The SPbGASU delegation took part in the IV International Architecture and Construction Forum "Kazanysh", which was held in Kazan on 6-8 February. It included the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture Ekaterina Vozniak, the Head of the International Relations Division Shuainat Akhmadulaeva, the Deputy Deans of the Faculty of Architecture Oleg Fedorov and Daria Boytsova, Associate Professor at the Department of Architectural Design Aleksandr Veshnyakov and the specialist of the Educational Center of Project-Based Learning Arina Gnusareva.

This year, the forum took on an even larger scale: 400 speakers took part in it, including 100 experts from 24 countries. The program included eight thematic tracks and 115 sessions, including platforms for exchanging experience between architectural universities from different countries. Participants were impressed by the venue itself – the new building of the Tatar State Academic Theater named after G. Kamal, where the BRICS summit took place last fall.

Ekaterina Vozniak spoke at the session "Features of educational approaches: Russia vs. Asia", which was also attended by Sanjay Gupta (Vice-Chancellor of the World University of Design, India), Anjun Dang (Professor of Tsinghua University, China), Jyoti Pandey-Sharma (Professor of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Institute of Planning and Architecture, India), Mohmad Shukri Sharizi (Research Fellow, University of Malaya, Malaysia). The speakers talked about the structure of universities, features of educational programs and organization of extracurricular activities.

"I told my foreign colleagues about the consistent classical system of architectural education at SPbGASU, which began to form back in the nineteenth century and was constantly developing and improving. In my opinion, this is the basic, highest quality model of professional education. The forum became a platform for establishing and expanding business contacts and partnerships," said Ekaterina Vozniak.

She noted the high level of organization and effectiveness of the forum: it was attended by the Head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, representatives of specialized committees of a number of Russian regions, private companies, educational institutions, including foreign ones.

"Special attention was paid to the development of international cooperation in the field of higher education. Our delegation introduced foreign colleagues to the main competitive and scientific events that are annually organized at our university. Representatives of universities in Malaysia, Qatar, China, India, Iran, Brazil and South Africa expressed interest in participating and proposed their ideas for cooperation," Ekaterina Ryurikovna specified.

SPbGASU representatives also met with the Rector of the Kazan University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (KSUAE) Rashit Nizamov. He spoke about the main areas of development of the Institute of Architecture and Design, the history of the creation of the system of scientific and educational centers of the university and the transformation of its infrastructure. KSUAE teachers conducted a tour of the scientific and educational centers that are part of the university.

According to Ekaterina Vozniak, participation in such major events helps to create and strengthen international communications, exchange professional experience and improve educational approaches.