UrFU encourages development of higher education system in Russia

15:55, April 1, 2015

UrFU continues to closely cooperate with Project Office 5-100

UrFU Rector Viсtor Koksharov has held the meeting with Georgy Rudnitsky, Executive Director of Project Office 5-100. At the meeting, UrFU Rector expressed willingness to combine efforts for implementing various projects, aimed at developing the university, as well as the whole system of higher education in Russia. “The main goal is not getting higher in ratings; it is the process of deep internal changes in universities participating in 5-100 Project, as well as in the whole system of the Russian higher education,” said Viсtor Koksharov.“The leading universities should become the first to demonstrate effective transformation to meet the highest international standards. The challenge to UrFU is to become a world class university, bringing together talents, resources and motivated managers. If we neglect this task now, nobody will do it for us in the future.”     The meeting was also attended by Deputy Executive Director Elena Chernyshkova and UrFU Vice-Rector for Economics and Strategic Development Daniil Sandler. The parties discussed the wide array of issues: development of fund raising, personnel reserves, volunteer movement, new scientific ratings and elements of external assessment of universities’ performance. The participants also paid attention to the problem of coordinating efforts by top Russian universities, Project Office 5-100 and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation to promote the universities internationally, recruiting foreign students and lecturers. The synergetic effect of this coordination ought to bring tangible results not only to separate universities, but also to the higher education system as a whole. “If we do not combine our efforts, the progress of the whole higher education system in Russia will not be that considerable,” said Viktor Koksharov. UrFU Rector also pointed out that the plan of implementing the ideas discussed at the meeting with Georgy Rudnitsky will be worked out in the near future. For that purpose the university will take into account the necessary resources provided by the programme and encourage other universities participating in the programme to pursue this policy. The Executive Director of the Project Office also met Sergey Kortov, UrFU Vice-Rector for Innovations, and visited some remarkable objects of the university. Andrey Rastorguyev, Head of Innovation Marketing, told Georgy Rudnitsky about UrFU Innovation Infrastructure. The Executive Director of the Project Office had meetings with Dmitry Lavrinov, Director of the small innovative enterprise “Geomera”, and Ekaterina Kraeva, Head of the IT Accelerator. In addition, he visited the production site of the Regional Engineering Centre in the Centre of High Machine-Building Technologies and the Innovation and Implementation Centre of Irradiation Sterilization.