The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is one of the largest and most significant business events in the world. The SPIEF has been held annually since 1997, and since 2005 it has been held with the participation of the President of the Russian Federation. Over the years, the forum has established itself as a key global event where current economic issues facing Russia and the world as a whole are discussed. In 2024, more than 21,800 participants from 139 countries took part in the SPIEF. Traditionally, representatives of the Southern Federal University take part in the Forum.

One of the key events of the forum was a plenary session led by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

In his speech, Vladimir Putin assessed the current stage of the country's economic development, as well as outlined its main development directions and prospects.

According to him, Russia's GDP has been adding more than 4% annually over the past two years, and annual inflation in Russia has dropped to 9.6%. Russia has achieved a record reduction in poverty: last year it amounted to 7.2%. The competitiveness of industries should be based on Russian technologies. New technological solutions must not only be developed, but also implemented promptly. By 2030, the combined government and business spending on research and development in Russia should grow to at least two percent of GDP.

"Today I focused on five main areas of structural changes in the Russian economy. National projects and government programs that have already been launched are focused on these tasks. Their work must be constantly adjusted to take into account the changing situation in the world and new opportunities," Vladimir Putin stressed.

Acting Rector of SFedU Inna Shevchenko attended the SPIEF 2025 plenary session.

On June 19, a panel discussion on "Universities towards a new model of higher education" was held at SPIEF 2025, dedicated to key issues of the development of Russia's national higher education system.

In addition, the Rector of SFedU participated in such expert discussions as "Space Technologies – the future of the service economy", which discussed the change in society and the economy with the development of space technologies, the integration of business into scientific and technological development, the current challenges of the space industry, etc., and "Bioeconomics on the global agenda", where experts considered the application of innovative approaches to the application of biotechnology in the modern economy, the possibility of human use of natural potentials on a managed and renewable basis for the purposes of sustainable development. The participants in the discussions are heads of major state corporations, research centers, representatives of ministries, foundations and universities of the Russian Federation.

On June 20, Inna Shevchenko signed a trilateral agreement with GC Titan and the Rostov Region and held working meetings with partners and representatives of the business community. As part of the agreement, the parties plan to develop the human resources potential of the industrial complex of the Rostov region and cover several key areas of work, including the training and retraining of specialists for strategic areas of activity of GC "Titan", the development and implementation of joint educational programs, cooperation in innovative projects.

Employees of the SFedU also took part in the SPIEF events, including Doctor of Technical Sciences, Head of the Laboratory of 224 Neural Network Systems at the Institute of Multiprocessor Computing Systems Academician A. V. Kalyaeva, the winner of the track "Science" of the third season of the competition "Leaders of Russia" Anatoly Kalyaev. On June 21, Angelina Litvinenko, a lecturer at the Kapitany Faculty of Business, took part in the discussion platforms of the Day of the Future program.  Angelina, as a member of the SFedU Council of Young Scientists and a young researcher, visited the first site in the history of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum dedicated to the agro—industrial complex, the Agro Cluster.

Communication with the participants and the exchange of experience will allow her to further conduct an in-depth analysis in the study of the economic activities of the Cossacks of the Don Region and Kuban. Daria Laskova, an employee of the SFedU Faculty of Economics, managed to participate in a number of business events of the "Day of the Future", including "Personal brand value formation: new tools", where invited journalists, artists, heads of large agencies and business organizations shared their methods of attracting customers, expanding the audience and successful monetization of startups, "How science and should business stop "pulling the blanket over itself" and start negotiating?", where the most viable economic models of cooperation between academia and business structures were proposed and discussed in a discussion format.

And the lectures "Education: building bridges between people" and "Personnel of the Future: how to prepare professionals for the digital age?" demonstrated relevant areas in education for the successful socio-economic development of the country.

Ekaterina Zemlina, Associate Professor at the Academy of Psychology and Pedagogy, and Anna Potatueva, Head of the Academy of Physical Culture and Sport National Team Support Department, became finalists in the "My Country is My Russia" competition in the "My Pedagogical Initiative" nomination. Ekaterina with the project "Mentoring inclusion teaching volunteers accompanying children with autism spectrum disorders", Anna with the project "Springboard - your way to new heights" aimed at the development of younger schoolchildren also participated in SPIEF 2025.