OREANDA-NEWS. November 28, 2008. Citibank, the Volgograd branch of Citibank, jointly with the Volgograd State Technical University (VolgSTU) held an official ceremony to open the Financial Education Center. During the ceremony, a 50,000 USD Citi Foundation grant was presented, for the implementation of this project under the Citi Professors program, reported the press-centre of Citibank.

The Citi Professors program brings together Russia's five largest universities, including the Rostov State Economics University; the Urals State Technical University; the Lobachevsky Nizhniy Novgorod State University; the Higher School of Management at St. Petersburg State University, and the Volgograd State Technical University.

Classes at the Financial Education Center will be conducted together with Citibank specialists, and is to help students, educators and any other groups to learn to better manage their personal finances in an economically sound manner, to choose a reliable finance and credit institution; to learn to build a pension nest egg; and to make short-term and long-term investments in different assets to optimize future income.

The most competent VolgSTU educators and Citibank specialists will teach classes at the Financial Education Center. In future, the number of students is supposed to increase by involving more young people - students from other universities and colleges of the city. Specialists working at other finance and credit institutions in Russia will also be invited to participate in the education program.

Professor Larisa Shakhovskaya, Doctor in Economics, Head of the World Economy and Economy Theory Department, and international grant research advisor, spoke at the Volgograd State Technical University at the opening of the Financial Education Center: "The ability to manage your money is an art that requires knowledge and patience, while the skill of handling other people's money is an art based not only on experience and professionalism, but also on great responsibility. The goal of our work together is to give the population-primarily young people-the skills of managing their finances jointly with professional credit institutions, one of the most reliable of which, without a doubt, is Citibank."

Nelly Nikonova, Head of the Volgograd branch of ZAO Citibank said, "In April 2008, Citi's global financial education program celebrated its 10th anniversary. Investments in financial education amounted to over 200 million dollars, 36 million dollars were granted in 65 countries in 2007. The Citi Professors program is not about achieving quick results, it is about making long-term investments of time, efforts and resources into educating people so that they could confidently take financial decisions. It is also about strengthening economic stability."

Top management of the Volgograd State University, representatives of the Administration of the Volgograd Region, as well as those of the Main Department of the Bank of Russia in the Volgograd Region and of the Trade and Industrial Chamber, took part in the Financial Education Centre's opening ceremony.