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PSU Students to Help People in Difficult Life Situations

Eager to study and gain practical experience, as well as recognition? Want to contribute to the life of local community? Know French and Russian equally well? Join us for the experience!

PSU Students, studying French, will help the Resting Territory Center for People in Difficult Life Situations (Perm, Russia). 3rd, 4th and 5th year students will help assist a large study of homeless people, locally. The Center is planning to use best European practices in that, particularly, France. Volunteer translators will translate guidebooks and other documentation like questionnaires, data and instructions.

“I believe that among the practices that the department offers, humanitarian projects is the niche in which organizers may really need the creative help of translators,” Aleksey Kozikov, PSU volunteer translator admits. “In terms of the French language, it became interesting for me to look at the Parisian methodological materials as authentic language material. And indeed, the questionnaires and brochures turned out to be informative and with a beautiful layout.”

Previously, at the Université Grenoble Alpes International, Aleksey Kozikov had a chance to translate aseveral articles from an academic socio-economic journal. Using recent practice, he hopes to establish contacts with the organizers, as well as reach tangible results for the Center.

The Resting Territory is a place for a person in a difficult life situation, including those living in the street, to turn to and put oneself in order – like taking a shower, doing free laundry, having a cup of hot tea, as well as getting clothes, hygiene products and first aid. The Center encourages to evaluate one’s individual potential and prospects hand-in-hand with social workers, a lawyer and a psychologist. A welcoming smile, friendly piece of advice and human touch are guaranteed.

“We help those who are homeless or at risk of being so, on the street. Our mission is to grant them back the opportunity to live like humans,” the Resting Territory Team states at its website.

The people who seek help from the Center might be quite different. Some are positive and try their best to make a difference. Others are in shock from what happened to them. There might be utterly desperate people, or those who in need of a short break. Some require a little encouragement, and some a daily support.

The Resting Territory is a practical-oriented division of the inter-regional public organization “Society for the Development of Productive Initiatives”, aimed at people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. As part of the research team, PSU volunteers will be involved at various stages of its activity. Reciprocally, volunteers will get professional assessments, letters of gratitude, as well as collaboration experience and professional contacts.

For more info, please, visit the Resting Territory web-site: https://homelessperm.ru/

PSU Speakers Lead in Falling Walls Lab Perm 2020

The Falling Walls Lab Perm, a known international blitz conference in popular science took place at PSU today. On behalf Perm krai, 28 applications were registered, and 11 participants were chosen. According to the Conference format, each participant was given 3 minutes to present her/his research, business idea or project, using English as the language of presentation.

Ekaterina Stepanova, Faculty of Chemistry, PSU won the 1st prize with her report “Breaking the Wall of Antimicrobal Resisitance”. As a Falling Walls Lab Perm winner, Ekaterina has won a virtual trip to Berlin (Germany) to present her idea at the Grand Finale in front of the distinguished Jury among 100 finalists all over the world.

At the Falling Walls Lab Perm, Alice Bortnik (PSU) and Nickolay Sazhenkov (Perm State Technical University, became 2nd and 3rd prize winners, correspondingly. Among other institutions, the delegates also represented Perm State Humanitarian Pedagogical University and State Archive of Perm Krai.

Three winners of the Falling Walls Berlin Lab Finale will receive a cash prize and the opportunity to give their talk on the grand stage of the FW Conference. Besides, Falling Walls Lab winner gets a chance to apply to the Falling Walls Innovation Week. Only 15 participants will get an opportunity to take part in the business trainings, meet the outstanding experts and coaches, and choose the best business model for their project.

The event takes place within the framework of the Russian-German Year of Scientific and Educational Partnerships 2018–2020.

