Anniversary season of the Open Doors Russian Scholarship Project kicks off: Polytech welcomes talented students from around the world

Today marks the start of the new season of the Open Doors Russian Scholarship Project of the Global Universities Association. This year, the project celebrates a significant milestone — 10 years since its foundation. Over this time, the Olympiad has become a hallmark of Russian higher education, attracting thousands of talented international students to the country.

Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University has been a permanent participant in the Russian Scholarship Project since its very inception in 2017. Over these years, Polytech has consistently strengthened its position as one of the leading partner universities. If in the first year only three winners were enrolled at the university, today the number of applications has exceeded 250. All of them received the opportunity to study in Master’s degree and PhD programs at the expense of the Russian Government quota.

An important innovation introduced in 2024 was the expansion of the Russian Scholarship Project tracks: winners can now apply not only to Master’s and PhD programs, but also to Bachelor’s programs. This opened the doors of Russian universities to an even wider range of international applicants, including school and college graduates

In the current season, interest in the Russian Scholarship Project remains at a record high: SPbPU has already received more than 250 applications from last year’s winners. Today, August 20, registration for participants begins and will last until November 1, 2026.

The Russian Scholarship Project is held across 14 interdisciplinary tracks. SPbPU participates in 11 tracks, and in two of them — «Business and Management» and «Economics and Econometrics» — it acts as the coordinator.

The Russian Scholarship Project will be held in several stages:

• First stage — registration and portfolio submission: August 20 — November 1, 2026.
• Second stage (online exam): November 13 — December 21, 2026.
• Third stage (interviews for PhD and postdocs): December 22, 2026 — February 26, 2027.

The anniversary season of the Russian Scholarship Project is a confirmation of the project’s maturity and global recognition. Over ten years, the Russian Scholarship Project has proven its effectiveness as a social elevator for talented youth from around the world. Polytechnic has always been and remains an active participant in this movement, opening its doors to bright minds who choose world-class Russian engineering education, commented Dmitry Arseniev, Vice-Rector for International Affairs of SPbPU.

Particular interest is traditionally generated by IT, robotics, and nuclear energy. SPbPU, coordinating two tracks, is confidently strengthening its leadership in engineering education, noted Evgenia Satalkina, Head of the International Education Office.

Winners and prize-winners of the Russian Scholarship Project receive the right to tuition-free education at leading Russian universities at the expense of the federal budget, as well as a monthly state scholarship. SPbPU is among the TOP‑3 Russian universities by the number of international students (more than 5,000 people from 105 countries).

Hurry up to register and take part in the Russian Scholarship Project!