Academic Commonwealth of St. Petersburg and Belarus

A delegation from the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SPbB RAS) visited the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus (NAS of Belarus). The purpose of the visit was to establish a long-term and meaningful scientific partnership between the two academies, building on the already existing close ties between the institutes of SPbB RAS and SPbPU and scientific organizations of the Republic of Belarus.

The Russian delegation was headed by Andrei Rudskoi, Chairman of the St. Petersburg Branch of the RAS, Rector of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Academician of the RAS.

The visit of the Russian delegation began with a visit to the Center for System Analysis and Strategic Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the permanent exhibition of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus «Achievements of Domestic Science to Production», dedicated to unique developments and technologies, which are created in the institutes of the National Academy of Sciences and have already been implemented in real production.

First Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the NAS of Belarus, Academician Sergei A. Chizhik and Academician-Secretary of the Department of Physics, Mathematics and Informatics of NAS of Belarus Alexander G. Shumilin presented to the delegation the latest developments commissioned by industrial enterprises of Belarus, including joint projects with Russia, nuclear power and space program among them.

The central event of the visit was the official meeting at the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The Belarusian side was represented by Academician Sergei Chizhik, first deputy chairman of the Presidium of the NAS of Belarus, and academicians-secretaries of specialized departments of the NAS. The event is taking place in a significant year for both countries — the Year of the 80th anniversary of the Common Great Victory and the Year of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of partnership relations between St. Petersburg and the Republic of Belarus. The context of common historical heritage and sustainable cooperation in the recent history gave the event a special symbolic significance.

Andrei Rudskoi presented a report to the Presidium of NAS, in which he reflected the history of the formation of SPbPU RAS, great names of scientists and academicians of Russia and Belarus, including graduates of SPbPU. Examples of successful scientific projects, fundamental and applied research implemented in partnership between the institutes of the two academies were given.

At the end of the official meeting a solemn ceremony of signing the Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation between SPbPU RAS and the NAS of the Republic of Belarus took place.

The Agreement is aimed at the development of fundamental and applied research, training of highly qualified scientific personnel, joint implementation of scientific and technical projects and exchange of scientific information. The parties also agreed to support applications for national and international grants, development of educational programs and organization of joint conferences and seminars.

Special attention is paid to creating conditions for the formation of scientific schools, promotion of jointly created technologies and involvement of partners from third countries in scientific interaction.

The visit of the Russian delegation was continued by visiting the leading scientific institutes of the NAS of Belarus. In the B.I. Stepanov Institute of Physics (IP) the delegation was welcomed by the Director of the Institute, Academician of the NAS of Belarus Sergey Gaponenko. After the official meeting with the participation of key scientists and heads of departments of the Institute, the delegation of SPbB RAS had an opportunity to get acquainted with the practical developments of the Institute.

The next point of the visit was the Institute of Applied Physics (IPP). The Institute conducts the most important research, including with a number of scientific institutes and enterprises of St. Petersburg.

The busy day was completed with a visit to the O.V. Roman Institute of Powder Metallurgy. The guests were familiarized with the exhibition of scientific and technical developments and products of the Institute, Test Bench, Additive Technologies Area. After the inspection of the production sites a scientific seminar was held, where reports on the Institute’s developments in the field of additive technologies, production of metal and alloy powders and filled filaments were presented to the representatives of SPbB RAS and SPbPU.

Peter the Great SPbPU and the O.V. Roman Institute of Powder Metallurgy have been conducting successful joint activities for a long time. The joint project «Development of technology for obtaining ceramic-based composite materials and products by the method of additive manufacturing» based on a grant from the St. Petersburg Science Foundation is currently under implementation. The parties came to a mutual decision on the possibility of developing and forming a new program of the Union State in the field of modern materials science.

«Today’s visit is a step towards a deeper scientific union. Belarus has always been and will always be a key strategic partner for us,» summarized the results of the visit to the NAS of Belarus by Chairman of the St. Petersburg RAS Branch Andrei Rudskoi.