Representatives of Universities Worldwide Discuss Challenges of Higher Education in the Age of AI in St Petersburg
On May 20, more than 100 delegates from 20 countries, including China, Brazil, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Qatar, and the UAE, took part in the business programme of HSE International Partners’ Week 2026. The key sessions of the large-scale forum, dedicated to priority areas of global cooperation in science and higher education, were held at the Sergey Kuryokhin Centre for Contemporary Art in St Petersburg.
Representatives of leading universities from Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and other regions of the world gathered in St Petersburg to discuss the global challenges facing academia and to define strategies for developing cooperation. The official welcoming ceremony began with a musical performance combining classical ballet, rock music, and contemporary choreography. This was followed by a parade of flags representing the countries participating in HSE International Partners’ Week.
‘We conceived International Partners’ Week as an open platform for large-scale cooperation—not only between HSE and overseas universities, but also among the forum participants themselves. In essence, we are creating an academic counterpart to the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, promoting St Petersburg as a global centre for science and education. The main outcome of International Partners’ Week is the large number of initiatives that we subsequently implement together. That is why each year we see growth not only in the number of participants, but also in the scale and complexity of our inter-university projects,’ noted HSE First Vice Rector Anna Tyshetskaya.
Among the honoured guests attending the business programme were Vladimir Knyaginin, Vice Governor of St Petersburg; Irina Ganus, First Deputy Chair of the St Petersburg Committee for Science and Higher Education; as well as representatives of diplomatic missions, including Manuel Augusto de Cossío Klüver, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Peru to Russia, and Neelam Rani, Consul General of India in St Petersburg.
‘Today, 38,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students from abroad study in St Petersburg, and combined with doctoral students and trainees this figure reaches 45,000. In other words, around 10% of our students are international, with the majority coming from China. The city’s task is to make their stay here comfortable, clear, and productive. That is why we value the opportunity to establish new partnerships with universities around the world. Our dialogue is a search for the language of the future. Universities have always dealt with knowledge, and their role is extremely important in the cognitive revolution unfolding before our eyes. During this turbulent period, it is essential for us to speak the same language as the global community of knowledge,’ said Vice Governor of St Petersburg Vladimir Knyaginin in his welcome address.
On the sidelines of the forum, HSE University formalised partnership relations with six overseas universities. Partnership agreements, student exchange agreements, and memoranda of understanding on the implementation of joint projects were signed with Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (Indonesia), Krirk University (Thailand), the University de La Sabana (Colombia), Ecole Intuit Lab (India), the University of Piura (Peru), and the University of San Agustin (Philippines). The documents significantly expand the academic mobility network and create opportunities for joint research projects.
‘The digital age is transforming both teaching methods and the very mission of universities. The University de La Sabana is currently developing a long-term development strategy, and our priorities closely align with the themes of HSE International Partners’ Week in St Petersburg: scientific innovation and social entrepreneurship. We see this event as a powerful driver for the development of Russian–Colombian cooperation in science and education. We are committed to productive work and the exchange of experience,’ emphasised Rolando Roncancio Rachid, Rector of the University de La Sabana, following the signing ceremony.
The business programme of the main day of IPW 2026 opened with the plenary session ‘Bridging Borders with Education: Models, Challenges, and Advantages.’ Leaders and senior managers from six partner universities of HSE University shared their experience. Rafael Dias, Director of the Executive Board of International Relations (DERI) at the University of Campinas, spoke about the establishment of a joint mirror laboratory on social entrepreneurship with HSE University. Bambang Pramujati, Rector of Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, summarised the results of the two-year operation of the HSE representative office hosted at his university.
Ashraf Al Najdawi, Acting Vice President of Khalifa University (United Arab Emirates), shared the university’s strategy for transforming itself into an international research centre, where an HSE representative office is now based. In addition, participants of the plenary session discussed the development of the Latin American track launched at HSE University–St Petersburg, which the University of Piura is officially joining. Experts also paid particular attention to the work of the existing mirror laboratory of space technologies at the University of Delhi.
The second plenary session focused on the transformation of higher education under the influence of technology. Experts from Brazil, Japan, Indonesia, and Russia discussed the role of the university in the age of artificial intelligence—how to preserve academic identity while becoming an architect of social innovation and without losing a strong fundamental foundation.
The main day of IPW 2026 concluded with a practical session on new formats of international academic mobility. This topic was discussed in an open dialogue by Anna Tyshetskaya, First Vice Rector of HSE University, and Aman Mittal, Vice President of Lovely Professional University. A vivid example of cooperation was the presentation of a unique project by the HSE St Petersburg School of Art and Design. Dean Dmitry Kharshak, together with students, presented guests with a book and a short documentary film about an expedition to the state of Punjab that took place in February 2026. For an entire week, the designers travelled along Indian roads collecting material on Truck Art—the distinctive phenomenon of painting heavy goods vehicles.
HSE International Partners’ Week is taking place in St Petersburg from May 18 to 22, 2026, and covers the university’s scientific and educational areas. The forum began with a large Student Day, where HSE students discussed current trends in the global economy, geopolitics, and the creative industries together with invited experts from countries ranging from Mexico to China. Discussions at IPW 2026 will continue during specialised expert sessions organised by the faculties. Together with overseas colleagues, researchers from HSE University in St Petersburg will examine in detail the implementation of AI across various spheres of life, new approaches to public diplomacy, the development of Middle Eastern countries, as well as issues related to transferring technologies from laboratories into the real sector of the economy.
International Partners’ Week is a strategic initiative of HSE University aimed at strengthening the position of Russian education in the global arena, developing scientific cooperation, and creating new mechanisms for interaction with overseas universities. This year, the programme lines up with the Years of Educational Cooperation with China and Scientific Partnership with Vietnam.
