A large domestic manufacturer of chemical plant protection products JSC Firm "August" equipped a lecture hall for the St. Petersburg State Agrarian University (SPbGAU) at the Department of Plant Protection and Quarantine. In a 70 sq. m was renovated, new comfortable educational furniture was installed for 48 seats, as well as a teacher's workplace with a personal computer and a graphics tablet, visual aids were placed and interactive multimedia equipment was installed, making it possible to conduct classes remotely.
The office was solemnly opened at the beginning of the academic year, the ceremony was attended by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Maxim Uvaydov, the rector of the St. Petersburg State Agrarian University Vitaly Morozov and the leading manager of the group for the Central and North-Western region of JSC Firm "August" Alexander Yashin.
“The new projection equipment - a screen, a video camera, wireless microphones - will allow organizing classes in the form of video conferences, conducting remote lectures and launching video broadcasts directly from industrial and agricultural sites. This gives the university ample opportunities for cooperation with our industrial partners, leaders in their segment, for the modern training of highly qualified specialists in the agro-industrial complex,” says Anna Orlova, Dean of the Faculty of Agrotechnologies, Soil Science and Ecology of St. Petersburg State Agrarian University.
The company "August" began cooperation with St. Petersburg State Agrarian University in 2020. Currently, the importance of the agro-industrial sector is growing in the economy of the Northwestern Federal District, and this trend requires the involvement of new personnel in the industry.
“Today, in the regions of our district, large-scale areas of abandoned lands are returning to agricultural production, crops that were previously uncharacteristic for this climatic zone are being introduced into crop rotation - for example, rapeseed; there are new large agricultural producers, - says the manager for key clients of the regional group of JSC Firm "August" in St. Petersburg Valery Pavlenko. – At the same time, while cooperating with Russian farmers, we know firsthand about the problem when only a small percentage of graduates of specialized universities choose to work directly in agriculture. We have reached an agreement with St. Petersburg State Agrarian University on online training. And within the framework of our cooperation, first of all, we will strive to increase the interest of students and their motivation to connect their lives with agronomy as much as possible.”
August specialists hope not only to give students up-to-date knowledge in the field of plant protection, but also to contribute to their professional development, accompanying their work at agricultural enterprises and helping them to understand the basics of agricultural production.