Falkov announced the training of engineering special forces in Russia

Student start-up studios and design bureaus have already been created

Russian universities will start preparing engineering special forces. The head of the Ministry of Education and Science Valery Falkov spoke about this at a meeting with senators on December 14. Russian science in the new realities is not up to fat: ratings and publications in prestigious journals are a thing of the past. Today’s needs are new seeds and medicines, innovative materials and unique technologies. The officials formulated the most ambitious task: to raise a new generation of Lomonosovs and create a technological reserve for the entire 21st century.

If earlier scientists were credited with articles in prestigious journals, now the success of scientific thought is something that can be touched and integrated into the real economy of the country. As Falkov emphasized, 2022 has fundamentally changed the outlook on universities, science and technological development.

– We are not expected to achieve abstract achievements, not ratings and scientometric indices, but concrete results: technologies and materials, medicines and seeds, prototypes and experimental samples, design documentation, applied software products – everything that really changes people’s lives for the better, that understandable and tangible, – said the head of the Ministry of Education and Science.

Focusing on specific scientific results required non-standard solutions. Students no longer sit for half a day at their desks and do not inspect dreams in pairs. It is planned to include future technologists, IT specialists, builders and farmers in the realities of adult life from the student’s bench. As the minister said, two new federal projects were launched in Russia for this. The first is advanced engineering schools:

– Each engineering school has two tasks: training of elite engineering personnel, as they sometimes say, engineering special forces for solving breakthrough tasks. And the second task is the participation of teachers, researchers and students in solving specific projects of enterprises.

According to the head of the Ministry of Education and Science, the new engineering schools will work in scientific areas that will determine not only the development of the country for the next decade. This is a backlog for the entire 21st century. New laboratories for microelectronics, new energy and medicine, as well as agriculture have been created at universities.

Falkov cited the engineering school of the Perm Polytechnic University as an example. The United Engine Corporation became its partner. The school is now solving three tasks: it creates a new technology for ultra-precision casting, a technology for mass production of polymer turbine blades, and introduces a system for servicing and repairing aircraft engines. And the engineering school of the Don Technical University, together with Rosselmash, is developing a new generation of agricultural machines.

The second project, inextricably linked to the first, is the creation of university technological entrepreneurship. According to the plans of the department, it will become a base for students who want to open their own startup.

– Through the support of student teams, grant support for their initiatives, we must prepare a generation of technological leaders who are urgently needed by the country. Those who are able to translate ideas into new technologies, products and services,” the minister noted and added that this year the country has already managed to launch a network of 20 startup studios in 18 regions and open 60 entrepreneurial “boiling points”.

The project of student startups has not yet got out of the cradle, but the real results of the flight of engineering thought are already there. One such development is the autoinjector. The gadget allows you to make intramuscular and subcutaneous injections on your own. The device is compatible with syringes up to 5 mm, allows you to adjust the speed of drug administration and the depth of needle insertion. As Valery Falkov said, now the device is being studied by Roszdravnadzor, mass production is being prepared. Or here is another interesting development – solar tiles. It combines the functions of a roof and a solar water heater. There are many more such projects,” the minister assured. Falkov’s department is not going to stop at this. Ahead is the creation of student design bureaus. This is a kind of incubator for design engineers of a new formation, who will be involved in solving real production problems of Russian enterprises.

The minister had to talk to the senators about problems as well. The first and main today is the outer contour. Russian science in 2022 had to first enter a steep dive, and then lay a turn from west to east and south. According to Valery Falkov, we succeeded in the maneuver. For example, a MEPhI branch in Kazakhstan has recently been opened. Already in the first quarter of next year, a university training program for orientalists and Africanists will start – so far this is a scarce specialty. But Russian scientists are not in a hurry to leave the western borders either. Thus, a team of our nuclear physicists, almost 100 people, continues to work in Geneva.

Not all is well on the inside track either. The senators asked how things are with the employment of graduates of Russian universities. Falkov was forced to admit: not everything is as rosy as we would like.

– Companies report a shortage of qualified personnel. But they need more experienced staff. What we have done is to include universities in training through engineering schools. As a result, employers themselves select students. What is important is that the engineering school is not only lectures and seminars, but also the solution of specific production problems. As a result, the guarantee of student employment will be close to 100%.