Foreign Applicants are Admitted to Polytechnic University: Interim Results During the Pandemic
The most unusual in Polytechnic University’s history admission campaign for international students is going on. In September, the international services of St. Petersburg State Pedagogical University summed up the intermediate results: this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic in the world, it was hard to predict until recently how many foreigners would dare to enroll in Russian universities. For the 2020-2021 academic year, for the first time ever, the admission campaign for foreign applicants is completely remote. To date, the staff of the Department of International Education has received and processed more than 3200 applications from foreign applicants who want to study at various educational programs of St. Petersburg State University.
This year, young people from China, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Egypt and India are showing considerable interest in the educational programs of Polytechnic University. Moreover, applicants from such faraway countries as the USA, Chile, Indonesia, and Bolivia have applied to Polytechnic University.
The pandemic caused no drop in the interest of foreign applicants in university preparation programs. The “response” of Polytechnic University to the situation in the world was the opening of preparatory courses in the PRC together with Chinese partners. Thus, educational courses that SPbPU opened in partnership with a Chinese partner, Qingdao Hengxing University of Science and Technology turned out to be in great demand among Chinese high school students. Representatives of the Share Company, which supported the organization of courses in the PROCESS, reported about this. Traditionally, the official representative office of SPbPU in Shanghai provided significant support in attracting Chinese applicants to the university.
SPbPU international educational programs traditional enjoy high popularity among foreign students. Despite the pandemic, the number of applications from foreign countries is even higher than last year. The new International Master’s degree program “Laser and Fiber Optic Systems” has a great success. In addition, the collaboration of Polytechnic University with AKKUYU NUCLEAR Joint-Stock Company (Turkey) is actively developing. This year, 25 students from Turkey entered Polytechnic University. Depending on the chosen area of training, they will study heat power engineering or electric power engineering at the international educational programs “Thermal Power Plants” and “Electric Power Engineering” in English. The representatives of the Institute of Energy are planning that next year students from Turkey will come to the Nuclear Energy Program. At the moment, negotiations are underway with Turkish partners Istanbul Technical University and Hacetepe University to expand the existing cooperation experience and implement new educational programs. The short-term educational programs of Polytechnic University also play their role: for example, a student of the International Polytechnic Winter School decided to continue his studies at SPbPU in the international Master’s degree program of the Institute of Energy.
Mechanical engineering, new materials, information technology, automation of technological processes, heat power engineering and heat engineering, economics and management, foreign regional studies also remain in demand among applicants.
A special section has been created on the SPbPU website for those students who have already enrolled to the university; it has information on how the university will operate during the pandemic. You can read the materials in Russian and English.
“Despite the complicated situation in the world, we see a significant interest of foreign applicants in the educational programs of Polytechnic University. Academic partners, recruiting companies, our official offices in Shanghai and Madrid provide SPbPU with great support. In addition, Polytechnic University constantly interacts with the embassies and consulates of foreign countries on all matters related to foreign students during the pandemic. I would also like to emphasize that all programs and curricula will be fully implemented at Polytechnic University, and the most important task for us at the moment is to ensure the safety of students and staff. The University has all the resources to work remotely, but, like everyone else, we hope that in the near future we will be able to return to our usual life,” said Head of International Education Office Evgeniya SATALKINA.
Prepared by the SPbPU International Office