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PSU Sets on 2021 Records, Raises Money to Support Science

Dr. Sergey Pyankov, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation, has overviewed the results of 2021 at the Academic Council of Perm State University (PSU). Along with PSU Press Office, we have paid close attention to the international component of his report:

In 2021, and for the first time, a group of PSU researchers from a wide spectrum of disciplines performed as authors for the “Science and Global Challenges of the 21st Century – Science and Technology” by Springer. In total, out of 99 publications 59 belonged to PSU scholars.

The Scientific Publishing Office at PSU helped organize the publication of papers, initiated at the Science and Global Challenges of the 21st Century Forum (autumn 2021); the Office continues providing assistance in writing scientific articles for the University scholars.

For the past year, 237 PSU scholars published their papers in internationally recognized journals; among them, 111 people had their publications quoted by the Web of Science. On the average, the number of articles published at Scopus is 2.6, and 2.8 at the Web of Science.

In 2021, a new Department of Scientific and Innovative Activity had been launched at PSU. For the first months of its activity, the Department concluded 12 contracts worth about RUB 70 million. Among the Department’s divisions, the International Academic Cooperation Office assists grant applications, promotes science diplomacy and contributes to the “Rational Subsoil Use” Perm Scientific and Educational Center.   

“This year, we will keep on building a unified and transparent network – providing informational, instructional and executive support of the scientific activity at PSU. We are doing our best to encourage our faculties and research units to write grant applications, as well as run commercial and contractual activities. The related search algorithms, regulatory support and tangible results should be clear and convenient for those researchers. We see our task at providing most full and complete support on that,”

said Dr. Sergey Pyankov, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovations, PSU.

Summing up the annual financial records, Dr. Pyankov noted that in 2021, PSU received the maximum amount of RUB 720 mln for research activities, which was 60% higher than in 2020. The Photonics NTI Competence Center, the Natural Sciences Institute, and the Faculty of Physics, PSU made the greatest contribution in this progress.

First International Pharmacists Graduate PSU

Three students from Iraq, the first international graduates in Pharmacy, have received diplomas from Perm State University (PSU) – marking the start of 2022 with a bright spot in their academic career.

Today, PSU is proud to be the only ‘classical’ university in Russia to teach Pharmacy – besides a greater variety of faculties and courses, both science and arts. Although PSU has had a long tradition of teaching chemistry and medicine back a century ago, after a long break it revised the “Pharmacy” Program in Russian language since 2016, and in English since 2017. The first international graduates in Pharmacy, using the English language fully, will graduate PSU in 2022.

“We are eager to expand the geography of admission of international students for the Pharmacy  program. I believe, the competences gained through the course will be in demand, globally.  The graduates of our Faculty surely have an advantage, as their knowledge and skills are a joint result of a classical fundamental approach meeting modern applied techniques,”

comments Irina Mashevskaya, Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry, PSU.

PSU students in Pharmacy learn to test the pharmacological activity of drugs, study their manufacture, develop strategies for their promotion on the market, and even build pharmaceutical enterprises.

According to our graduate Al-Zeyad Ali (Iraq), he chose the pharmaceutical course at Perm State University intentionally: “My Dad is a biologist and also an analytical chemist. My Mom is a veterinarian. Our family runs our own lab for analysis, so many people advised me to study pharmaceuticals. After my graduation here in Russia, I will spend another study year in Iraq in order to confirm my degree, in my native language. I will definitely work in a pharmacy or in a hospital. If I decide to continue my studies, it will be the veterinary medicine, since I tend to like this particular profession. Overall, I hope to lend a hand to my parents, and thank them for everything they have invested in me throughout my life.”

PSU Exchange Students Participate Olympics Opening in China

First year students of the “Information Systems and Big Data” module, Faculty of Economics, PSU, have attended the Opening Ceremony of the XXIV Winter Olympic Games on 4 February, 2022 in Beijing (China).

Relations the countries in sports and education are part of the Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on International Relations Entering a New Era and Global Sustainable Development, officially published and approved by both parties.

According to Mikhail Gorodilov, Dean of the Faculty of Economics, PSU, “China has been our strategic partner for many years, and we are always happy to develop bilateral equal and mutually beneficial forms of cooperation.”

“The Faculty of Economics is now successfully implementing undergraduate programs in English,  as well as summer school programs – enjoyed by international students, including 56 Chinese students in 2020-2022. Our partner universities from China have been successfully cooperating with the Faculty of Economics in various directions for many years,”

says Ekaterina Chuchulina, Assistant Professor, Head of the International Cooperation Project Office, head of PSU-China exchange programs at the Faculty of Economics, PSU.

