On February 11, 2021, a meeting of the Regional Branch of the Russian Professorial Assembly was held in the Chelyabinsk Region. South Ural State University became the organizational platform for it.
Within the frameworks of the meeting, which was attended by representatives of the academic and teaching staff of five universities of Chelyabinsk (South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk State University, South Ural State Humanitarian Pedagogical University, Chelyabinsk State Institute of Culture, and the Ural State University of Physical Education), the elections of the chairperson of the Regional Branch of the Russian Professorial Assembly in the Chelyabinsk Region were held. By unanimous decision, Lidiya Lobodenko, Professor, Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Director of the SUSU Institute of Media, Social Sciences and Humanities was elected to take that position.
Lidiya Lobodenko has been working in the higher education system of the Chelyabinsk Region for more than a quarter of a century, and she is one of the authoritative and highly professional specialists in the field of integrated communications, digital media space, journalism, advertising and public relations. Professor Lydiya Lobodenko is a member of the National Association of Mass Media Researchers and the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), the author of over 90 scientific and educational publications; and she is also a member of the editorial board of the peer-reviewed scientific publications RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism; Bulletin of SUSU, Series “Social Sciences and the Humanities”, and a member of the Presidium of the Academic Methodological Council on Advertising and Public Relations.
The Chairman of the Chelyabinsk City Duma, Doctor of Sciences (Economics), Professor Andrei Shmidt took part in the work of the Regional Branch of the Russian Professorial Assembly and emphasized that universities in our region have a lot of work to do not only to improve the educational process, but also to actively participate in the development of the urban program for the ecological development of the metropolis for the comfortable life of the citizens.
The participants of the meeting also discussed the issue of organizing the educational process of universities using blended learning technology.
Marina Potapova, Deputy Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of South Ural State University, Professor, Doctor of Sciences (Pedagogy), spoke about the digital educational environment of South Ural State University, the work of the “Electronic SUSU” portal, the university-developed system of corporate standards for e-learning, and the results of monitoring research on the peculiarities of work with the use of blended learning technology among students and teachers of SUSU.
Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation of Chelyabinsk State Institute of Culture, Doctor of Cultural Studies Sergey Sinetskiy shared the experience of their university during the period of quarantine restrictions, focusing on the specific features of the educational directions of creative nature in the Institute. The Institute was able to fulfil all the sanitary and epidemiological requirements of the pandemic period and implement the educational program with the maximum possible efficiency.
Vice-Rector for Research of the Ural State University of Physical Education, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Evgeny Bykov spoke about the digital platforms recommended by the Ministry of Sports of Russia, paying special attention to the LSPORT automated information system.
Based on the results of the discussion at the meeting of the Regional Branch of the Russian Professorial Assembly in the Chelyabinsk Region, it was decided to conduct a joint research on the topic “Specifics of the Work of Regional Universities Using Blended Learning Technology”.
The Russian Professorial Assembly is an all-Russian public organisation. It was established in 2016 and unites more than 6000 professors from 185 universities and research institutes in Russia.