Ilya Obabkov: "In Times of Great Turbulence, Universities Should Be Supported"

09:26, March 9, 2022

The Head of the Engineering School of Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Control Systems commented on government measures to support the IT industry

Russian IT specialists and companies withstand competition on a global scale, believes Ilya Obabkov, Director of the Engineering School of Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Control Systems of the Ural Federal University.

According to Obabkov, in some areas, such as software development and information security, Russia has world-class solutions. If the pace of specialists' training and companies' development is maintained, there are grounds to count on successful development of application software, operating systems, database management systems. According to the director of Engineering School of Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Control Systems, today it is crucial to define the strategic vision: what products to stake on, how to implement digitalization and automation by domestic developments.

Speaking about the presidential decree to support the domestic IT-industry, he noted that it really needs the attention of the Russian leadership, and it is good that it will be given substantial support measures.

"Information technology is an industry that supports and develops all areas: higher education, industrial production, energy, banking, social life. We are waiting for the details: how the list of companies and their employees who will receive benefits will be determined, what will be the mechanism for the implementation of preferential benefits, etc. For example, the position of employees of IT departments of state, industrial enterprises and even universities may become less favorable, the processes of staff transition and difficulties with their training will begin. I hope that the announced support measures are only the first step. Perhaps we should return to the proposals of the Ministry of Digital Development and exempt employees of the IT industry from paying personal income tax. In this case, employers could increase their salaries by at least 20%, while maintaining the cost of production," said Ilya Obabkov.

But the main thing, the Director of Engineering School of Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Control Systems is sure, if our country plans to develop modern digital technologies, it is necessary to build the necessary system for this, necessarily with the participation of universities.

"After all, an IT specialist is attracted not only by salary and complex tasks, he or she values the familiar ecosystem - the connection with the university and research, opportunities to participate in conferences with colleagues from other regions and countries, to study on advanced training courses. For this purpose, it is necessary to preserve and develop the university faculty and researchers, accelerate scientific and engineering searches, and ensure that the best solutions are transferred to serial production. Therefore, it would be desirable that in times of strong turbulence the benefits apply not only to companies, but also to the scientific and educational environment. We need to urgently develop and launch a system of research grants in the most important areas of IT, which is mentioned in the decree. The number and quality of our graduates depends on IT development in universities," Obabkov concluded.

Reference

According to the decree of the Russian President Vladimir Putin Russian IT companies will be provided with the following support measures: exemption from income tax, tax, currency control and other types of supervision, preferential loans for current activities and new projects, grant financing of promising developments, simplification of hiring foreign specialists and procedures for their residence permit to work in Russia. The government should ensure "consolidation and stimulation of procurement of critical domestic developments" for state and municipal needs.

Employees of IT companies will be supported by higher wages, better housing conditions and deferral of military conscription.

The Engineering School of Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Control Systems is one of the oldest units of Ural Federal University. On February 25, Engineering School of Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Control Systems celebrated its 70th anniversary. There are over 4,700 students in IT programs at UrFU. According to this indicator, the university is the leader in the Ural macro-region. More than 40 employers cooperate with Engineering School of Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Control Systems.

On March 12 and 13 the IT Day "IT Peak" will take place at Ural Federal University. This is an annual meeting place for high school students, employers, and everyone who lives in the world of information technology. Beginners and advanced IT specialists will get lectures and master-classes from more than 20 invited stars of the IT world. Representatives of Ural Federal University will tell about educational opportunities and present Bachelor's and Master's programs. Employer partners, including Kontur, SKB Lab, Tinkoff, Sber, Naumen, Prosoft Systems, Targem Games and many others will present their vacancies and internships. Also, for the first time, the Congress of Teachers of Informatics and Mathematics will be held as part of "IT Peak".

The news article was translated by UrFU International Marketing Office
info.international@urfu.ru, +7 (343) 375-45-19