Polytechnic University and Russian Armenian University Agree on Joint Nanosatellite Launch and Approve New Cooperation Plans

A delegation from the Institute of Electronics and Telecommunications (IET) of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) made a working visit to the Russian‑Armenian University (RAU). The delegation included: Scientific Director of the Institute, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Sergey Makarov; Deputy Director of the Institute, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Associate Professor Maxim Vinnichenko; and Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor Andrey Rashich.

The key event was an official meeting with the leadership of RAU, during which the results of the implementation of the joint Roadmap for 2024–2025 were summarized. Given the high effectiveness of the cooperation, the parties promptly agreed on and began formulating plans for the next two‑year period of 2026–2027.

The meeting participants paid special attention to scientific and technical projects. The main topic was the progress in preparing for the launch of the small spacecraft (nanosatellite) «Academician V. Ambartsumyan.» Young researchers and students from both universities are jointly working on the development of this satellite within the framework of an open joint laboratory for signal reception and transmission. The colleagues also discussed the results of the laboratory’s work, which successfully received telemetry from a satellite recently launched into orbit that was developed at Polytechnic University. This confirms the high level of technical readiness of both parties for the implementation of space experiments.

Maxim Vinnichenko conducted an in‑depth seminar for senior students and postgraduates of RAU on current issues in semiconductor physics. In addition, he discussed organizational details with colleagues regarding the XXVIII All‑Russian Youth Conference on Semiconductor Physics and Nanostructures, Semiconductor Opto‑ and Nanoelectronics, which will take place at the end of November this year. Following the negotiations, a working group was formed, a program committee for reviewing reports was approved, and a list of invited speakers — leading Russian and international experts — was agreed upon online.

Andrey Rashich, known for his expertise in embedded systems, shared with his colleagues from Yerevan unique experience in conducting classes on FPGA (Field‑Programmable Gate Array) programming. He focused on successful cases of integrating these skills both into the educational process and into real research projects.

Professor Sergey Makarov, in turn, discussed the participation of RAU representatives in the prestigious SPbPU conference «Electrical Engineering and Photonics» and gave a number of recommendations aimed at improving the quality of joint publications to the level of Scopus‑indexed journals.

A separate item on the agenda was the discussion of the work of the joint dissertation council in the specialty «Radio Engineering, including Television Systems and Devices.» The parties noted the successful defense experience in 2025 and have already scheduled new dissertation defenses for 2026.

It is important to emphasize that all of the above activities are being implemented, among other things, within the framework of the state project of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. The project is aimed at increasing the efficiency of Russian‑national (Slavic) universities in training personnel for the digital economy through the development of research programs, additional education, and professional development, including through the use of modern distance learning technologies.