Education helping to forge new people to people contacts between the UK and North West Russia

Russia has many great educational institutions and the North West Federal District is home to a number of these. I was fortunate enough to visit two in St Petersburg and one in Kaliningrad in the past few weeks. All three were impressive and keen to develop links with the UK. I was struck by the priority given by all three to science and innovation, and the need to ensure students develop the rights skills for the future workforce.

I accompanied the new British Ambassador to Russia, Laurie Bristow, to the University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO) in January. ITMO is one of the oldest technical institutions in Russia, founded in 1900 as the Mechanical and Optical Department of the Prince Nicholas Vocational School. The institute developed as a leading technical college for engineers. The Rector told us that the university now has 13,000 students and strong international partnerships, including with the British Council. We had an interactive discussion with students and heard about the university’s focus on technology and innovation, and the knowledge economy. ITMO is keen to learn more about the UK experience of developing technology clusters.

I was pleased to be invited to the signing ceremony of an agreement between the National Association of Mining Engineers of Russia and the UK Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) in early February. The ceremony was hosted by the National Mineral Resources University, formerly known as the Mining Institute, which is Russia‘s oldest technical university, and one of the oldest technical colleges in Europe. It was founded in 1773 by Catherine the Great. The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) is a major UK engineering institution whose activities encompass the whole materials cycle, from exploration and extraction, through characterisation, processing, forming, finishing and application, to product recycling and land reuse. IOM3 has a membership of over 18,000, and represents a combination of scientific, technical and human resources which links industry, government, education, research and the academic world.

The agreement will hopefully lead to collaboration between the two organisations in research, education, high level technical information exchange, joint publications and conferences and the exchange of academics and researchers. The National Association of Mining Engineers of Russia, with the support of IOM3, will start to deliver accreditation for specialists in mining engineering sector that will be internationally recognised. This work is delivered in line with the development of professional standards that started in Russia in 2012.

I paid my first visit to the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad in February. The university was founded in 1947 as the Kaliningrad State Pedagogical Institute and became a university in 1966. It then became the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University in 2010. The university takes its name from Immanuel Kant, the world-famous philosopher who was a student and then member of faculty of Albertina University of Königsberg, as the city was known prior to World War Two. The university is today housed in a modern building with around 16,000 students. I heard how the university was planning to shift its focus away from the more traditional humanitarian field to the life sciences. Its 2020 vision was to be positioned among the 20 leading Russian universities in the fields of medical biotechnology, information technology, mathematical modelling and functional materials. English language training is important for the university and they hope to help train volunteers and other residents who will be involved in assisting visitors for the FIFA World Cup in 2018. The university uses the Cambridge English Language Assessment Centre to ensure standards are met.

I use this blog to share stories of shared history between Russia and the UK, including the Arctic Convoys of World War Two, and other warm stories of people to people contacts dating back to the very founding of the city of St Petersburg by Peter the Great. It is important that we continue to remember these contacts, and we will do so, but it is also reassuring to know that our universities and professional institutions, such as those mentioned here, are helping the younger generation to forge new people to people contacts.