License of the Russian Federation State Committee on Higher Education # 16-220, issued on May 24, 1995.
   Certificate of state accreditation # 25-0240, issued on June 19, 1998.
   A paradoxical situation has formed on the Russian employment market in the early 1990's: it seemed as if supply and demand existed independently of each other. Higher education was oriented towards preparing specialists of the kind that could not apply their knowledge in a changed country. At the same time there was a shortage of professionals in some other areas.
   During this difficult time period the leadership of "Knowledge" Society (St. Petersburg's and the Leningrad region's largest educational organization) has decided to found a new higher educational institution. It was meant to become a higher school of the new generation: flexible, dynamically growing, sensitive to the demands of the employment market. The unique experience in the area of educational work, accumulated by "Knowledge" Society over its 50-year long activity period, determined its success. In 1995 the St. Petersburg Institute of Foreign Trade, Economics and Law (IFTEL ) received a license and 1998 it successfully passed through state accreditation, confirming that the quality of education in this institute corresponded to state standards and granting it a right to issue state-standard higher education diplomas to its graduates.
   At the present time IFTEL is one of the largest private higher schools in Russia. The opening and successful work of the school's branches in the Leningrad region, as well as in other regions of Russia, heightens its reputation further.
   Drawing from "Knowledge" Society's large personnel resources, IFTEL was able to form an excellent faculty: over 80% of the institute's lecturers have Candidate's and Doctoral degrees. The institute regularly conducts practical science conferences, seminars and symposiums in cooperation with "Knowledge" Society. IFTEL students are actively involved in scientific research: students' research societies have existed at the institute's various departments for years, conducting students' research conferences.
   The school's teaching techniques are based on the principles of systematic order, consistency and the mutual correlation of theory and practice. Adherence to these principles is ensured by the methodology of its "Standard-Plus" teaching scheme. The "Standard" corresponds to the mandatory level of knowledge and professional skills, required by state educational standards. The "Plus" corresponds to those subjects, which are offered to students in excess of the required minimum, it includes the institute's lecturers special programs and initiatives.
   IFTEL prepares specialists in the areas of law, management, economics, linguistics, psychology and public relations. This year its Department of International Relations has accepted freshmen for the second time. Specialists in the area of international affairs had previously only been trained at the St. Petersburg State University's Faculty of International Relations, and the number of graduates from this faculty was clearly insufficient to satisfy the sharply increased demand of the market. The Department of Economics and Transportation Management, aimed at training specialists in the organization and management of transportation enterprises, was opened at the same time. Professionals in this area are always in demand in a city with over 17,500 firms and self-employed persons involved in some type of passenger or cargo transportation activity. "We are very careful in our choice of specializations" - comments IFTEL Rector Sergei Mikhailovich Klimov. "We gather the necessary materials, programs and personnel and only then accept students. For instance, we were among the first schools in St. Petersburg to introduce a Management major, but we did not introduce Banking even when a banking boom started and bank workers were trained in many places. We always have room for maneuver and choice, based on the analysis of market demands and on our strong personnel potential."
   IFTEL possesses a large potential: each year new branches are opened here, new promising areas of study are developed. In the year 2000 the school was licensed to issue Master's degrees in Management with a topical specialization in state and regional finance administration.
   IFTEL trains and re-trains specialists of the highest qualification at its day, night and correspondence study programs at the following departments:

• Department of ECONOMICS, with a specialization in Bookkeeping, Auditing and Analysis; Organization Management; World Economy or Credit and Finance;
• Department of LAW, with a specialization in Law Studies or Social Work;
• Department of INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, with a specialization in International Relations or Regional Studies;
• Department of the HUMANITIES, with a specialization in Linguistics and Intercultural Communication (for linguists specializing in translation), Public Relations or Psychology;
• Department of ECONOMICS AND TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT, with a specialization in Organization and Management of Transportation.

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