Higher scientific institutions – Newspaper Kommersant No. 229 (7430) dated 12/09/2022

Scientific organizations can get the right to train students in specialist’s programs – such a bill was approved by the State Duma on Thursday in the first reading. According to the deputies, this will allow training “even more highly qualified specialists, which are necessary in the current realities for technological development and modernization of the country’s economy.” The implementation of the initiative will entail a “certain reorientation” of the number of budget places in universities, the co-author of the bill, Senator Lilia Gumerova, admitted in the State Duma, but later told Kommersant that there would not be fewer students at universities.

The deputies approved in the first reading the draft law on the right of scientific organizations to carry out educational activities under specialist’s programs. It was introduced back in October by Chairman of the Federation Council (SF) Valentina Matvienko and Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Lilia Gumerova. Amendments are proposed to be made to the law “On Education”.

Now scientific organizations can “carry out educational activities” under the programs of magistracy, residency, training of scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel, vocational training and additional professional programs. The authors of the project consider this insufficient. The explanatory note states that since 2018, the Federal State Budgetary Institution “National Medical Research Center named after V. A. Almazov” of the Ministry of Health has been conducting an experiment to implement the program of the specialty “Medicine”. Now 769 students are studying in the center of Almazov under this program. In 2022, the fifth enrollment took place – 212 students, in 2023 it is planned to enroll another 237 students, the document says.

“The experiment is successful and confirms the need to provide scientific organizations in general with the opportunity to implement specialist programs,” the explanatory note says.

According to the senators, this will allow training “even more highly qualified specialists that are needed in the current realities of the time for technological development and modernization of the country’s economy.” If the law is adopted, the government of the Russian Federation will form a list of organizations that will receive such a right, as well as criteria for inclusion and exclusion from it. Senators propose to take into account “the positive experience of integrating science and education in the activities of a scientific organization, financial performance and infrastructure of a scientific organization.”

During the presentation of the bill at the meeting, Liliya Gumerova clarified that after scientific organizations are included in the list of the government, they will have to obtain a license for educational activities. “Well, we understand that it will not be thousands of thousands. This is a targeted, prompt solution to the issue,” the senator added. The Almazov Center will separately receive the right to implement a specialist’s program “without going through additional procedures.”

“In practical terms, innovative, scientific institutions, of course, will provide very advanced knowledge,” agreed deputy Fedot Tumusov (“A Just Russia – For Truth”). “But this is not enough for the educational process. We need audiences, qualified teaching staff. And not all scientists can be teachers with all due respect to them.” In response, the senator explained that all these points will be studied at the stage of obtaining a license.

Deputy Oleg Smolin drew attention to the fact that the document states that the implementation of the bill will not require additional costs from the budget. “Do I understand correctly that, within the framework of the same enrollment target figures (KTsP), which are distributed over the following years, some students are supposed to be trained in scientific organizations, and not in universities?” he clarified. Lilia Gumerova confirmed that “a certain reorientation” is expected, but assured that additional places will still be allocated. As she later explained to Kommersant, now the KTPs are formed based on the needs of the economy, the requests of regions and industry unions, as well as the capabilities of the university.

After the adoption of the bill, scientific organizations will also participate in the competition for budgetary places.

When asked by Kommersant whether the number of places at universities would decrease in this case, Mrs. Gumerova answered in the negative. According to her, the number of state-funded places is increasing every year, “a specialist is especially in demand now.”

Anna Vasilyeva