The Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic Institute was founded in 1899 as the largest and most advanced engineering educational institute in Russia. Earl Andrey Gagarin has been chosen the first Rector and was succeeded by a chain of celebrated academicians. Dmitriy Mendeleev, Alexander Popov, Alexey Krylov and other outstanding Russian scholars of the time took active part in the institute's formation and planning of its future. The Polytechnic Institute has been set up as a very special place destined for much more that the ordinary. It was the institution originated with a distinctive character and a promise of high quality. From the beginning the Institute lived up to the aspirations of its founders. In 1910 with regards to its achievements it was given the highest honour to bear the name of Emperor Peter the Great. In years that followed the name of the Institute has been changed several times, but invariably it retained its outstanding position of one of the most highly regarded engineering educational centres. The hallmark of Polytechnic bears significance of the highest standard in teaching and research.
Since the turn of the past century Polytech has become the alma-mater to over a hundred thousand graduates, its alumni forming elite corps of research and engineering in technical science and industry. Its contribution in developing the resource base of the north-west region and in the industrial development of Russia in the past century was unsurpassed, especially in metallurgy, ship-building, rail transport, hydraulic construction, civil engineering, electrical power industry and, later, in nuclear power industry, computer industry and space projects. Through its alumni, many of whom tend to rise to commanding positions in industry, business and finance, the Polytechnical University has long-established and lasting contacts, collaboration and contracts with enterprises and institutions not only in Saint Petersburg and its environs, but throughout Russia and the former Republics. The Polytechnical University collaborates with over 300 industrial organizations. In recent years with commercial activities becoming a part of academic life and commercial units becoming a part of university structure, business links are also growing to bring in financial support to education and research.