China is now famous for having organized the Olympics at the highest professional level, overcoming the pandemic and global challenge. Perm State University is thrilled have its students in a heart of a world class event, attended by both Russian and Chinese Presidents, sharing positive vibe with the University. In 2022, PSU is expecting new exchange students from China and getting ready for new educational programs at the Faculty of Economics, PSU.

Step Into Chinese New Year – Singing Song About a Snowflake!

Song Tianyao (China), a graduate of Perm State University has recorded an unusual congratulation on the Chinese New Year. (As a sleeve note: Song Tianyao has recently defended her PhD (candidate of sciences) thesis in philology at PSU, congratulations!). Today, singing the famous Snowflake Song, she addressed all those Chinese and international students interested in East Asian culture – wishing everyone a happy holiday:

“… The New Year’s on the way,

Will make your dream come true:

As long as snowflakes are not melting,

Don’t let the snowflakes keep on melting –

Until the clock tower ends the tune,

Until the clock tower ends the tune…”

For the Chinese people, the New Year is not just a change of dates, as it marks the start of spring and so blossoming of nature. The astrological sign of 2022 is the Tiger, who shows respect to beauty and people following it. While the Tiger prefers the red color, the tradition in general supports fires and loud noises, believed to scare evil forces away. On the night of 31 January to 1 February, fireworks were around the University campus – the Chinese students celebrating the entry into a new life cycle.

“I would like to congratulate all those Chinese students currently studying in Russia on the Spring Festival,” says Song Tianyao. “We all know the severe virus situation makes us hard to follow it. Yet, I believe together we can overcome this challenge.”

The holiday begins a week before the event itself – started with a general cleaning, for the Tiger loves clean houses and hardworking people. Despite the distance from their homeland, each student strives to decorate a hostel space with bright colors – using lanterns and symbols of the year as decor. Students call their parents, yet refrain from communal celebrations around a broad dinner table with dumplings:

“For me, this New Year is quite unusual, as I am celebrating it alone, trying to stay safe and escape the potential illness. With the completion of my studies, I am planning to get back to China, so I have to limit my social contacts,” Song Tianyao admits.

The Snowflake Song was first performed in “The Magicians” Soviet film in 1982 by Olga Rozhdestvenskaya and the Good Fellows band. Although not a holiday hit, it became a favorite choice among many later artists, from pop to punk – seeing several remakes in 2002, 2008, 2014 and 2016.

“I came into this song completely by accident. Immediately since I heard it, I liked it. Our New Year’s songs are not related to winter, as we have a different climate all across China. And, in some parts, like the South, we don’t have snow at all,” the Chinese graduate shares.

On her arrival back home, not only Song Tianyao will be able to chat with her family at a holiday dinner, set fireworks and make a traditional family photo; she will also launch a paper lantern, lifting a card with her wishes up into the skies. Meanwhile, Perm State University will remain in touch with her and other alumni, waiting for new students and hoping for a brighter new year.

For reference:

For three years, Song Tianyao has been working as an assistant for the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, PSU and teaching Chinese language to students of three faculties – Philology, Geography and Modern Foreign Languages and Literature. In December 2021, Song Tianyao defended her PhD (candidate of sciences) thesis on Artistic Reception of B. Vasiliev’s Military Prose in China.

In the academic year 2021-2022 at PSU, 28 people, including 22 foreigners (21 students from China and 1 native of Japan), are enrolled in the 1st year postgraduate course in Linguistics and Literary Studies – mostly due to another PSU alumnus from China, who currently teaches at the Chengdu Institute of the Sichuan University of Foreign Studies.

A Call for Scholarships in Norway (due to 1 March, 2022)

The Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation informs: following the agreement on cooperation in education from 27 April, 2010 with the Ministry of Knowledge of the Kingdom of Norway, a scholarship competition has been opened for Russian candidates to study in higher educational institutions in Norway.

Within the Program framework, the Norwegian host party may consider various training options, like summer school or academic mobility (one semester or whole academic year).

The Program university participants in Norway include:

Among the Norwegian partners of Perm State University are the University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway (Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet), and the University of Bergen (Universitetet i Bergen).

To participate in the Program, a candidate must prepare two sets of documents. The first set should include one copy of all the documents required by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (one copy in Russian). The second set includes the documents required by a host (Norwegian university), using the language required, as well as the Diku – Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation and Education Quality Improvement.

Applicants’ documents must be sent in scanned form to Ms. Elena Sofronova, 8 (499) 236-25-57, esofronova@mail.ru. The deadline for submitting documents is 3 March, 2022.

The Norwegian side accepts applications electronically. The documents must be submitted to the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir) online by March 1, 2022, using the following link.

