessed the developments since 2023 when St. Petersburg University with the support of the Government Office and the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation launched an extraordinary educational project for Russian-speaking students from all over the world - SPbU Online School. Participants of the press conference at the TASS news agency informed about these results of the first year of study and about the conditions of admission in the new academic year. Students from 30 countries improved their academic results at the SPbU Online School

Nikolai Mikhailovich Kropachev, Rector of SPGU, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences

"SPbU Online School" was created with the support of Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, member of the SPSU Board of Trustees, and Sergey Kravtsov, Minister of Education of the Russian Federation. Its prototype was a project launched in Latvia in 2018 in the format of continuing education in the form of weekend courses. In the first year of its implementation, lectures were held only in three subjects: 'Russian language', 'Russian literature' and 'History of Russia', and 70 final-year students attended the classes. In six years, geography has expanded to 25 countries and the number of participants has increased 43 times to over 3,000 students by the 2023/2024 school year.

As emphasized by the Rector of the University Nikolai Mikhailovich Kropachev, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the University managed to create a full-fledged online school in 2023. The project attracted great interest from international students and parents: the university received almost 300 applications for study from children from 44 countries, and there were almost three people per place. The selection process resulted in the admission of 120 students from 30 countries. Despite the prevalence of distance education, the SPSU experience is unique: no organization had previously assumed the responsibility of enrolling schoolchildren in basic general education programmes, upon completion of which they receive a state certificate.

"After a year we can confidently say that the SPSU Online School project has come to fruition. It is in demand and is a guide to Russian education, Russian culture and value system around the world," said Nikolai Mikhailovich. - I am pleased to announce that we are actively working to expand the list of participants in our project. This year seven universities have announced their readiness to join the movement. Thus, it will have a continuation not only in St. Petersburg, but also in other cities of Russia". In 2023, the university opened a number of primary school classes - 5th to 9th grade and also 10th grade. The project is being implemented at the expense of funds from the profitable activities of SPSU.

As Nikolay Kropachev pointed out, the curriculum meets the FSES requirements and teaching is provided in all subjects of the school program (more than 40). It was decided not to offer a senior year, as one of the main tasks of the online school is to fill the knowledge gaps of students who receive their education in different countries. Students took comprehensive entrance tests in Russian language and mathematics to determine their overall level and readiness to study in the selected class. Some of them were recommended to enter a lower grade because of significant differences in the programmes. As a result, one class with 20 students was opened in each parallel school.

"The meaning of our project is that we, relying on modern digital technologies, give a child who knows the Russian language well the opportunity to get a quality education while studying at the Academic Gymnasium of St. Petersburg University. We don't so much admit children to the 'online school' as to the gymnasium, and from the very first day of school we try to involve children in its life," explained Elena Kazakova, Director of the Pedagogical Institute of St. Petersburg State University, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Education.

Teachers of the online school are teachers of the Academic Gymnasium D. K. Faddeev of St. Petersburg University and scientific-pedagogical staff of St. Petersburg State University who have experience in working with schoolchildren (more than 70 people in total). More than 70 % of them have academic degrees of Candidates and Doctors of Science. International students have their class teacher and tutor accompanying their studies, as well as students of the SPSU Academic Gymnasium. Students of the SPSU Online School participate in intellectual competitions, as well as in the thematic weeks of the Academic Gymnasium and other extracurricular activities. Many of them are planning to visit Russia during the summer break.

Elena Kazakova said that after enrolling, most students tried to keep their second place of study, but during the school year, many of them decided to study only at SPSU's online school. Only 28 people returned to their educational institutions: some of them decided not to take the risk, while others found that the level of their preparation was not high enough to complete the programme. An audition for vacancies in existing classes is currently being called and a new fifth class will be recruited. Some 150 applications have already been received from foreign nationals from 30 countries for nearly 40 places. As last year, they will be offered to take a comprehensive entrance test to assess their Russian language and mathematics skills.
The director of the SPSU Institute of Education also pointed out that this year the university, in accordance with its existing powers, for the first time organized a state certification among ninth grade students of the online school. The children successfully passed the examinations and 14 pupils were awarded the state certificate of mastery of the basic general education programme at SPbU. The documents will be handed over to the pupils on June 27.

"We launched this project so that a person who speaks Russian, wherever he lives, knows that he has a chance to get a quality education in Russian that will allow him to enter one of the best universities in the world - St. Petersburg State University or another university of his choice."

Elena Kazakova, Director of the SPbU Pedagogical Institute

By the end of the academic year, all students who took classes at SPSU's online school managed to improve their academic performance: their average grade increased by one full grade. According to Alexander Babich, First Vice-Rector for Youth Policy and Admissions Organisation at SPSU, the university's teachers objectively evaluated the results primarily to properly structure their teaching and methodological work.

"SPSU Online School" is one of the many international educational projects that the university is implementing," said Alexander Babich. - According to Rossotrudnichestvo data, SPSU has been the most popular university among all Russian universities among foreign citizens for six years. We accept applicants from 140 countries, there are 21 applicants per budget place, based on fees this year it will be about 5 people per place. This shows that the university carries out extensive educational activities".
For example, starting in 2020, SPSU will offer full-time and distance Russian language courses for various categories of citizens in 18 countries. In the last six months alone, more than 2,000 people have participated in these courses.

There are 120 Russian language centres in 50 countries, and in 2024 the University, together with the Russian Ministry of Education, with the support of the "My History" Humanities Fund, will open 11 open educational centres where Russian will be taught full-time. The centres will appear in Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In addition, the university has a preparatory department for foreigners whose students are citizens of more than 60 countries.

According to parents of children studying at SPSU Online School, despite the online format, children feel engaged in the learning process and the individual approach motivates them to acquire new knowledge and broaden their horizons. During the press conference, parents of children studying at SPSU Online School - Ksenia Aldamzhar (Cambodia) and Tatiana Pedrazzini (Italy) - and the students themselves shared their impressions.

At the end of the press conference Nikolai Mikhailovich Kropachev, Alexander Vyacheslavovich Babich and Elena Ivanovna Kazakova answered questions from foreign journalists from the USA, Turkmenistan, the Netherlands, Panama, Tajikistan, Serbia, Africa and other countries.

TASS/press-centum-SPSU/gnews.cz-jav