Sergey Mikushev
The names of the special speakers of the International Congress of Mathematicians, which will be held in 2022 in St. Petersburg, have recently become known. Among them are eight Russians, three of whom represent St. Petersburg State University. We talked with Sergei Mikushev, Vice-Rector for Research, St. Petersburg State University, about how mathematics is developing at the University and what role is played in this process by the world-class international mathematical center – St. Petersburg Euler International Mathematical Institute. Sergey Mikushev also told why the mathematical education at St. Petersburg State University attracts the best Russian applicants and what contribution the University will make to the holding of the international mathematical congress.
The names of the special speakers of the International Congress of Mathematicians were recently announced; Russia will be represented by eight people. Three of them are employees of St. Petersburg State University. Can you tell us about such a success?
This congress in Russia is being held, one might say, on the initiative of St. Petersburg State University. Back in 2015, Academician Ludwig Faddeev and Professor of St. Petersburg State University, winner of the Fields Prize Stanislav Smirnov invited the rector of our university Nikolai Kropachev to convey the idea of holding the congress in Russia (St. Petersburg) to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The President supported the rector's proposal, and our university, together with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, on his behalf, prepared an application, which in a serious struggle defeated the main competitor – the application from France (Paris). This is connected with the fact that three of the special speakers at the congress represent our university – these are Roman Mikhailov, Petr Zograf and Alexander Nazarov.
But why exactly are they?
Because they are well known in the world. Take the same Roman Mikhailov: he is a very interesting person, versatile – he is the deputy head of one of the mathematical laboratories of St. Petersburg State University “Modern Algebra and Applications”, created as part of the megagrant competition. He has very high scientometric indicators, and he is also a laureate of literary prizes. He is a bright figure, and he has a huge background in mathematics.
In a word, the main role was played by the visibility of these scientists in the world community. Not in the Russian Academy of Sciences, not in St. Petersburg, but at the level of world mathematics. It is very honorable for the University that such a number of speakers have been selected specifically from St. Petersburg State University. This is an indicator of where we are in the world. But the fact that only eight people were selected from Russia … I would like more.
How is mathematics developing at St. Petersburg University in general?
We employ one of the foremost mathematicians of our time, Fields Prize laureate Stanislav Smirnov. Literally two years ago, on his initiative, a new faculty of mathematics and computer science appeared at St. Petersburg State University, which is now a success.
There are different ideas about success: someone measures it in publications, someone in terms of representation in the media, and I look at applicants. Success is when winners and prize-winners of All-Russian and International Olympiads in mathematics come to us. Last year there was a situation when there were more of these winning guys than budget places! For me, this is the most important indicator.
In addition, St. Petersburg State University implements mega-grants in the field of mathematics, a very large number of grants from the Russian Science Foundation. From the point of view of global success and promotion, these are, of course, articles, recognition and citation of the authors of these articles. These are also scientific schools, created by many years of work, which are highly valued abroad.
SPbU won the competition for world-class centers – and it turns out that one of the four world-class mathematical centers is located here. It was created on the basis of a consortium of two related organizations – the Steklov Mathematical Institute (St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) and St. Petersburg State University. Its name is the L. Euler St. Petersburg International Mathematical Institute.
It is very interesting to watch its development. It is only the third year of the project's implementation, and we already employ more than 150 mathematicians: 28 of them are foreign researchers, of which 15 are foreign postdocs. This situation also suggests that our mathematical school is recognizable abroad. Postdocs from Europe strive to get to us through a large competition (there were 176 applications for 12 positions). Moreover, the geography of the contestants was very extensive, namely – 33 countries: Iran, Denmark, Finland, Tunisia, India, Turkey, Great Britain, Germany, USA, Brazil, France, Poland, Canada, Chile, Russia, Pakistan, Italy, Israel, Taiwan , Spain, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Singapore, Norway, Sweden, China, Greece, Belgium, Nigeria, Scotland, South Africa, Australia, Portugal. You know how fashionable it is now to say: “people vote with their feet.” This means where they go – they like it there, there are favorable conditions for their work.
