Education and society: Development of the St. Petersburg State University discussed by the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin and university’s chancellor, Nikolai Kropachev

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the chancellor of St. Petersburg State University, Nikolai Kropachev, who briefed the President on the results of the first phase of the development of the university until 2020.

Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that the St. Petersburg State University is able to make a significant contribution to the development of Russia. "I think that the fundamental framework of the St. Petersburg University is so powerful that if used correctly - and you do it really carefully and effectively - the university will have a very good future, not only in the ratings purely formal, but in actual results, and its contribution to the education in the country and the formation of Russia, to the scientific community, to the production, the contribution to the economy will be very valuable and noticeable, significant," said Vladimir Putin, himself a graduate of the University.

Nikolai Kropachev informed the President about the results of the first stage of the program of the university’s development, one of the key objectives of which was deemed to focus on competing with the world leaders in the field of education.

According to N. Kropachev, this task has mainly been completed. One the most important results of the first phase Kropachev called the creation of new modern environment for researchers. "We have created about 20 resource centers, which provide the opportunity to work in the most modern areas,"  he said, stressing that the centers’ conditions attract professionals from other Russian and foreign universities. There was also created a system of open competitions for scientists.