RUSSIA – GERMANY – There were celebrations today at the opening of the new Competence Centre for Logistics at the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg State University. The project is a collaboration between industry giants Deutsche Bahn and Russian Railways (RZD) and both the Chairman of the German group and RZD’s President , Wladimir Jakunin, were there to give their views.
Some 180 students are to be enrolled each year at the first establishment of its kind in Russia, with DB and RZD providing the funds necessary to endow a senior and junior professorship. The collaboration is initially intended to run for five years. Further training at the St. Petersburg institution for employees of both rail companies is also planned.
Academic partners of the project are the State University of St. Petersburg with its Graduate School of Management, the European Business School (EBS) in Wiesbaden (Germany) and the St. Petersburg Transport University, Russia's oldest technical university. The EBS will provide expertise in the fields of logistics and supply chain management, while the Russian universities will support the Chair in rail-related subjects.
The first classes begin immediately at the centre set up by the two rail companies last autumn, with the full curriculum scheduled to begin in September. The logistics centre will primarily focus on applied research in the fields of logistics and supply chain management, in addition to academic education for students based on Bachelors and Masters Degree programmes.
Dr. Rüdiger Grube, boss of Deutsche Bahn said, "In the important growth field of logistics, educating young people to international standards is a key factor for success. Together with our partner RZD, therefore, we plan to make this project a long-term commitment."
