Evgeny Kuyvashev: "Ekaterinburg Must Become Student Capital of Russia"

09:17, August 23, 2022

The Campus Program will accelerate the development of higher education in the region

In the next five years, Ekaterinburg should become the student capital of Russia. This will be possible by implementing the Campus Program. Evgeny Kuyvashev, the Governor of the Sverdlovsk Region and a member of the Supervisory Board of Ural Federal University, stated this in his article in the newspaper "Oblastnaya Gazeta". He emphasized that nowadays industry, business, education, and healthcare need modern, highly qualified personnel.

The most important areas of the Campus Program are increased scholarships for students and educational affordability.

"Starting from the first year, students who pass exams with B (4) and A (5) should receive scholarships of up to 10 thousand rubles. The next thing is the affordability of education. Now we are talking to banks about interest concession on education loans for students in the Ural . We are discussing a mechanism for reimbursing the interest rate from the funds of the Campus Fund. Next year the fund will start working," says the Governor.

At the initial stage, loans will be given to several hundred students enrolled in the most in-demand professions. According to Evgeny Kuyvashev, negotiations are already underway with representatives of large businesses to establish the fund.

The next goal is modern and quality housing for students.

"Of course, there will be dormitories that meet the latest global requirements. More precisely, they are already under construction, and everyone can see them from the Koltsovo Highway or the Ekaterinburg Automobile Ring Road. The Federal Government supported the "Ural Federal University Campus - Center of Digital Transformation" project: 20 billion rubles from the federal budget are planned to be spent on the construction of the Ural Federal University campus between 2022 and 2025. There are plans to build new educational facilities as well as a complex of lyceum buildings - Specialized Education and Research Center of UrFU," emphasized Kuyvashev.

In the Novokoltsovsky district, the Aquatics Palace, five dormitory buildings, medical and community centers, as well as modern municipal and road infrastructure, are now under construction.

Another part of the Campus Project is the construction of housing, originally intended for social rentals. Negotiations are now underway with major developers. The task of the authorities is to create the conditions for the construction of rental housing, the task of the builders is to start the construction of buildings in the near future.

Another important part of the Campus Project is a system of discounts and benefits for students in trade and service organizations.

"A student comes to a cafe or, for example, a fitness center. If that location participates in the project the student gets a discount. By the end of the year, the Campus Project website will be created, where everyone will be able to get the necessary information and take advantage of new opportunities. The implementation of the project in this part will allow small and medium-sized businesses that are going through difficult times to breathe a sigh of relief. Among other things, our plans include special grants for student entrepreneurship and some other projects," notes Evgeny Kuyvashev.

In the article, the Governor also emphasized that one of today's requirements for professionals in a wide variety of industries is to be deeply involved in the world of digitalization. Without this component of education and retraining, it will be impossible to maintain the Ural's leadership position among Russian regions.

"Last year, an Agreement was signed between the Government of the Sverdlovsk Region, UrFU and SKB Kontur to create an educational center "IT Competences Accelerator" on the territory of Kontur-Park. This is our Ural Google, the support of which is an important task for us," said Evgeny Kuyvashev.

Victor Koksharov, the Rector of Ural Federal University, supported the Governor's initiatives and plans to develop Ekaterinburg as the student capital of Russia.

"It is very important that, in implementing all of the announced plans, the regional government works closely and constructively with the university. Together we will continue to develop the infrastructure, build new academic buildings, laboratories, and dormitories. We also do all the best to support our students, lecturers and scientists both financially and by providing them with opportunities to realize their talents to the maximum. The Campus Program will allow us to do this even more effectively. All this will help higher education in Sverdlovsk region to reach a qualitatively higher level in the coming years," said Victor Koksharov.

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