IT and science: Theses defence at St. – Petersburg State University to go online

Defence of Candidate’s and doctoral theses at the St. – Petersburg State University will be now broadcasted live with WEB-cameras on Internet.

This initiative is aimed at increasing transparency, and responsibility of Dissertation Councils for decision-making. First broadcasts are announced to be mounted already in April. The University is currently working under the schedule, in order to avoid the possibility of coincidence of theses defence in different sites.

So far lawyers, philologists, geographers and applicants for academic degree of the St. Petersburg State University Graduate School of Management are going to defend theses online. This choice is defined by available technical equipment on these platforms. In future the University will build an extensive network of such lecture rooms.  

“We are becoming transparent for the whole world. Thesis defence was open for anyone before. Everyone was welcome to come and listen to an applicant, however not everyone had opportunities to come, whereas some were unaware of upcoming events. Today any person countrywide may attend the online defence of any theses, which attract his interest. Remote spectators still can’t pose questions to applicants online. But we would like to introduce this option”, - explained Olga Moskaleva, Head of St. – Petersburg State University’s scientific research department.

Currently 60 Councils responsible for defence of candidate’s and doctoral theses are operating under the St. – Petersburg State University. In 2009 the University held 488 defences of Candidate’s theses and 85 defences of doctoral theses.