Please, see the information letter for a more detailed list of documents and additional information.

Belong to a different country, yet interested in studying in Norway? Learn more from https://www.studyinnorway.no/study-in-norway.

PSU Scholars Participate 3rd Winter School of Translation

On 27-29 January, PSU linguists, translators and interpreters are taking part in the 3rd Winter School of Translation (St. Petersburg, Russia). Empowered by its online format, the number of the School participants has already exceeded 1200 people from 39 countries, which is a record.

The School program covers over a dozen language sections, including English, Arabic, Bulgarian, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, German, Dutch, Japanese, and more. In 2022, the Turkish section is being held for the first time.

Well-known teaching professors and practicing experts in translation have been invited as speakers. Both lectures and workshops urge to update knowledge in a variety of subject areas, exchange experience, establish professional contacts, and expand skills in various aspects of translation.

The School has been organized by St Petersburg University (SPbU).

According to the School Organizing Committee, “the relevance of topics, as well as speakers’ status and experience make it sure the 3rd Winter School of Translation is gaining attention among the professional community. No doubt, the School’s regular character is already becoming a solid foundation for strengthening ties and maintaining interest within the translation profession.”

Interested in Scholarships? Love Asia? Study in Brunei!

The Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State of Brunei Darussalam welcome scholarship applications for the 2022/2023 academic year.

The Government of Brunei Darussalam Scholarship award provides applicants with the opportunity to undertake Diploma, Undergraduate Degree and Postgraduate Master’s Degree at any one of the following institutions of higher education:

The closing date for the reception of completed application forms, together with certified copies of relevant certificates and documents is, not later than 16:00 (Brunei time) on 15 February 2022.

As reported by PSU International Department,

Applicants need to provide two packages of documents: for the Russian and Brunei parties. The following documents are required from the Russian applicants:

  • a letter of representation;
  • biographical information;
  • certificate/certificate of knowledge of the English language;
  • international passport;
  • consent to data processing.

Please, see the links with comprehensive info in English and Russian here:

http://www.mfa.gov.bn/pages/bdgs/bdgs2022.aspx
http://www.psu.ru/files/docs/news/!2022/01-20_3/info_pismo.pdf.

In Russia, the documents must be sent to: Olga D. Poleshchuk, tel.: 8-495-788-65-91, e-mail: poleshchuk@list.ru

International requests beyond Russia will be answered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State of Brunei Darussalam: applications – applybdgs2022@mfa.gov.bn; queries: queriesBDGS2022@mfa.gov.bn

What is Brunei?

Brunei, officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace, also Brunei Darussalam. Located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia, surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, Brunei is the only sovereign state entirely on Borneo – the island divided between Malaysia and Indonesia.

As of 2020, Brunei’s population was 460,345, of whom about 100,000 live in the capital and largest city, Bandar Seri Begawan. The government is an absolute monarchy ruled by its Sultan, and implements a combination of English common law and sharia law, as well as general Islamic practices.

Classified as a developed country today, Brunei gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. Growing its wealth from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields, Brunei increased 56% GDP from 1999 to 2008, transforming it into an industrialized country.

PSU Center for Youth Policy Projects: Join and Cooperate!

Got ideas of how international students could cooperate with each other? Looking forward to learn new skills and join cool projects? Eager to contribute to the University life? A new Center for Youth Policy Projects, launched at Perm State University, invites you to join – on campus, and far beyond!

“We regard our Center as a starting ground to grow the youth policy at the University – a place where everyone can find something to their liking. And, it is the real needs and interests of students that will count! Our team is waiting for all those interested in volunteering, developing communities and associations, event management, tech solutions, and many more,”

says Alexandra Goldyreva, head of the Center for Youth Policy Projects, PSU.

The Center for Youth Policy Projects aims at providing space and support for both individual ideas or already existing projects, spontaneous and organized, including informal youth communities and established associations.

A great example of such activity is the Center of Foreign Culture launched by young PSU activists. Today, the Center team practices event management and volunteering, contributes to cross-cultural communication and learning, helps grow journalist, SMM and videographer skills, and even leads talk groups at the PSU Radio Station.

“The plans of our Center of Foreign Culture include working on their YouTube channel, participating local outreach events, writing grants, establishing links with universities in other countries,”

says Meylis Tuvakov, head and leader of the Center, a second year undergraduate, Faculty of Economics, PSU.

