Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The Potanin Foundation has announced the results of its 2025/2026 scholarship competition. 1,000 individuals from 71 universities have been named winners, including 32 Polytechnic students. They will receive a monthly Vladimir Potanin scholarship of 30,000 rubles, beginning in February 2026 and continuing until graduation.
9,106 master's students expressed interest in the competition—a third more than last year and the highest number in the program's history. A total of 4,429 applications were received. After reviewing the formal criteria, 4,016 were selected for the expert evaluation. Following the expert evaluation, 2,300 master's students advanced to the finals, and 1,000 were selected as winners, including 671 first-year students and 329 second-year students.
The Foundation's scholarship community has once again grown with talented and motivated students from across the country—and this year's competition generated record interest. We see our scholarship recipients fulfilling their potential in science, education, philanthropy, public administration, and other professional fields, contributing to significant social change. At the same time, it's important for us not only to support individual educational trajectories but also to develop lasting connections between finalists, scholarship recipients, and alumni. Seeing the demand for collaboration, we've expanded our pilot initiatives into a separate competition, "We're in Touch." Now, the winners of our programs have an additional opportunity to implement ideas aimed at community development, and therefore achieving long-term impact beyond personal success," noted Oksana Oracheva, CEO of the Potanin Foundation.
The leading universities in terms of the number of accepted applications were National Research University Higher School of Economics, National Research University ITMO, Moscow State University, Saint Petersburg State University, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Ural Federal University, Novosibirsk State University, and Tomsk State University.
As in last year, HSE University holds first place in terms of the number of winners (114 winners). Lomonosov Moscow State University and ITMO University share second and third places, with 97 winners each. St. Petersburg State University is fourth (48), MGIMO is fifth (35), and Novosibirsk State University is sixth (34). Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, and Ural Federal University share seventh, eighth, and ninth places, with 32 winners each. Far Eastern Federal University is in tenth place (29).
The scholarship recipients represent 110 fields of study: 528 students study mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering, and 472 study humanities and social sciences. The competition traditionally brings together representatives from a wide range of fields. The most popular are management (78), biology (52), teacher education (39), and psychology (37).
Participating in the Potanin Foundation scholarship competition isn't just a test of knowledge and erudition; it's an opportunity to become part of a community of students striving for personal development and positive change in society. Here, ideas find support and are transformed into real initiatives that can benefit people. "It's especially valuable to be among those 'Potaninites,' whose leadership potential has been recognized," commented Marina Tupitsyna, a master's student at the Institute of Mechanics and Technology (IMET).
Dmitry Agranovsky (second year student, direction “Organization and management of knowledge-intensive industries”)
Irina Baybakova (first year student, “Management” major)
Maria Belova (first year student, Management major)
Polina Burmakina (first year student, direction “Biotechnical systems and technologies”)
Ilya Voronin (first year, direction “Electrical power engineering and electrical engineering”)
Yuri Vysotin (first year student, direction “Organization and management of knowledge-intensive industries”)
Anton Gagin (second year, Sociology major)
Gleb Golikov (first year student, “Statistics”)
Ekaterina Guz (first year student, Economics major)
Alexander Dronov (first year student, “Trading Business”)
Maya Egorova (first year student, direction “High Technologies and Economics of Innovation”)
Valeria Zhevak (first year student, direction “Psychological and pedagogical education”)
Elizaveta Zavyalova (second year student, “Information systems and technologies”)
Maxim Zarubin (first year student, “Construction” major)
Anton Zolotarev (second year student, “Materials Science and Materials Technologies”)
Sharip Isaev (first year student, direction “System analysis and management”)
Mikhail Kanakin (second year student, majoring in “Power Engineering”)
Margarita Kovaleva (first year student, “Statistics”)
Vadim Kurmyshov (first year student, direction “Technosphere Safety”)
Lyubov Lytneva (first year student, Economics major)
Polina Lyubarskaya (second year student, Design major)
Prokhor Polyakov (first year student, “Statistics”)
Maria Repina (first year student, Business Informatics major)
Yulia Skornyakova (first year student, direction “Publishing”)
Andrey Sukhomesov (first year student, direction “Electrical power engineering and electrical engineering”)
Andrey Trostinsky (second year, direction “Construction”)
Marina Tupitsyna (second year student, Management major)
Mikhail Udovichenko (first year student, direction “Materials Science and Materials Technologies”)
Radmila Filippova (first year student, direction “Biotechnical systems and technologies”)
Liya Khabibullina (first year student, Innovation major)
Natalya Shabanova (second year, direction “Construction”)
Nikolay Yakovlev (first year student, Mechanical Engineering major)
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