Opening doors to the future: The Open Doors Olympiad provides a chance for free education at Russia's leading technical university

Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University is preparing for a record intake of talented foreign applicants through the international Olympiad Open Doors: Russian Scholarship Project. Last year’s winners submitted about 300 applications, and a third of them were from future bachelors enrolled in the program for the first time. For international students, this is a unique chance to receive free education at the expense of the state quota of the Russian Federation in one of the country’s technical universities. Registration for the Olympiad this year starts on September 1.

The Open Doors Olympiad organized by Global Universities Organization with the support of the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Open Doors Olympiad provides foreign citizens, compatriots living abroad, and stateless persons with the opportunity to enroll in public-funded places without entrance tests. Participation in all stages is carried out remotely, and winners will be able to choose their training in both English and Russian.

Registration of participants and acceptance of the portfolio, including academic achievements (certificates, scientific papers, motivation letter), will begin on September 1.

• Registration and portfolio: September 1 — November 16, 2025
• Online exam: November 28 — December 15, 2025
• Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree results: December 30, 2025
• PhD interviews: January 24 — February 6, 2026 (main days), February 12-14, 2026 (reserve)
• Results for PhD/postdocs: February 27, 2026

The winners of the Open Doors Olympiad receive significant benefits: full funding from the Government of the Russian Federation, including tuition fees and a monthly scholarship, the opportunity to complete a preparatory year in Russian even when applying to English-language programs, as well as accommodation on the SPbPU campus at a discounted price.

St. Petersburg Polytechnic University holds a strong position in the international educational space. The university is one of the top 3 Russian universities in terms of the number of international students (more than 5,000 people from 107 countries) and demonstrates high results in world rankings such as QS (top 559 in the world) and THE (top 400 in the field of engineering). SPbPU offers 16 international programs in English, including «International Business», «Intelligent Systems», «Civil Engineering» and «Nuclear Energy».

I chose Polytechnic University because of its strong reputation in engineering and advanced research. The innovative approach and friendly environment exceeded my expectations, says Jacob Bona from Sierra Leone, winner of the 2024 Olympics.

Experts and successful applicants give some advice to future participants. It is recommended to carefully prepare a portfolio, including all academic achievements, including school Olympiads. The motivation letter should clearly explain the choice of a specific training profile and SPbPU. To prepare for the online exam, you should use the trial assignments available on the Open Doors website, paying special attention to mathematics and logic for technical areas.

Open Doors is a social elevator for talented foreigners, emphasizes Evgenia Satalkina, Head of the Department of International Education at SPbPU. In 2024, more than 120 winners have chosen Polytechnic University, and we expect this number to grow this year.