18/02/2021

On February 16-17, 2021 the Kick off Meeting of the consortium of the international project "Capacity Building in Sustainablity for Architectural Heritage" (SAH) was held within the the Erasmus+ programme.

The Project started this January and will last 3 years. Project goal: based on European experience, the development of a new international master's course in the field of sustainable development of architectural heritage, as well as the creation of innovative infrastructure in the face of growing interest in the architectural heritage; development of teaching aids; purchase of the necessary equipment; creation of an international network center.

This project is very important and relevant not only for our University, but also for Russia as a whole. The use of European experience will make it possible to train specialists capable of solving modern strategic tasks of sustainable development of the architectural heritage.

The Project partners: Universities of Italy (main project coordinatorf the University of L'Aquila), Germany, Greece, Armenia, Iran (Tehran and Tabriz) and Russia (Kazan, Moscow, Samara, Arkhangelsk). During the two days of the Kick off Meeting, all stages of the project implementation, project management issues, the quality of the master courses developed within the project in each university, as well as the necessary reporting documentation for each partner within the project were discussed in detail.

Opening remarks were made by Prof. Edoardo Alesse, the Rector of the University of L'Aquila. The representatives of the Erasmus National Offices from the participating countries took part in the meetings with a detailed report on what the project participants should pay attention to in the process of its implementation, taking into account also the peculiarities of resolving issues in each individual country; representatives of the European Commission with recommendations for the successful implementation of the project, as well as representatives of international departments of participating universities and academic staff responsible in each university for the development of new master courses in the field of sustainable development of architectural heritage, making short presentations about the university, their professional competencies and experience in theme of the project.

Our University was represented by the Associate Professor of the Department of Reconstruction, Restoration of Architectural Heritage and Fundamentals of Architecture Svetlana Persova who made a report on the experience of preserving heritage in the Republic of Tatarstan, also by the Head of the International Relations Olga Poroshenko and by the Head of Translation Department Lilia Gilmeeva.

In conclusion, the participants jointly approved the Minutes of the meetings, as well as the work plan for the current year. The meeting was held online, in English.

15/02/2021

On February 11, 2021, the Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin together with the Chief architect of the city, the Head of administration of the Vakhitovsky and Volga regions visited our University and met with our students and graduates of architectural sciences - winners of the competition for the Grant of the Mayor of Kazan.

During the visit our scientists demonstrated their innovative scientific developments. The Mayor of Kazan expressed interest in the developments of the University staff and offered to continue cooperation to solve the actual issues of the city development.

In the architectural and educational space "BFFT.space" within the framework of the Russian Year of Science and Technology, a meeting was held with our students and graduates who underwent internships in the best foreign and Russian architectural and design studios thanks to the grant from the Mayor of Kazan and were able to further realize their creative potential in the profession.

Our Rector Prof. Rashit Nizamov spoke about the future plans of the University to create the Urban Planning Center, Miras Restoration Center, and Agach Wooden Art Center. 

The Mayor of Kazan noted that the decision on internships for our students in the best architectural companies in Russia and the world was correct. “After the Millennium of Kazan, we thought about how to change Kazan, how to find new growth points. And the answer was on the surface - it is, of course, our youth. Creative, talented students who must receive an appropriate education, see the best practices in the world and, together with us, try to change Kazan. We are proud of your success. You are real architects, our gold fund. Follow what we are doing in Kazan, share your ideas, participate in the development of the city. We are always ready to cooperate with you", Ilsur Metshin.

The Mayor proposed to hold a forum in Kazan in the fall 2021 at our University inviting graduates who today work not only in Kazan, but also in other cities of Russia and the world. “Let all graduates of our university come to this forum, we will provide logistics. You can also join us online, - said the head of the city. - You will be able to present your portfolios, the works that you have done, and in the future, when we start building something new, we will already have in mind your potential. We need to meet, exchange opinions, communicate”.

“I love being here… It's nice to see how you grow - it's always nice", said the Mayor. - "You are ahead of development, ahead of time. I wish all your ideas to be embodied in new beautiful objects, in a new Kazan".

12/02/2021

On February 11, 2021 within the collaboration with our University, the Slovenian Construction Cluster (Slovenski gradbeni grozd) held the online webinar "How can startups help the construction industry become more circular?" addressed to builders, engineers, architects, representatives of construction companies interested in the topic. The half of the participants were the students of the dual degree programme KSUAE-UEL, studying in the area of Civil engineering, which were very interested in the topic and asked particular questions the speakers. 

The webinar presented the German startup Concular, which supports companies in the construction sector in the use of sustainable practices through a digital platform for intelligent transmission of materials based on data during dismantling and new construction projects and real-time life cycle assessment. The Concular platform thus enables the reuse of construction materials, thus reducing the amount of construction waste, as well as the use of resources and the generation of greenhouse gases.The main speaker was Mr. Dominik Campanella, one of the founders of the Concular. 

The headliner of the webinar was Vladimir Gumiliar, the founder of the Slovenian Construction Cluster (Slovenski gradbeni grozd), organizer of the event. The cluster was established in 2004 by construction companies and institutions in the fields of building design, consulting, engineering, contracting and production of building materials and products.

The lecture also presented some successfully implemented projects in Germany, where the startup (and platform) Concular operates.

The issues concerning wood industry, deconstruction and mechanical connections methods, construction components were also touched during the discussion at the end of the webinar.

11/02/2021

Associate Professor of our Design Department, Candidate of Art History Alexandrina Mikhailova became an Academician of the Russian National Academy of Design.

She is a graduate of the design faculty of our University (2004), degree with honors. She graduated from the postgraduate course of the Department of Design of the Architectural Environment. Her Ph.D. thesis: "Russian design in the context of world art culture".

Executive editor of the informational scientific-practical journal "Design Review". Winner of the National Prize in the field of design "Victoria" (2000, 2004), diploma of the Union of Designers of Russia and the International Association of Designers, MOOSAO, Bauhaus University.

Author of over 130 publications, including 8 textbooks and teaching aids. She was a tutor of 5 postgraduate students, currently she is completing her doctoral dissertation.

Congratulations to the Academician!