Youth Policy Without Borders: A Report on a Year of Partnership

The year 2025 was marked by the active work of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) in strengthening ties with leading Slavic universities. Large-scale events were implemented, allowing the universities to exchange experiences, develop common approaches, and lay the foundation for long-term partnership.

First Visit: Introduction and Agreements

One of the first significant events was the arrival of delegations from the Belarusian-Russian University (BRU) and the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University (KRSU) at SPbPU.

Visit Program:

• Tours of the university campus and the SPbPU History Museum;
• A meeting with Vice-Rector for Communications, Youth Policy and Security Maxim Pasholikov and Head of the Department of Youth Policy Ivan Khlamov;
• A visit to the SPbPU Hydro Tower, an introduction to the work of the Center for Youth Trajectories and the Center for Psychological Support;

Negotiations took place in St. Petersburg with representatives of the SPbPU Student Trade Union Organization. They concluded with the signing of an agreement between the SPbPU Student Trade Union Organization and the BRU Student Trade Union Organization.

Furthermore, the guests participated in the «Family Victory Day» festival, took a tour of the historic center of St. Petersburg, and visited the exhibition «A Great Country — A Great Victory 1941–1945».

Second Visit: Strategic Planning

During a second visit by the KRSU delegation, a two-stage strategic session was held: «SPbPU as a Flagship University» — a discussion on the university’s role in the education system, and «The Model of the KRSU Student Community» — an exchange of experience on organizing student self-government.

Participants formed a common understanding of working with student associations, identified their key ambitions, and drew up a joint work plan for 2025–2026.

An important stage in the development of youth policy at KRSU was the participation of students in the XXXIII All-Russian Festival «Russian Student Spring» of higher education institutions, held in Tatarstan. The festival was timed to coincide with the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland in Russia. The event took place under the slogan «Spring of Victory».

Another significant event was the participation of the KRSU teaching staff in the educational program «Conductors of Meaning. The DNA of Russia» at the site of the St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation. The program is implemented by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation jointly with the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs «Rosmolodezh» with the support of the «DNA of Russia» project. The main goal is to form a sustainable professional community of teachers and develop a unified value platform for implementing youth policy and educational work in the country’s universities.

Slavic Summit: Sharing Best Practices

The key event of the year was the Slavic Summit, held on the basis of SPbPU. It was attended by the heads of youth policy departments from all partner universities: the Belarusian-Russian University, the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, the Russian-Tajik Slavic University, and the Russian-Armenian University.

• A workshop of practices, curated by Administrator of the SPbPU Center for Youth Trajectories Vladimir Miginov — universities presented their best projects in the areas of «Media», «Adaptation», «Creativity», and «Sport»;
• A report by Ivan Khlamov on the structure of youth policy at SPbPU;
• A speech by Maxim Susorov, Chairman of the SPbPU Student Trade Union, on the principles of student self-government at Polytech.

Participants not only shared experiences but also selected the most promising practices for further implementation and outlined opportunities for future partnership. They identified that the sports direction is well-developed in all universities, evaluated promising projects, and discussed the development of student self-government bodies. Representatives of the Slavic Universities agreed on joint extracurricular activity projects.

Fourth Visit: Knowledge Transfer

The final note of the year was the trip of a delegation from the Department of Youth Policy of SPbPU to the Russian-Armenian University (RAU). Specialists from Polytech held a series of meetings dedicated to the development of youth policy and developed initial project solutions for strengthening RAU’s student communities, based on the successful experience of our university.

The year of cooperation proved fruitful: strong contacts were established between the universities, best practices in the field of youth policy were exchanged, partnership agreements were signed, and joint work plans for the coming years were developed.

These achievements lay the foundation for the further development of international cooperation and the creation of a unified youth policy space among Slavic universities. Ahead lie new projects, initiatives, and opportunities for students and staff of the partner universities.