University of Lapland Rector Visited SPbGASU

On March 5, 2019, Mauri Ylä-Kotola, University of Lapland Rector, visited SPbGASU where he had a meeting with SPbGASU top management, looked around the University and the Faculty of Architecture, and also read a lecture about approaches to complex environmental design.

Mauri Ylä-Kotola visited SPbGASU

Prof. Ylä-Kotola: ‘I am very grateful for a warm welcome and a chance to give a talk here. I am happy to see how much Helsinki and Saint Petersburg have in common as well as Finland and Russia’. He told about his work and cooperation with Russia.

One of the topics was UArctic (University of the Arctic) – a network of universities, colleges, research institutes and other organizations. UArctic was established in 1992 and since 1998 its Secretariat is located in Lapland. Its mission is to provide unique educational and research opportunities for the people of the Circumpolar North including Russians.

Prof. Ylä-Kotola noticed that SPbGASU could be interested in Thematic Network on Arctic Sustainable Arts and Design (ASAD) which consists of:

• symposia and biennales on Arctic art, design and visual culture,
• joint presentations in national and international seminars and congresses,
• joint seminars for students, academic staff and researchers,
• educational cooperation in art, design and visual culture,
• exhibitions, events, publishing activity,

and more.

The purpose of such work is educational experience exchange, international university cooperation in North and Arctic studies, improvement of art, design and visual culture education.

{gallery name="Ректор Лапландия 2019"}

What Else Have the Parties Discussed?

Prof. Ylä-Kotola told about the University of Lapland where he has been Rector for more than 12 years. SPbGASU representatives asked him about educational programmes, academic mobility, development of University of Lapland and Finnish higher education. As the result the parties agreed on cooperation.

However, it is not the first Finnish university to work together with SPbGASU. Irina R. Lugovskaya, First Vice-Rector: ‘SPbGASU effectively cooperates with Saimaa University of Applied Sciences (Saimaan ammattikorkeakoulu, Lappeenranta) and South-Easten Finland University of Applied Sciences (XAMK, Mikkeli) and many more’.