Petrozavodsk State University, the Flagship University of the Republic of Karelia, is represented by the Rector of PetrSU, Anatoly Voronin, and Olga Derbeneva, the Head of the Department of Innovation and Production of PetrSU.

The meeting is held by the National Training Foundation, initiated by flagship universities, as a platform for discussing the growth vector and high-priority subjects of the networking among flagship universities for 2019.

The participants of the meeting will present the results of the work of the flagship universities in 2016–2018; they will discuss tasks, sectoral development strategies and opportunities for flagship universities, and scope for networking among them.

Fifty-one Russian universities have acquired the status of innovation and technological centers in their respective regions. This decision was taken on the basis of the results of the competition, which was attended by 121 universities from 63 regions. These universities were appointed the centers of innovation development and growth points for the economy and social development of the regions.

The selection of universities has been implemented on the basis of two expert evaluations. One of them was conducted by Russian employing companies, and the second one – by experts from the professional community and representatives of the universities. The flagship universities become the premises for various innovative engineering centers, and develop socio-economic, engineer, and pedagogical educational programs.