Published on: 2026-04-03
Source: Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University of Peter the Great –
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In Saint Petersburg, the “Gazprom-classes” gathering took place — an annual educational event that has united schoolchildren from specialized engineering classes across Russia for the ninth time. The organizer of the gathering traditionally has been PJSC “Gazprom” with the support of the Interregional Trade Union Organization “Gazprom Trade Union”, Gazprom schools of Saint Petersburg, “Gazprom VNIIGAZ”, and leading partner universities. Among the co-organizers is the Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University of Peter the Great.
150 of the best schoolchildren from more than 30 regions of Russia took part in the rally. These were students from the tenth and eleventh grades from Tomsk, Usty, Samara, Novy Urengoy, Tyumen, Ufa, Sheksna and other cities of our country.
“Confident that participating in the summit is the most important contribution to career guidance and early development of competencies for future engineers, who form the basis of Russian science and design work”A – emphasized the importance of the event by the rector of SPbPU Andrey Rudskoy.
A rich program was prepared for the participants: master classes by leading scientists and teachers, an introduction to modern laboratories, scientific blocks and interactive sessions that allowed immersion into the world of engineering. In addition, Polite organized the work of 15 curators — members of student pedagogical squads, who accompanied the teams throughout the event, helped navigate the program, maintained communication with the organizers, and created a comfortable atmosphere for the participants.
On the first day of the gathering, the schoolchildren visited the Catherine Palace in Pushkin. They strolled through the ceremonial halls adorned with stucco and gilding, saw the famous Amber Room, restored for the 300th anniversary of Petersburg, and learned how in the 18th–19th centuries engineering thought was combined with architectural splendor. In the evening, the children awaited games for getting acquainted and trainings to develop leadership and managerial competencies.
The Ninth Gazprom-Class Student Assembly is not just an educational event, but a real platform for uniting future engineers from all over the country. We see how the kids are already getting involved in the work from the very first minutes, asking questions, getting acquainted, uniting like-minded people. Our main goal is to show that engineering today is high technology, creativity, and team work, and we are glad that the scale of the assembly allows each participant to feel part of a large professional family.A — shared by one of the organizers, Anri Ogannisyan.
On the second day, the solemn opening of the assembly took place. Opening remarks were made by the director of the “Gazprom School St. Petersburg” Tatyana Kornienko, head of Department 715 of PJSC “Gazprom” Alexander Shagov, rector of Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (NRU) Viktor Martynov, and general director of LLC “Gazprom VNIIgaz” Maksim Nedzvetskiy.
“Each of you has serious potential embedded within you.” And to a large extent, it depends on you how it will be realized. Our task is to create conditions in which you can set ambitious goals for yourself and achieve them. In science and industry, it is often young specialists who come up with solutions to problems that initially seem impossible — this is how scientific and technological progress develops. I am confident that among you are future engineers, researchers, innovators who will create new technologies and drive the industry forward.”A — noted the general director of “Gazprom VNIIGAZ” Maksim Nedzvetskiy.
After the opening, students listened to lectures from specialists of “Gazprom VNIIgaz” on key areas of the modern gas industry. The children asked questions, actively participated in discussions, and then were able to apply the knowledge gained in a quiz.
In addition, the participants visited the Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University of Peter the Great. Here they went through a unique engineering route: they visited laboratories, took part in a master class, and also developed virtual compressors. The lecturers and students of the Polytechnic prepared practical sessions that allowed the schoolchildren to immerse themselves in real engineering tasks.
The kids got acquainted with the operation of centrifugal pumps, learned how these units are constructed internally, and what characteristics determine their efficiency. A vivid event was a master class with a demonstration of Magdeburg hemispheres — a classic experiment visually showing the power of atmospheric pressure. The schoolchildren also studied Bernoulli’s law and the Venturi effect, seeing how physical principles work in industrial systems.It was impossible to avoid the technologies of the future: participants visited the compressor engineering laboratory and the safety technology training laboratory, where they learned about modern approaches to ensuring equipment reliability.
On the third day of the meeting, the children visited the “Gazprom School of Saint Petersburg,” where they listened to interesting lectures and participated in a scientific quiz. Additionally, they went on a tour of the “Gazprom Arena.” There, Zenit FC employees held a master class for them.
The fourth day became the culmination. In the morning, the participants went to the Lazta Center, where an “Educational Orbit of Gazprom” was organized for them. At the event, a pop-symphonic orchestra SPbPU Ingenium performed for all guests. Lectures were held by leading career guidance specialists and psychologists, key technical universities of the country, including Polite. Also, the head of Department 715 of PJSC Gazprom, Alexander Shagov, spoke at the event. He talked about career trajectories within the company.Schoolchildren got acquainted with the exhibition dedicated to the technologies and history of the company, climbed to the observation deck of the tallest building in Europe, and visited the planetarium. The view of the city from a height of 360 meters left an indelible impression on the children.
Then the closing of the convention and the awarding of the best students took place. The children were congratulated by the Chairman of the Management Board of PJSC Gazprom Aleksey Miller, the Rector of St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University Andrey Rudskoy, and the Rector of Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas Viktor Georgievich Martynov. The honored guests noted the high level of training of the schoolchildren and the importance of such meetings for the professional development of future engineers.
“I am sure that the ‘Gazprom-classes’ squad allowed you to take a glimpse into the present and future of the gas industry. I want to believe that you saw yourself in this future, and you saw yourself as participants in large-scale Gazprom projects aimed at the further socio-economic development of our beloved country. At ‘Gazprom’ we say: ‘A correctly set goal is half the success. The other half of success is simply believing in the set goal.’ You will find what you seek. What you do is what you are. Your knowledge is your strength.”A — addressed the participants Alexey Miller.
Andrey Rudskoy in his speech noted:“You have seen our beautiful city. You were with us at Polite and learned how engineers-creators work for a great Russia. You worked here in a team, learned to walk shoulder to shoulder towards victory, to think, to create. Takeoff is a trial, but on the other hand, it is a unity of future thinkers. You have a bright future, and we are confident that in the future you will be brick by brick creating and building our Motherland, our Fatherland. This is important because at Polite we are already waiting for you in the Gazprom support university as students.”You are about to take another step in knowledge, in understanding how much you need to study so that you can carry a small piece of knowledge within yourself..
In the team standings, the places were distributed as follows:
- First place — the team “Blue Flame”
- Second place — the team “GazON”
- Third place — the team “FullGaz”
The winners received well-deserved awards from the hands of the organizers and honored guests.
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