SPbPU and Belarusian-Russian University: Strengthening Ongoing Successful Collaboration
The end of 2023 was a busy year for Polytechnic University and Belarusian-Russian University in terms of activity and implementation of joint activities. SPbPU and BRU have a long history of partnership within the framework of the project to support development programs of Slavic universities initiated by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.
In October, the first international scientific and practical conference «Environmental Week of BRU — SPbPU» took place. Among the participants there were representatives from the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. SPbPU was represented by the delegation of the Higher School of Hydraulic and Power Engineering: Professor Mikhail Shilin, Associate Professors Alexander Chusov and Mikhail Romanov, Senior Lecturer Vyacheslav Zhazhkov, postgraduate student Tatiana Zhitnikova, Master’s degree students Alexandra Anodchenko, Christina Bondarenko and Daria Pugacheva.
The topics of the conference covered a wide range of problems — from environmental education and upbringing to the challenges of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. More than 50 reports were delivered.
Viktor Pashkevich, Vice Rector for Research of the Belarusian-Russian University, noted the importance of the strategic partnership between BRU and SPbPU, the relevance of the issues under consideration and expressed confidence that it would be advisable to make this event regular.
In November 2023, the staff of the Higher School of Cyberphysical Systems & Control of the Institute of Computer Science and Cyber Security of SPbPU paid a working visit to the Belarusian-Russian University: Vyacheslav Potekhin, director of the SPbPU-FESTO North-West Interuniversity Regional Training and Research Center, Elena Goebel, associate professor, Elena Selivanova, senior lecturer, and Daniil Lyadsky, engineer at SPbPU-FESTO.
The visit was organized within the framework of scientific and pedagogical internship in the direction of «Management in Technical Systems». In BRU colleagues from Polytechnic University were hosted by Sergey Bolotov, dean of the Electromechanical Faculty of BRU, Anton Misnik and Andrey Kushner, associate professors of the Department of Software of Information Technologies.
Professors of the Higher School of Cyberphysical Systems & Control gave lectures to the students of the Electromechanical Faculty: Vyacheslav Potekhin on «Robotics and Sensorics. Industrial Internet», and Elena Goebel on «Network-centric control system».
At the «Cloud Distributed Control Systems» joint seminar the participants from SPbPU and BRU discussed several topics: «Control as a service: cloud distributed control systems», «Ontological engineering of cyber-physical systems based on meta-associative graphs», «Automated systems for registration of welding processes and monitoring of welding equipment operation».
The results of the visit were the drafting of joint publications, discussion and preparation of joint educational programs, including a network bachelor’s degree program in the direction of «Management in Technical Systems», further plans for scientific cooperation in the field of cyber-physical systems development were discussed.
In early December, representatives of the Institute of Machinery, Materials, and Transport came to BRU to detect new steps to strengthen cooperation in the field of network educational programs, features of cooperation in scientific areas, opportunities for the implementation of joint projects on the development of transport infrastructure and the introduction of intelligent transport systems.
Polytechnic University was represented by Alexey Grachev, director of the Higher School of Transport, and Associate Professor Dmitry Plotnikov. At the business meeting with Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Natalia Volologina they discussed the development of cooperation in the field of network educational programs.
Dmitry Plotnikov held a series of seminars with students and staff of the Department of Automobile Roads devoted to the creation of digital twins of complex transportation systems of urban agglomerations. BRU students learned the basics of creating simulation models of traffic on the examples of transportation models of real sections of street and road networks with the use of data from geographic information systems.
During the working meetings, the groundwork for scientific articles was discussed, the results of joint research on the topic «Digital systems for creating virtual traffic models based on artificial intelligence» were summarized.
From December 6 to December 8, 2023, a joint scientific and educational seminar on «Environmental safety in industry» was held at the BRU. The seminar was attended by: Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Natalia Volologina, Dean of the Faculty of Construction Olga Golushkova, Head of the Department of Technosphere Safety and Industrial Design Alexander Shchur and Head of the Department of Marketing and Management Anatoly Alexandrov; on the part of SPbPU, the participants were the head of the educational program «Environmental Safety in Industry» Natalia Politayeva, Associate Professors Alexander Chusov and Mikhail Romanov.
The seminar summarized the results of cooperation for 2023 and agreed on further joint initiatives in the field of technosphere safety. In particular, a joint network master’s degree program «Environmental Safety in Industry» was discussed. The disciplines to be taught in partner organizations, as well as the format of their teaching, including distance technologies, were agreed upon.
In addition, a joint monograph «Natural Risk Management» was presented at the seminar, and preliminary approval was obtained for the inclusion of professor Alexander Shchur (BRU), Doctor of Biological Sciences, in the dissertation council of SPbPU in the «Geoecology» specialty.