The 6th annual Russian Summer School on Internet Governance, organized by the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ and the Foreign Relations Department of St. Petersburg State University, held its concluding ceremony on August 18. The school, which was launched on July 14, continues to be a part of the international Schools on Internet Governance (SIG) initiative.
This year’s program enrolled a core cohort of 42 registered participants for an intensive curriculum of lectures, group projects, and analytical essays. In a first for the school, a group of auditors was also granted access to the lectures and the option to complete assignments alongside the main cohort. These guest attendees will be awarded a certificate of attendance from the Coordination Center.
The core cohort’s geographic reach, spanning from Vladivostok and Irkutsk to Tashkent and Novosibirsk, highlighted the program’s inclusivity and international focus.
This was reflected in the curriculum, which featured four lectures by leading experts on key areas of digital development.
Participants explored a range of critical topics through lectures from leading experts. These included a session on the ethics and regulation of artificial intelligence by Sofya Tyulyakova (Youth Council of the Coordination Center), and a talk on AI’s opportunities in education and its impact on teacher-student dynamics by Yelena Zinovyeva (MGIMO, permanent SIG mentor). The program’s second day was devoted to digital transformation in the public sector, including a review of Russia’s experience, presented by Lyudmila Bogatyryova (Polylog Agency, ROCIT). The final lecture, delivered by Vasily Yelagin (SPbSUT), provided an overview of future network trends and international standardization, examining how innovations evolve into global norms.
For their graduation projects, participants submitted analytical essays that underwent several rounds of independent examination. All works were noted for their clear structure, solid argumentation, and reliance on contemporary sources. Many participants demonstrated an excellent ability to combine theoretical approaches with practical case studies, with the manifestation of a unique individual stance and authorial perspective being especially valuable.
The program also placed a strong emphasis on collaborative group projects. Teams collaborated online to create analytical maps, later presenting their results to an expert commission. This final commission included Konstantin Pantserev, Doctor of Political Science and Professor at St. Petersburg University, alongside Darya Stepovaya, a representative of the IIS School of the Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Academy and the Coordination Center’s Youth Council.
All finalists received academic credits, and the best essays are slated for publication on the School’s website.
“Every year, we strive to create a curriculum that balances global trends with regional specifics. The Summer School provides an overview of key principles and challenges rather than ready-made answers. We see great value in this, as it allows participants to then delve deeper into their specific areas of interest within the vast field of IG on their own,” said Anastasia Savelyeva, curator of the 2025 Summer School on Internet Governance.
True to its mission, the Summer School on Internet Governance continues to provide a space for interdisciplinary dialogue while fostering the digital literacy and practical skills participants need to engage in international discussions and forums deciding the future of the global network.