The honorary members of the Perm jury in 2020 included: Mr. Mathias Kruse, Consul General of Germany in Yekaterinburg (Deutsches Generalkonsulat Jekaterinburg, see also: Посольство Германии в Москве – Deutsche Botschaft Moskau au); Dr. Andreas Hoeschen, Head of the regional office German Academic Exchange Servic (DAAD) in Russia and Director of the German Centre for Research and Innovation (DWIH) in Moscow, Professor Dr. Eileen Eckmeier, NMUN Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich; Professor Dr. Jürgen Hermes, (Universität zu Köln); Professor Dr. Ralf Brüning, University of Applied Sciences for Medium-Sized Companies (Fachhochschule des Mittelstands (FHM) -Köln). The Jury will be headed by Dr. Ludwig Stroink, Head of International Affairs Office, GFZ Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (Internationalen Büro des Deutschen Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ Potsdam).

On behalf Perm State University, Ms Elena Malkova, Vice-rector for Youth Policy, expressed her gratitude to the honorable Jury and participants. She also thanked the German partners for the opportunity to run the Falling Walls Lab Perm at PSU site, noting the highly recognized status of Perm State University. Natalia Dobrynina, head of the Department of Network Programs and Educational Projects, PSU, has also been contributing as an active supporter of the Falling Walls Lab Perm, since 2018,.

“By your participation you showed to all of us that there are no walls remaining when people urge to share their ideas and communicate with each other, especially using science. The concept of the Falling Walls is worth sharing and developing because we all want to live in this world peacefully and happily,”

Natalia Dobrynina, shared.

PSU Welcomes Science and Global Challenges of the 21st Century Forum

What will the future be like? Can we program it? And, which technologies will serve that?

On 12-18 October, PSU will run two conferences on hi-tech and science resolving global issues – “Intelligent Systems in Science and Technology” and “Artificial Intelligence in Solving Urgent Social and Economic Challenges of the 21st Century”.

The conferences are a part of a bigger event – the 5th Perm Science Forum “Science and Global Challenges of the 21st Century”.

Russian and international scholars will meet online to discuss the prospects of science and education in the era of globalization – raising academic awareness, proposing practical solutions, sharing experiences of collaboration with state and private enterprises.

“Our Forum serves a communication hub for leading scientists, practicing experts, students and young researchers discussing key areas of science and technology, intelligent systems and artificial intelligence, in particular. We much welcome the open dialogue, addressing issues from different angles, regardless scientific degrees and positions. Notably, our conferences help each participant to get their share of new knowledge or productivity of their ideas,”

comments Andrey Kuznetsov, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, PSU.

The Conference sections cover the following topics:

– cyber-physical systems, IoT (smart home, smart city);

– robotics, mechatronics;

– artificial intelligence, systems for working with big data (big data, data mining, blockchain);

– artificial intelligence in natural and social sciences;

– computer vision and visualization systems;

– additive technologies;

– fundamental problems of data mining and obtaining new scientific knowledge.

The conferences will be held both in Russian and English. As a result of the sections’ activity, participants will be able to publish their reports in the Perm University Bulletin journal, as well as Applied Mathematics and Management Issues journal. In addition, selected articles will be published in a separate collection of conference proceedings in English with indexing in Scopus.

Due to the COVID-19 situation, the BBB and Zoom platforms will be used for the remote participation.

Please, visit the Conference forum here: http://math.psu.ru/

Falling Walls Lab Perm, Blitz Format, to Be Held at PSU on 21 September 2020

Interested in presenting break-through ideas? Looking for inspiration? Fishing for experts’ support and advice?

The Falling Walls Lab Perm, a known blitz conference in popular science will be held at PSU on 21 September, 2020. This year, the Falling Walls Lab Perm takes place in online format. The participants are offered 3 minutes to present their innovative approach through a research, business idea or project, using English as the language of presentation. The selected winner’s performance will be professionally recorded and sent to Berlin (Germany) to participate in the Falling Walls Lab 2020 finals competition.

“All the participants’ ideas and projects presented at the selection stage, beyond any doubt touch upon most urgent challenges. Preventing plane crashes, making mining waste-free, dealing with inflammatory diseases, as well as many other issues from various fields of researchers’ competence serve an example for that. Running a blitz conference in a new format is surely a challenge, both for the participants and organizers,”

admits Natalia Dobrynina, head of the Department of Network Programs and Educational Projects.

