'Each Day Here Was a Discovery': Participants of the International Partners' Week on St Petersburg, Science and New Collaborations
The large-scale international forum gathered representatives from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America in St Petersburg. Apart from the intense business programme with expert discussions, signing of agreements and creating international collaborations, the guests of HSE University-St Petersburg got to know the cultural heritage of the Northern capital—saw the city from Neva, visited the Hermitage, Tsarskoye Selo and other significant sights.
From professional discussions to discovering Russia and St Petersburg: the participants' personal impressions became another important result of IPW-2025. We gathered the feedback of colleagues from international universities about the most memorable moments of the International Partners' Week at HSE University-St Petersburg.
Thi Hoa Duong, National Economics University, Vietnam
I was greatly impressed by St Petersburg. It was my first time here, and the city struck me with its beauty and unique architecture. The university also left the best impression, I genuinely hope to visit it again. As for the International Partners' Week, I'd like to emphasise the high level of organisation and expertise. It was a real pleasure to communicate with the students of HSE University-St Petersburg who showed themselves as extremely friendly and sympathetic people.
Gaurav Bhatnagar, Bennett University, India
HSE University is a very important strategic partner for us. We are developing numerous programmes in the spheres of artificial intelligence, management, humanities, journalism, and mass communications. Our goal is to enhance research work with HSE University and intensify the interaction between professors and students. The International Partners' Week did not only strengthen our ties with HSE University but also contributed to our partnerships with other institutions.
It's the first time I have travelled to Russia. Since childhood, I have heard of close relations between Russia and India and always dreamt of visiting it. Now, I have a special, almost nostalgic feeling. St Petersburg is a wonderful city! I am grateful to HSE University for organising amazing city tours. The breathtaking experience, for example, was our visit to the Hermitage. I have been deeply touched by the warmth and hospitality of the locals, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to come back here to enhance our cooperation and develop new partnerships.
Felipe Taborda, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
I liked everything about St Petersburg—architecture, people, weather... I fell in love with this beautiful, well-planned city. Its museums, cultural heritage, ballet—everything fascinated me. Russians are incredibly friendly and hospitable. I will definitely tell my friends in Brazil to visit Russia and get to know this country because it is a truly unique experience.
Juan Cordoba, Universidad de La Sabana, Colombia
St Petersburg is a great, stunning, imperial city. Architecture, Neva and museums will stay in my heart forever... But the main thing is the warmth and hospitality of the locals. This is what I will remember talking about Russia.
HSE University-St Petersburg is a top-tier academic institution which welcomed us with exceptional cordiality. We felt at home.
Russia is a great country with a rich cultural heritage where everyone can learn a lot. Before coming here, our idea of Russia was based only on what we had read, heard or seen in films—this is second-hand knowledge. But exploring Russia directly, being in St Petersburg is a completely different, much more valuable experience.
Kaewkwan Tangtipongkul, Thammasat University, Thailand
St Petersburg is an outstanding city. Coming back to Thailand, I will definitely tell my colleagues about the International Partners' Week and invite them to join next year. It is a very valuable experience.
HSE University-St Petersburg is a splendid place for exchange students, here they can immerse themselves in the culture, master the language and learn more about Russia. We also have good opportunities for research cooperation in various areas.
To be honest, real Russia is significantly different from the image I got from the news. I saw that Russians were incredibly kind, amiable and sympathetic. What particularly impressed us was the volunteers—for instance, a student gave us a city tour and told us about everything in detail. Getting to know real Russia is indeed an interesting experience.
Le Trung Thanh, rector of VNU University of Economics and Business, Vietnam
It's the first time I have participated in the International Partners' Week and visited St Petersburg. The heritage city impressed me deeply by its beauty, bright sun and the romantic Neva river about which we had only read in books and poems.
The International Partners' Week was organised at the highest level. I participated in lots of sessions and events and was struck by the work you've done. The plenary session was especially valuable for me, I met rector Nikita Anisimov and director Anna Tyshetskaya. All the participants shared their ideas and suggestions on how to strengthen the cooperation. I see that this Week lays a foundation for connections between students who we consider future leaders of our countries.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the student volunteers for their support and help. Your students proved themselves as intelligent and responsible people.