The Center of Foreign Culture has been created in February 2021 as a part of the PSU Student Media Center. Using the Center capacities, students may fulfil their academic creative and athletic potential, also complementing to the organization’s activities are aimed at helping foreigners adapt to a new mentality. To join the Center team, please contact Meylis Tuvakov at meylistuwakaw@gmail.com

Overall, PSU student initiatives urge to develop those competencies the students will need outside the University, in social and professional spheres. This might be empowered by participating in student grant competitions and case championships, interacting with partner NGOs and volunteer organizations, acquiring to and with a help from the “Priority-2030” Russian federal program.

PSU Scholars ‘Heal’ Drones from ‘Blindness’

The “Photonics” NTI Competence Center at Perm State University has developed a new method for preventing emergency shutdowns of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Commonly known as a drone, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which include additionally a ground-based controller and a system of communications with the UAV.

The flight of UAVs may operate under remote control by a human operator, as remotely-piloted aircraft (RPA), or with various degrees of autonomy, such as autopilot assistance, up to fully autonomous aircraft that have no provision for human intervention.

PSU scholars urged to eliminate the possibility of a system failure due to a sudden change in temperature, the results of the research being published in the Applied Sciences Journal. The development is based on the protection of elements of fiber-optic gyroscopes from the action of the pyroelectric effect.

“The pyroelectric effect is manifested by sudden changes in temperature in the navigation systems of drones. With such a phenomenon, a loss of the optical signal may occur, and all the equipment shuts down. We were able to improve the existing method in such a solution,”

says Roman Ponomarev, Senior Researcher, “Photonics” NTI Competence Center, Head of the Integrated Photonics Laboratory, PSU.

In some cases, it takes about 50 minutes to restore the work of “blind” drones. To determine the location of the signal loss, scientists conducted experiments on cooling and gradual heating of six types of photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Along with the temperature change, the samples were checked on “leakage” of the optical signal.

“The solution to the problem of the pyroelectric effect in PICs was found a long time ago – like using the conductive paste. Yet, it is extremely important to take temperature conditions under which the pyroelectric effect can interfere with the operation of the optical circuit. This knowledge will be relevant when developing new solutions and evaluating their resistance to variable temperatures,”

comments Roman Ponomarev.

Not only does the new method allow to determine the existing places of optical losses, but also to predict dangerous operating modes of navigation systems. In addition to drones, the development will increase the security of quantum communication networks and quantum cryptography.

UAVs were originally developed through the twentieth century for military missions. As control technologies improved and costs fell, their use expanded to many other applications, such as aerial photography, product deliveries, agriculture, policing and surveillance, infrastructure inspections, science and drone racing.

Drone picture source.

PSU Scholars Become Guest Editors of Microorganisms Journal

Which knowledge, gained through university studies, will be required by your future employee? In most fields of natural production – like oil, gas or minerals’ extraction and processing, a company is interested in compliance with the international norms of environmental protection. Environment degradation makes it extremely useful to search for prevention or compensation of anthropogenic pollution. Cleaning the pollutants out of the biosphere remains a constant challenge for humanity.

The scholars from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, PSU have been invited as editors for the special issue “Microbial Biodegradation and Biotransformation” by of the Microorganisms international scientific journal (ISSN 2076-2607, Web of Science, Scopus, Q2). The issue will present experimental and review articles on modern approaches to microbial destruction and transformation of xenobiotics, as well as innovative technologies for bioremediation of contaminated ecosystems.

Xenobiotics are known as ‘unnatural’ chemical substances found within organisms, artificially introduced or unexpected; they may also be present in much higher concentrations as opposed to the usual ones. Natural compounds can also become xenobiotics if they are taken up by other organism, like the uptake of natural human hormones by fish found downstream of sewage treatment plant outfalls.

In search of rational ways of biodegradation, the efforts of most researchers have been concentrated in applied microbiology.

“Such challenge makes us expand and intensify the study of microorganisms in contaminated environments, the so-called extremotolerant microorganisms or stress-tolerants. These microorganisms play the role of a primary response system to unfavorable or potentially dangerous environmental changes, and initiate their adaptive responses at the earliest stage,”

notes Dr. Irina Ivshina, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and professor at PSU.

Dr. Irina Ivshina and Dr. Elena Tyumina, researchers from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Perm State University, will act as guest editors for the “Microbial Biodegradation and Biotransformation” special issue, section “Environmental Microbiology” by the Microorganisms Journal. Invitations to publish are being sent to leading experts and researchers from Russia, USA, Germany, France, China, Spain, Poland, Great Britain, Australia. The articles will be peer reviewed and published accordingly, the whole process taking about two weeks. Applications are welcomed until 31 July, 2022.

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging, and using its submission form, until the deadline. As already mentioned, all papers will be accepted pert arrival, peer-reviewed, and listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI’s English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Original message from guest editors and editor in chief.
Special Issue “Microbial Biodegradation and Biotransformation”.

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