The winner of the Falling Walls Lab Perm will be provided an opportunity to participate in the Innovation Week. There, workshops on effective presentation of scientific ideas, turning them into a successful business project will be run by international experts and coaches. This year, the Innovation Week will also be held online.

The event takes place within the framework of the Russian-German Year of Scientific and Educational Partnerships 2018–2020.

The honorary members of the Perm jury in 2020 include: Mr. Mathias Kruse, Consul General of Germany in Yekaterinburg (Deutsches Generalkonsulat Jekaterinburg, also: Deutsche Botschaft Moskau; Dr. Andreas Hoeschen, Head of the regional office German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in Russia and Director of the German Centre for Research and Innovation (DWIH) in Moscow; Professor Dr. Eileen Eckmeier, NMUN Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München); Professor Dr. Jürgen Hermes, (Universität zu Köln); Professor Dr. Ralf Brüning, University of Applied Sciences for Medium-Sized Companies (Fachhochschule des Mittelstands (FHM) -Köln). The Jury will be headed by Dr. Ludwig Stroink, Head of International Affairs Office, GFZ Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences (Internationalen Büro des Deutschen Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ Potsdam).

Spectators are also welcomed to register for the event, using the following link. A welcome address will be sent to the email specified in the registration form.

Please, follow the Falling Walls Lab Perm updates and news of the event here. Photos kindly borrowed from the Falling Lab Perm Jury participating parties, official pages, web links above.

Please, follow the Falling Walls Lab Perm updates and news of the event here.

PSU Retains its Position Among Best Universities, Worldwide

Times Higher Education (THE, UK) has published a new ranking of best universities, worldwide. Perm State National Research University (PSU) is still ranked 1001+ internationally, and 35th among Russian higher educational institutions. A total of 48 Russian universities were included in the top list.

PSU has improved its performance in several areas: teaching quality, research activities, and contribution to innovation. In addition to the mentioned criteria, THE assesses universities in terms of citation index, share of foreign students and foreign teachers. In total, to compile the rating, the experts take into account thirteen indicators.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021 includes 1,527 universities from 93 countries and is one of the largest rankings in higher education today. Initially PSU was included into this list in 2017.

Times Higher Education (THE), formerly The Times Higher Education Supplement, is a weekly magazine based in London, reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. It is the United Kingdom’s leading publication in its field. The ranking place is compiled on the basis of data from three sources: statistical information from universities, a bibliometric database of Scopus and a survey of academic experts.

PSU Welcomes Hundreds of Foreign Students

More than 250 citizens from 23 countries will continue their studies at PSU since the start of the new academic year 2020-2021. The geography of international students is wide: the Caucasus and Central Asia, the Greater Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

From 1 September, the University continues studies in a regular format, in accordance with the anti-COVID safety measures.

The most popular faculties among PSU international students are Philology, Modern Foreign Languages and Literature, Chemistry, Biology, History and Political Sciences.

At the present moment, 49 citizens of Turkmenistan, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Egypt, Sudan, Colombia, Afghanistan, Haiti, Zimbabwe, Algeria are enrolled in the first year of bachelor’s, master’s and postgraduate studies. Another 170 foreign applicants are passing the procedure of enrollment. Due to the start of the classes, all international students will undergo a mandatory medical examination. First arrivals and those returning from abroad will have to pass a two weeks quarantine.

“Restrictions associated with the spread of COVID-19 have certainly affected the academic mobility of students and teachers,” says Vadim Gataulin, Head of the International Relations Department, PSU. “By mutual consent with our partners abroad, it was decided to temporarily suspend existing academic mobility programs at least until the end of the calendar year.”

Due to COVID-19, the share of Chinese citizens studying at PSU may be reduced, but not significantly. By September-October 2020, the University plans to accept about 120 Chinese students to 3 English-taught educational programs: “Ecological Engineering and New Energetics” (Faculty of Geography), “Pharmacy” (Faculty of Chemistry), “Information Systems and Big Data” and “International Business” (Faculty of Economics).

