On the Day of Russian Students, the results of a large-scale popular vote organized by the city newspaper RostovGazeta were announced.

Voting took place from December 20 to January 24 and was open to all residents of Rostov-on-Don. Five leading universities in the region took part in the survey: SFedU, DSTU, RSEU (RINH), RSUPS and RostSMU. To ensure the awareness of the choice, each educational institution was provided with a detailed reference with history, key facts and relevant educational indicators.

Southern Federal University, which is one of the oldest and largest universities in the South of Russia, confidently took the first place, gaining the support of 56% of the voting participants. Donskoy State Technical University took the second place with 20% of the votes. Rostov State University of Railway Transport rounded out the top three (10%). RSEU (RINH) and RostSMU divided the positions, gaining 7% of the votes each.