Published on: 2026-05-20
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
At the Polytechnic University, the assembly “Eternal Contributions” took place. The event is held annually at SPbPU. This year, leading experts, representatives of universities, and sovereign wealth funds of Russia and Kazakhstan gathered at it.
Assembly “Eternal Contributions” — an annual event of the National Endowment Association (NEA) with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. Its goal is to bring together representatives of the target capital sector to exchange experiences, develop strategic solutions for the effective development of the market and the popularization of the endowment mechanism.
The event began with a plenary discussion “The Era of Targeted Capital: Expectations and Prospects.” There, speeches were made by the Vice-Rector for Information, Youth Policy and Security of SPbPU Maksim Pasholikov, Chairperson of the Board of the National Endowment Association Svetlana Lavrova, Director of the Endowment at MGIMO, member of the Board of NAEC Marina Petrova, and Head of the Strategy and Project Activities Department of the Committee for Higher and Postgraduate Education of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mira Tursumbaeva.In the online format, the meeting was attended by the Deputy Director of the Department for the Development of the Social Sphere and the Non-Profit Sector of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, Elena Ivanitskaya, and the Director of the Department of Economic Policy of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, Aslan Kanukoev.
Maksim Pasholikov emphasized in his speech: The endowment community is, in a broad sense, very stubborn, persistent people who want to achieve results, because this work is a long process, it does not bring its fruits quickly. The Polite Endowment has existed since 2012. We are very grateful to the National Endowment Association for being alongside us during our establishment and helping to collect the initial target capital. Now NAÉ is still alongside us and is our partner.The association gives us this excellent opportunity to become a platform for gathering the endowment community and exchanging experience with colleagues from other funds.
The “Endowments” Assembly unites representatives of management companies, target capital funds, and, most importantly, the university and scientific community. The participation of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia in this event is not accidental. Currently, endowed funds face tasks of improving quality, trust, and transparency, as well as developing relationships with universities and their graduates,” noted Aslan Kanukoiev.
On behalf of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mira Tursumbaeva greeted the participants of the discussion. She also spoke about the development of endowment funds in the country and their importance for higher educational institutions. Mira Tursumbaeva emphasized that endowments are a key source of university income, ensuring independence from state funding and contributing to the development of science and innovation.She noted the development of endowment funds in Kazakhstan and the connection with Russia: Kazakhstan is developing a national academic model of university superiority. 2026 was declared the year of digitalization and artificial intelligence in the country, so now several large-scale state educational programs are being implemented. For this, we need to strengthen the development of endowment funds, which will ensure sustainable financing of universities and the development of science. Such measures contribute to long-term mechanisms of mutual exchange of experience.The development of endowment funds in both countries is very important because investments in them are investments in the future of the state.
The key event of the panel discussion was the signing of a memorandum on cooperation between the endowment associations of Russia and Kazakhstan. The Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Endowment Funds of Kazakhstan, Farhad Kuanganov, noted the importance of this event: Today’s signing marks a milestone in a very important stage – the creation of a law, the establishment of an entire industry in Kazakhstan. The adoption of the law is a legislative change. There was also another important change related to the preparation of personnel and competencies. This direction was fully supported personally by the NAEC of Russia.Endowment funds are a unique sector of the economy and public life, since, unlike other sectors, they are oriented towards supporting public goods: education, healthcare, social protection, culture.
After the panel discussion, Maksim Pasholikov and Svetlana Lavrova solemnly opened the exhibition “Endowment EXPO.” There, all those interested could get acquainted with the activities of 22 endowment funds. Among them were FCK SPbPU, FCK “ADVITA”, FCK “Nash Norilsk”, European University, MGIMO Endowment, Astana Medical University, UK “Era of Investments”, FCK SVFU, and many others.
During the day, the assembly participants also attended sessions dedicated to the history of target funds, basics of selecting management companies, review of endowments, etc.
The award ceremony day for the winners of the “Eternal Contribution” Prize contest has ended.
Please note; This information is unprocessed content received directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.