At the Summit of Slavic Universities, development programs and artificial intelligence were discussed

The fourth Slavic Universities Summit, «Slavic Horizon 2026,» concluded at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. On the first day, the opening ceremony was held, and three bilateral agreements on collaborative educational programs were signed. The second part of the program focused on the central theme of the summit: the discussion of Slavic universities' development programs for 2026−2030, the identification of specific areas of cooperation, and new management tools in the era of artificial intelligence.

The key event of the summit was a plenary session, at which delegations from the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University named after B. N. Yeltsin, the Russian-Armenian University, the Belarusian-Russian University, and the Russian-Tajik (Slavic) University presented their universities' development programs. The Project Office of SPbPU suggested that participants not limit themselves to classic strategy presentations, but instead build the conversation around the practical component: the university’s mission, target model, key challenges, long-term goals, priority measures, and expected results.

This format immediately shifted the discussion from general intentions to a conversation about what could be done together. The universities spoke not only about their own ambitions, but also about specific constraints: human resources potential, the quality of educational programs, digital transformation, infrastructure, international competitiveness, research performance, and the demand for graduates in the labor market.

Representatives of RAU emphasized the renewal of educational programs, digital and AI modules, competition for talent, the development of a research center, and the university’s humanitarian role as a platform for Russian-Armenian interaction. BRU presented a program focused on training engineering personnel for the technological sovereignty of Belarus and Russia, the development of network programs, applied research, digital transformation of management, and a modern laboratory base. RTSU outlined the tasks of creating an integrated system of continuing education, strengthening the Russian language, training competitive specialists, and developing the university’s research and innovation system, human resources potential, and digital environment.

Vice-Rector for International Affairs of SPbPU Dmitry Arseniev noted that it is precisely this format that helps universities see each other not only as partners in individual events, but also as participants in a common development system.

Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of RAU Marina Khachatryan emphasized that the summit provides an opportunity not just to hear colleagues' experience, but to take working tools home.

Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of BRU Natalya Vologina drew attention to the level of partnership with Polytech: Since 2014, we have been developing a strategic partnership with St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, and for our university it is truly important and systemic. Therefore, for us the summit is not just an annual meeting of colleagues, but another stage of joint work: here we sum up the university’s development, discuss accumulated experience, and set goals and objectives for the next year. The partnership goes far beyond individual events and continues in the daily work of our universities.

Vice-Rector for Science and Innovation of RTSU Umidjon Ulugov emphasized that the summit helps build horizontal connections within the community of Slavic universities itself.

A separate place in the program was occupied by academic mobility. In the autumn semester of the 2026/27 academic year, 38 KRSU students and 7 BRU students began their studies at SPbPU.

During the summit, KRSU Rector Sergey Volkov met with students from his university who are currently studying at Polytech. The conversation turned out to be lively and substantive: the students told the rector how the educational environment of SPbPU is organized, how the organization of the academic process differs, how classes, project work, communication with instructors, and adaptation to a large engineering university take place.

A separate meeting was held by Natalya Vologina with BRU students studying at SPbPU this autumn. For BRU, this semester became the first experience of participating in a semester mobility program, so the conversation was especially detailed: they discussed adaptation at Polytech, academic workload, educational practices, daily life, impressions of the campus, and which elements of the program are important to develop in the future.

Artificial intelligence also became an important topic of the summit. The practical part of the first day continued with a master class, «AI as an Assistant in Organizing University Activities.» Participants discussed how to use modern AI tools in developing educational programs, preparing teaching materials, working with data, monitoring the educational process, and forming personalized educational trajectories.