Today, XXI Workshop Conference of Project 5-100 starts at Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University. The event will be taking place on the territory of the Baltic Federal University during two days. The conference is meant for the representatives of 21 leading Russian institutions of higher education which passed competitive selection in order to participate in the Project on enhancement of competitiveness of the leading Russian universities among the leading world research and education centers, with South Ural State University being part of that project since 2015.
The goal of this quarterly event is to discuss among the universities participating in Project 5-100 the fulfillment of the planned measures under realization of the Competitiveness Enhancement Program (Roadmap), as well as mutual exchange of experience on implementing efficient projects on optimization of educational, scientific and international activity of the institutions of higher education.
The conference was opened with a plenary session “University Transformation in the Context of Digital Economy” the participants of which included: Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation Lyudmila Ogorodova, Director of the Department of State Policy for Higher Education at the Russian Federation Ministry of Education and Science Alexander Sobolev, Supervisor of “Young Professionals” Program, Rector of Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University Andrey Klemeshev and others.
Lyudmila Ogorodova thanked the organizers for topical themes of the event, and the universities – for positive development dynamics under Project 5-100, and stressed the necessity of transformation for the modern higher education:
“Projects which bring actual changes to a university are not possible without understanding of the priorities and the concept of the university development, as well as of its resources. I would like to point out that resources do not only mean grants and support from the RF Government. First and foremost, these are the capabilities of the university itself, relevance of its scientific discoveries, demand for its educational programs and the foresight this university demonstrates via STI, development funds, innovation regional clusters, and of course, through interdisciplinary and intra-departmental communications. University transformation is the basis for its successful future, what cannot be achieved without a clear understanding of where the university is heading. I wish you good luck on this path!”
The workshop continued with a plenary session of a British Company Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) which publishes one of the most authoritative rankings of the world universities. Editor-in-chief of the QS ranking Ben Sauter and the QS Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Zoya Zaytseva will analyze the results and prospects of Russian universities under the ranking, and will hold a master-class.
The second day of the conference on September 22nd will begin with a round table dedicated to launching and operation of a unified platform for managing intellectual property assets based on the Blockchain solution. Sergey Matveev, Director of the Department of Science and Technology at the Russian Federation Ministry of Education and Science shall act as a co-organizer of the session. The workshop will continue with a round table where experts from different countries will share their experience on creation of national university rankings. The developers of the “Three Missions of Universities” ranking are assumed to be participating, as well as those of the Perspektywy and other national and international university activity assessment systems. Also, a traditional scientometrics session is planned for this day.
Key issues of the workshop conference program for September 21-22 comprise: networking cooperation of universities, re-designing of education, international Master Degree programs and summer schools, humanitaristics in the age of digital technologies, innovative and scientific potential of Russian institutions of higher education, Russia in Megascience and others.
Moreover, the workshop participants will be offered unique excursions with the visits to “Fabrika” Science and Technology Park, Living Systems Institute, Flight Training Center, as well as the Botanic Garden used as a base for scientific experiments on plants introduction and establishment.
Let us recall that in 2015 South Ural State University (NRU) was among the six winners of the second open contest of the Project on enhancement of competitiveness of the Russian Federation universities among the key world research and education centers. At present, 21 Russian universities have become part of the competitiveness enhancement program.