The agreements were signed by the CEOs of both railways, Rüdiger Grube and Vladimir Yakunin, on the German Russian Government Consultations held in Munich.

“With the Center of Competence we are making a major contribution towards meeting the growing demands placed on quality and competitiveness in the area of cross-border transportation and logistics services between the German and the Russian markets,” said Rüdiger Grube, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Deutsche Bahn AG.

Innovative research, academic and continued education

The goal of both railways is to build up the Logistics Center at the Graduate School of Management at St. Petersburg State University (GSOM) to become a center of competence for applied research focused on innovative subjects in the fields of logistics and supply chain management.

Other major areas of emphasis will be on the academic education of students within the Bachelors and Masters degree programs as well as the continued and advanced education of employees from both railways. Plans call for the Center to endow a senior and junior professorship. The cooperation is initially based on a period of five years.

EBS and Petersburg State Transport University as scientific partners

The European Business School (EBS) also played a role in initiating the establishment of the logistics center and will first and foremost make its supply chain and logistics expertise available a partner in the project. Moreover, the railway companies were able to win Petersburg State Transport University as a further partner providing scientific support to the Chair in the field of railway studies.