[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Russiadeans09.jpg” caption=”The Office of International Affairs recently hosted a delegation of deans from St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation. “]The Office of International Affairs recently hosted a delegation of deans from St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation (SUAI), located in Russia.

This visit further developed the contacts established between McMaster and a number of Russian universities when McMaster students visited Russian universities as part of the 2005-2008 Engineering Study Abroad Program.

The deans from SUAI represented the Faculties of Radio Engineering, Electronics & Communications, Computer System and Programming, Intelligent Control Systems and Nanotechnologies, Economics and Management, and Innovation in Graduate Training.

SUAI is one of Russia's preeminent research universities and has evolved into a comprehensive campus with faculties (in addition to the above mentioned) in the fields of Humanities, Law, Military Education and Professional and Continuing Education. SUAI has a solid international reputation and record of international co-operation with world class institutions. It hosts a broad scope of international conferences and seminars each year and supports contacts with a number of universities and research and training centres worldwide including several UNESCO institutions.

The current visit was arranged through the efforts of Konstantin Kreyman, a professor in McMaster's Faculty of Engineering, and was co-ordinated by Office of International Affairs.

During their visit, the SUAI deans had a series of constructive meetings with representatives from the Faculties of Engineering, Science, Business and Social Sciences. They were able to learn much about McMaster's institutional structure and our approach to research, and more importantly, to establish the main areas of common interest that exist between our institutions that can serve as the basis for future collaborations.

The visit focused on information sharing and exploring potential student exchanges and collaborations in research, particularly in the fields of advanced process controls, nanotechnology, opto-electronics, software engineering, condensed matter physics, management, quality control and economics.

The potential to build upon this visit was solidified by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between McMaster and SUAI.
It is hoped that in the upcoming months the partnership will move forward with the creation of a few specific initiatives, such as graduate student exchanges, research contacts and the identification of specific research collaborations.