The Roscongress Foundation is a major organizer of all-Russian and international congress, exhibition, business, public, youth, sporting and cultural events, created in accordance with the decision of the President of the Russian Federation. Every year, the Roscongress Foundation recruits volunteers from among students of leading universities in Saint Petersburg, including our university, to work at international forums. It was for this purpose that SPbGASU held a meeting of Roscongress representatives with students.

Welcoming those gathered, Vice-Rector for Youth Policy Marina Malyutina explained that our university has planned a series of meetings as part of the volunteer movement, where they will also talk about measures to support the volunteers themselves.

“We intend to make the volunteer movement at our university strong. Firstly, today many people need help. Secondly, by helping others, you can better express yourself and reveal your personal qualities, including those you did not even know about. Thirdly, this is a fashionable and youth trend, and being its part means being in a circle of like-minded people and being aware of the most exciting events in the country and the world. Fourthly, support measures and motivation tools are being developed for volunteers at the state level. At our university, we want to recreate a volunteer club taking into account modern realities and introduce a system for monitoring volunteer activities with further support. Our university is already registered on the largest social platform in Russia, Dobro.rf, where volunteers can find opportunities to help, and organizers can find people willing to help. We will actively cooperate on it. In addition, we plan to develop a system for awarding points that will influence the increase of the state academic scholarship for students of the budget form of education who have grades of "good" and "excellent". The number of points will be awarded depending on the level of the event in which the volunteer participated and the volume of this participation," Marina Malyutina said.

Aleksandra Detkovskaya, a representative of the Roscongress Foundation’s Volunteer and Temporary Personnel Headquarters, clarified that SPbGASU students actively participate in international forums every year and have proven themselves well.

"This year, we expect up to one hundred SPbGASU students to participate in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. Based on the results of their work at SPIEF, the volunteers who are among the best will be able to take part in the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok as part of a delegation, whose participants will be provided with travel, accommodation and meals. We also invite students to take part in the St Petersburg International Legal Forum and the Nevsky International Ecological Congress, which will be held in Saint Petersburg in May," said Aleksandra Detkovskaya.

The Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum will be held from 18 to 21 June, 2025. Those wishing to become volunteers at this event must register on the congress.ru website by 31 March and submit an application for participation in their personal account. Volunteer training is scheduled for the period from 7 to 16 April, with exams taking place from 22 to 26 April. Trainings and other preparatory events will be held in June.

Irina Peretokin, a second-year student at the SPbGASU Faculty of Civil Engineering, joined the volunteer movement immediately after entering the university and took part in many university events and the all-Russian youth festival "Student Spring". And when she learned about the recruitment of volunteers for the St Petersburg International Economic Forum last year, she immediately applied.

"Participation in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum seemed like an interesting volunteer experience and a good opportunity to expand connections with like-minded people. Because there are many experienced volunteers at events of this level. In addition, I wanted to improve my personal qualities: stress resistance, communication skills, composure, responsibility, punctuality. The forum really provided an excellent opportunity for personal development. Working according to a certain regulation not only disciplines, but also teaches how to act and communicate competently in any situation, including in a foreign language. This is also an opportunity to improve my business English skills in the field of economics," explained Irina Peretokin.

Last year, the student got her first experience working at the forum in the "Umbrella provision" block: the weather was rainy, umbrellas were needed by many, and they were issued only to certain categories. Irina coped with the task, avoiding conflict situations. She admits that this turned out to be a good training in stress resistance, experience in multitasking and practicing communication skills. "This year, I plan to prepare for the exams even better in order to gain experience in other blocks. I want to get into navigation block to coordinate guests," Irina Peretokin summed up.

Deputy Head of the SPbGASU Youth Policy Division Ekaterina Kovalenko added that participation in international forums is also a great opportunity to personally see the country's top officials and large companies, successful people known in various fields, and receive valuable gifts from the organizers.