According to the International Department, PSU, by the end of August, 258 international students will continue their education at the University:

  • Turkmenistan – 183,
  • China – 19,
  • Iraq – 15,
  • Azerbaijan – 7,
  • Uzbekistan – 5,
  • Armenia – 4,
  • Egypt – 2,
  • Syria – 2,
  • Tajikistan – 2,
  • Somalia – 2,
  • Yemen – 2.

Morocco, Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Indonesia, Thailand, Cameroon, Algeria, Georgia, Japan and Cote d’Ivoire are represented each by one student.

Citizens of Turkmenistan make about 45-50% of the total share of PSU international students, citizens of China – 25-30%, citizens of Iraq – 10-15%.

Traditionally, PSU admits 50-60 foreign students to the Preparatory Department, which runs the introductory course “Russian as a Foreign Language”. Upon its completion, the graduates are allowed to apply for any higher institution, locally and nationally. In 2020, the course will be delivered in a distance learning format.

258 foreign students continuing their studies at bachelor’s, master’s and postgraduate studies will start the academic year in a full-time format. Only a small amount of them (5%) left the territory of Russia during the pandemic. According to forecasts by the Department of International Relations, PSU, the number of foreign citizens studying on educational programs by PSU in 2020-2021 will grow by 20-30% (520-650 international students in 2020-2021 vs 447 international students in 2019-2020).

PSU warmly welcomes our international students on campus!

PSU Starts Development Strategy-2030

Where does the University go? How solid its position, globally? Which strategic directions will get priorities for the next 10 years?

The Strategic Session for Perm State University Development in 2021 – 2030 has taken place at PSU, involving all possible parties – university administration, faculty deans, scholars, federal officials and non-profit organizations, business. All participants were divided into four groups: Science and Innovation, Commercialization of Development, Education and Communities. Each team shared their views on the first results of the work at the seminar.

Sergey Malenko, Head of the International Cooperation Department, Russian Academy of Sciences pointed out, that PSU has all the potential for further development of the Perm territory, regardless of the mood of regional or federal authorities: “Perm State University is an actor in itself, capable of delivering world-class projects, mainly in science and scientific and technical part. PSU, through the creation of interdisciplinary teams, will be able to attract funding globally, and participate in international projects. This way, the University will be able to push the agenda and develop the region.”

According to the Science and Innovation team, interaction platforms like the Strategic Session prove to be useful. “In the course of our work, we managed to find common ground for interdisciplinary research across PSU campus, as well as discuss challenges and ways to move further,” says Konstantin Belousov, Professor of the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, PSU.

The team responsible for priority tasks connected with the university’s ‘third role’, discussed the questions of social outreach, local community and communications. “We were able to identify our pain points and find weak spots that need to be addressed – like, creating channels of interaction with a larger world off-campus, strengthening our social role and creating an attractive image of the university,” shares Alexandra Umnova, Chair, Student Union, PSU.

The Education team claim to succeed with the interdisciplinary perspective on how faculties and departments see the future of education at PSU. “In general, developing a common strategy is an important issue, as it starts with developing a common vision. And we took the first step in this direction, ” says Mikhail Gorodilov, Dean, Faculty of Economics, PSU.

Oleg Ganin, Head, Strategic Development Department, PSU, shares his vision of the Session: “It is important to realize our targets, whether to jump for a soon start or choose a gradual ascend. The crucial thing was to unite our efforts and progress together in the same direction. For such purpose, our communication platform has proved its significance.”

“In my view, the University has once again proved its status is a living organism. Each report caused a storm of opinions and emotions from all the participants. As for invited experts, I was pleasantly surprised by their excitement about the future of the university, as well as their passion to help us move in that direction. A number of insights voiced here will be adopted for the final version of the University Development Strategy-2030,” Dmitry Krasilnikov, PSU Acting Rector, has concluded.