And if we talk just about “voting with their feet”, but only about applicants? Indeed, in Russia there are a lot of strong mathematical universities and faculties. How do you compete for applicants, how do you try to attract them so that they are admitted to you?
As the world changes and the priorities of young people change, joint educational programs become very important. We are implementing them, for example, with Gazprom Neft, Yandex and JetBrains. In addition, an agreement was signed between St. Petersburg State University and JSC Kaspersky Lab within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. That is, future students and applicants see the application of their knowledge not only in the field of fundamental science, but also in the applied field. The second reason why applicants come to us is, of course, teachers. Applicants see who they will learn from and what. And they are attracted by our teaching staff.
There is also a third component, which is associated with the recognition of the diploma of St. Petersburg University. Obviously, diplomas from St. Petersburg State University or, for example, Moscow State University are more recognizable than diplomas from regional universities. Location also plays a very important role. Most of the teaching staff are our foreign researchers and partners. Both those who study here and those who work here undergo internships abroad. Students who reach a certain level are bound to work in international collaborations.
Please tell us more about the world-class center. How were they selected?
First of all, the basis for the choice was the presence of a stable mathematical school – this is not only the number of publications, but also their quality. When we created the application and looked at the analytics, it turned out that at St. Petersburg State University in the field of mathematics, more than 50% of publications are in publications of the Q1-Q2 level. These are not “anyhow” publications, but world-class articles in high-ranking journals, where the process of selection and reviewing of publications is in itself similar to a competition of high scientific achievements.
The second is the program that we have proposed. It has eight research areas. Moreover, we focused on attracting young mathematicians – we announced the attraction of young scientists from European countries, India and other countries. It is not enough to have a well-formed school, it is important to have the potential for growth. We created places for them where they could work on interesting topics with our leading scientists, so that after working at the Euler Center they clearly see their path, the relevance of their research and know where to apply them.
I must say that it was Stanislav Smirnov who invested a lot in the creation of the center: in the development of the program and in the administration. The center is managed by a directorate of seven leading mathematicians, of whom four work at St. Petersburg State University. They work weekly – and not every six months – looking at how best to hold a competition, what topic to choose, how to adjust the research, how best to select postdocs. That is, they are distracted from their affairs and are engaged in this work, they feel responsibility to science, responsibility to people for building and organizing the work of the center and its promotion.
Tell us, what is the contribution of SPbU to the organization of the Mathematical Congress?
As I have already mentioned, first of all, the initiative itself came from St. Petersburg State University. As for the organizational part: SPbU participates in both the organizing committee and the working group, which deals with many substantive issues. In addition, 9 out of 55 satellite events of the congress will be organized by SPbU, and some of them will be held at our site.
There was also a competition for satellite events, a separate selection with an international commission. This is not an internal Russian history – this is the history of the international community. And to be able to take part in it is the effect of recognition, and the most objective one.
On July 6 this year, we launched the countdown “Year to Congress”. We opened a special installation “The Pythagorean Theorem” in front of the entrance to our university. SPbU participates in every time point, in every time point of the congress preparation. At the event, we will see a large number of associate professors, professors, and researchers from St. Petersburg State University. Much more work will be done, and our direct participation in the organization of the congress will only increase.
What can congress give you as a university?
I think this is a more global, all-Russian story. The Congress has a lot to do for the whole country. First of all, these are the visits of a huge number of foreigners, this is the popularization of science and St. Petersburg. There are many different rumors about our country, our cities are perceived differently abroad, and such events help to show the best sides of our country and our culture. This is comparable to hosting the FIFA World Cup. Moreover, it is very important that an event of this level will be held in Russia – in the home region for most of our scientists.
Since there is an event that attracts high-level scientists like a magnet, of course, we will invite them to the University! We will hold a huge number of meetings, negotiations and discussions. And this, of course, will give the University and other Russian mathematical organizations an impetus for development. I think that the Steklov Mathematical Institute will participate in this work no less than us, where, by the way, graduates of St. Petersburg State University work and whose researchers are associate professors and teachers at St. Petersburg State University.
And this is very important: in our academic environment there is no division into local groups – we have a single mathematical community.
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