Russia-Iraq: engineering alliance for the benefit of the international community

Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University together with Mashreq University (Iraq) and the Iraqi Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Design, co-organized the International Scientific Conference on Geotechnics and Energy, which was held in Baghdad this May.

On behalf of SPbPU, Mohanad Muayad Sabri, a Polytechnic University graduate, Ph.D., a leading researcher at the Laboratory of Self-Regenerating Structural Materials (SRSM) of SPbPU NCMU, addressed the participants with a welcoming speech. In his speech, he noted that the main goal of the conference is to establish strong and effective links between scientists and engineers from different countries around the world, in particular with the Iraqi partners.

Our main goal as organizers was to create a platform for the exchange of knowledge and experience, which would contribute to scientific progress and engineering development in the field of geotechnics, energy and other areas of civil engineering, stressed Mohanad Sabri.

Speaking on behalf of Mashreq University, Professor Kifaya Alsafar, conveyed his sincere wishes for the success of the participants and noted that the exchange of ideas and scientific developments is always a valuable and inspiring experience: the Conference meets high scientific standards, as evidenced not only by the number of accepted scientific papers from different countries, but also by their quality. In addition, the level and the number of participants demonstrated the attractiveness of the conference for specialists.

Representing the Iraqi Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Design, Professor Mahadi Karkoush emphasized the importance of holding this event in Baghdad and its reflection on the practice of construction and energy in Iraq.

The plenary session featured three presentations by professors from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. Key lectures on modern technologies used in civil engineering were presented by the members of SPbPU delegation — Mohanad Muayad Sabri, Prof. Nikolay Vatin, Head of LSCM NCMU SPbPU, and Konstantin Shashkin, Ph.D., leading researcher of LSCM NCMU SPbPU.

As part of the conference program, the members of the SPbPU delegation visited the construction site of the Central Bank of Iraq building designed by the late Iraqi-British architect, designer and innovator Zaha Hadid. The SPbPU delegation received information about the work on the project and appreciated the efforts of their colleagues to complete the construction.