Running the Strategic Session for Perm State University Development in 2021 – 2030 has served a tangible start for the PSU strategy, overall.

New Academic Year at PSU: Going Offline, Campus Welcomes Students!

After several months of distant learning and self-isolation, and the following summer holidays break, PSU students will continue their studies as usual, on University campus. The academic year 2020/21 at starts on 1 September, off-line, as usual. At the same time, the University prolongs all possible measures to prevent COVID-19.

“Perm State University is eager to welcome students back to classrooms and study labs. At the same time, we will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the educational process,” Sergey Makarov, PSU Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, has ensured.

In accordance with the order “On the Resumption of the Educational Process”, signed by PSU Acting Rector Dr. Dmitry Krasilnikov, a ‘mask mode’ has been introduced on campus. In the new academic year, PSU students, teachers, staff and guests will also have to comply with the sanitary and epidemiological rules, like regularly ventilating the study rooms, and treating writing utensils and tables with disinfectants.

In addition, daily preventive measures will become a part of the PSU campus life. Dispensers with antiseptic agents have been installed in canteens, toilets and building halls. Videos on safety precautions will be broadcast through University media and on dashboards.

In response, the University promotes and expects responsible attitude to public health from all the audiences, including the administration, teachers, students and guests. If you are not feeling well, experiencing fever and cough, please, consult a doctor and limit social contacts to the maximum.

PhD Student? Get a Grant by Russian Foundation for Basic Research!

The Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) has published a list of winners of the competition, titled “The Best Projects of Fundamental Research by Young Post-Graduate Scholars”. Eight applications from post-graduate students of Perm State University received support from the Foundation Jury – each of them will receive RUB 1 200 000 ($16 000) for their research.

“It should be noted that this year the RFBR approved all the applications sent by Perm State University. Not only this is a good result, but also an indicator of our young scholars’ progress. Today, PSU graduate students conduct relevant research in photonics, law, chemistry, biology, and experimental physics. A considerable amount of competing research in various fields once again proves that Perm State is moving in the right direction, pushing the science far both on local and national levels,”

comments Sergey Pyankov, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation, PSU

Need examples of or inspiration for a grant-awarding activity? In natural sciences, it can be a process of creating miniature lab-on-chips, used in chemical, biological and medical express analyzes and research – the project by one of PSU post-graduates. Another young PSU scholar in humanities conducts a research on information cooperation between the subjects of civil legal relations.

The grants under the RFBR competition are designed for two years. In total, the foundation has supported 1,540 projects from all over Russia. The competition “The Best Projects of Fundamental Research by Young Post-Graduate Scholars” was held for the first time last year. As a result of the competition in 2019, six PSU graduate students were included in the list of winners.

Get more information about the Russian Foundation for Basic Research here.

First Wave of Applicants 2020-2021 Accepted by the University

Still curious about studying in Russia? Why not try PSU? 519 applicants have enrolled in Master’s programs by Perm State National Research University (PSU), as reported by at the PSU Dean’s Council report.

The admission of foreign students to undergraduate and specialist programs is still open!

“A special feature of this year is the submission of documents, passing entrance examinations and enrollment in a remote format. Earlier, the main proof of the future student to enroll, apart from other following conditions, was the provision of the original certificate or diploma. Currently, the Admissions committee takes into account the statement of consent to enrollment, certified by the applicant’s signature and uploaded to the personal account,”

says Natalya Siryatskaya, Head of the Department of Students’ Enrollment

International applicants are carefully assisted by the PSU International Department – a special University division which deals with the applications, visa issues, course costs at PSU and questions of living in Russia. To get a permanent student status, foreigners are normally required to pass a 10 months Russian language course, which our University does provide. After that, PSU International Department helps with the application to a bachelor’s, master’s or PhD course. At this stage a foreign applicant may choose another university, or continue his/her studies at PSU.

Are you an international applicant? Please, read all the necessary info at the PSU Admission page and contact us at international@psu.ru to proceed with your application!

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