Returning home, the first thing I will tell about St Petersburg is white nights which I saw with my own eyes after reading so many books about them. I felt the special atmosphere of the city... I will tell about Russian people who organised such an event and took part in scientific discussions. I studied Russian for four years when I was a child. The generation of Vietnamese of my age got acquainted with Russian culture and people, and we have always strived to learn more about this country. I genuinely admire Russia and its people and I would like to understand your culture better in the future.
Chae Jun Hyung, Incheon National University, First Name
This is my first visit to Russia. Before coming here, I perceived St Petersburg only as the former imperial capital. That was it. However, once I happened to be here, I realised that this city geared to the future is a kind of gateway city in Russia. I was deeply struck both by the historical heritage of the former capital and its modern progressive image.
I visited several museums, and the strongest impression was made by the Hermitage and the Catherine Palace in Pushkin. I never knew that the palace was restored thanks to the enormous effort of the Russian people. Returning to Korea, this is the thing I will tell my colleagues about—the rich cultural heritage and the desire to maintain it.
The most memorable moment was communication with students and my lecture. Speaking for Russian students, I was struck by their language proficiency—both in English and Korean. I was deeply impressed by their sincere desire for knowledge and studying various cultures.
Kiho Kim, professor at the College of International Studies at Kyung-Hee University, South Korea
This is a very beautiful city with historical architecture, museums and culture. The weather is wonderful. I am impressed by the hospitality of professors and HSE students, and their genuine aspiration to develop global connections and research perspective. It was an amazing experience, thank you!
Nodir Abdullayev, Vice-rector for Academic Affairs and International Cooperation at Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, Uzbekistan
Thank you so much for organising IPW-2025—it's top-tier! We discussed opportunities for further development of our ties with new partners. I hope that next year, we will have an opportunity to communicate even more with department heads and deans and discuss certain aspects of our cooperation in more detail.
Pedro Costa, Vice-Rector at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil
The university welcomed us greatly—the Week was well-organised and very intense. For me as a vice-rector, it was very important to establish relations with the universities from the countries where we don't have any partnerships yet. In Brazil, we usually have a strong focus on cooperation with Europe and the USA, and here, we received an extremely significant experience of communication with Russian colleagues and representatives from other regions. Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Vietnam, China, Japan, Egypt, Oman, Qatar—so many opportunities! Our university in Brazil should look out for these countries, as geopolitical axes are changing rapidly. That's why there is a lot of work to be done upon return.
For me as an ordinary person, it was exciting to visit a country with a culture which is significantly different from the Brazilian. This was a marvellous experience. Together with my colleagues from Brazil, we were really surprised by the warm hospitality. Earlier, we thought that Russia was a cold country with cold people but in reality, the experience was totally opposite. So, my impressions of Russia and the Russians are the best possible.
Agus Muhamad Hatta, Vice Rector of Research, Innovation, Partnerships, and Alumni at the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), Indonesia
For me, IPW became one of the best programmes of global partnership in which I participated. HSE University-St Petersburg created it as a rich ecosystem for interaction: from panel discussions on strategic issues and sessions aimed at establishing new connections for new collaborations to unforgettable cultural events. The participants dived into the beauty of St Petersburg: we visited museums, and a world-class ballet and had a boat trip along the Neva river.
For ITS, HSE University-St Petersburg is a strategic partner. Our partnership is actively developing. This special connection is marked with a certain step: HSE University is one of the few partners with an official representative office on the ITS campus.
HSE University has shown its extraordinary commitment to global partnerships. This year, we launched a mirror laboratory model, and for the next year, we are planning to create an international hub. The rector of HSE University and the director of HSE University-St Petersburg did not only open the event but actively communicated with all the participants.
It is important that the partnership paradigm is changing. We go beyond staff mobility, joint publications or simple rankings. Global partnership must be seen as a call for the shared mission—preparing students for becoming future leaders. The mission of joint search for solutions to local and global challenges.
Finally, the most important outcome is new friends from all over the world. As in fact, partnerships are an investment in humanity.