Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
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On the Polytechnic's birthday, a traditional ceremonial meeting of its ambassadors and benefactors was held.
Guests gathered in the lobby of the Technopolis Polytech Research Building, where they viewed paintings while waiting for the festive event to begin. St. Petersburg artist Elena Artsutanova— the great-granddaughters of Prince Andrei Gagarin, the first director of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, whose 170th birthday the Polytechnic Institute is celebrating this year. Among those invited to the high-ranking meeting was Andrei Grigorievich's second great-granddaughter, Yulia Andreyevna Gagarina.
Opening the meeting, SPbPU Rector Andrey Rudskoy welcomed the university's partners and benefactors, and, of course, the alumni who maintain ties to their alma mater: "I am happy to see familiar faces in the hall today—these are the faces of friends, thanks to whom our Polytechnic University grows stronger and more beautiful. On behalf of both staff and students, I want to express my deepest gratitude for your kindness. I often recall the words of the great philosopher Anthony of Sourozh: a person is rich in what he gives out of love. This is true of you. And I urge us all to continue to give our hearts and souls out of love to our Fatherland, our beloved city, our beloved university, our children, our loved ones, our friends, and our work. To give our hearts simply to people."
Then the Polytechnic University's updated board of benefactors was unveiled. A year ago, during a similar meeting, The plaque was ceremoniously installed in the lobby of the NikaSince then, the number of people participating in the formation of the SPbPU Endowment Fund has increased, and their names have also appeared on the list.
"We knew the number of benefactors would continually grow. So we decided to make a large plaque out of high-quality material, displaying the names of our patrons. We'll update the list every year—let this become a tradition at our meetings," Andrey Rudskoy announced.
Following the ceremony, guests were shown the film "St. Petersburg Polytechnic," and then the rector of SPbPU presented letters of gratitude and commemorative medals to the university's benefactors, partners, and employees.
In the year of the 170th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Russian scientist and inventor, the first director of the Polytechnic University, Andrei Grigorievich Gagarin, the university established a new award: the Prince Gagarin Memorial Medal.
The first recipients were Bank Saint Petersburg, represented by Senior Vice President Vladimir Zhirov, and Renat Yakushevsky, head of the Reval Group of Companies. Polytechnic University expressed its gratitude to its partners for their contribution to preserving the university's historical heritage and promoting the perpetuation of the memory of Prince Gagarin.
The Sergei Yulyevich Witte Memorial Medal was established in 2024 for multiple benefactors of the SPbPU Endowment Fund, such as VTB Bank. This year, the award was presented to Maxim Kushch, Head of Key Corporate Clients for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region at VTB Bank and Vice President of the Bank.
Also, for their assistance in developing the University Endowment Fund, the following received gratitude and commemorative medals:
Arman Energo (the award was presented to Denis Peschaskin, Deputy General Director for Finance at Arman Group), Igor Sobol, General Director of Axis, Vladimir Ustinov, Chief Designer of the NPO TsKTI project, Dmitry Tikhonov, Vice-Rector for Continuing and Pre-University Education at SPbPU, Maxim Terekh, Deputy Director of the Civil Engineering Institute, Andrei Andreev, Director of the Higher School of Technosphere Safety, and Natalia Ermakova, Associate Professor at the Higher School of Mechanics and Control Processes at the Physics and Mechanical Institute.
For long-term and fruitful cooperation with the Polytechnic, the following were awarded the "For Merit" badge:
Deputy General Director of TGK-1 Eduard Lisitsky, General Director of TurboService Rus Oleg Shevchenko, First Deputy General Director and General Designer of Power Machines Alexander Ivanovsky, Director of the Engineering Center of Power Machines Konstantin Savichev, General Director of Alliance-Stroy Vasily Minkov, General Director of the power engineering company Rus-Turbo Oleg Dmitriev, lawyer, member of the Council of Delovaya Rossiya in the Leningrad Region Arsen Magomedov, head of the central branch of the Leningrad Regional Bar Association Vladimir Anisimov.
For their significant personal contribution to preparing talented schoolchildren for university entrance, the following were awarded the Polytechnic University "For Merit" badge:
Director of the Academy of Talents of St. Petersburg Egor Kireev, Deputy Director for Innovation and Methodological Work of the Academy of Talents of St. Petersburg Natalia Ilyina, Director of the Presidential Physics and Mathematics Lyceum No. 239 Maxim Pratusevich, Physics and Astronomy Methodologist of the Kalininsky District of St. Petersburg Elena Kolpakova.
Among the polytechnicians, the following received the “For Merit” award:
Professor Vasily Makarov of the Higher School of Industrial Management at the Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade; Vladimir Andreev, Head of the Materials Science and Technology Educational Laboratory at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Transport; Valentina Andreeva, Associate Professor of the Higher School of Physics and Materials Technology at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Transport; Marina Olennikova, Associate Professor of the Higher School of Linguistics and Pedagogy at the Humanitarian Institute; Vladimir Chudny, Associate Professor of the Higher School of Electric Power Systems at the Institute of Power Engineering; Elena Yakovleva, Associate Professor of the Higher School of Mechanics and Control Processes at the Physics and Mechanical Institute; and Olga Petrova, Specialist at the Directorate of the Institute of Power Engineering.
In 2024, in memory of the university's founder, the outstanding Russian statesman, financier, and diplomat Sergei Yulyevich Witte, the SPbPU Academic Council reinstated the Witte Scholarships, paid from income from the management of the Polytechnic University Endowment Fund.
Four students who passed their winter exams with flying colors became winners of the Witte scholarship competition:
Victoria Golubkova from the Institute of Energy, Alevtina Getmanskaya from the Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade, Anton Kalininsky and Egor Shchepilov from the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Transport.
At the end of the ceremonial meeting, the Polytechnic ambassadors, graduates of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Transport Evgeniya Lastochkina andDmitry Gomonov We congratulated SPbPU Rector Andrey Rudskoy on his birthday, which, by a surprising coincidence, coincides with the Polytechnic University's birthday.
Photo archive of the meeting of ambassadors and philanthropists
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