They want to bring science in the CIS to a common denominator – Kommersant

The Ministry of Science and Higher Education hosted a plenum of the Higher Attestation Commission (HAC). This year the organization turns 90 years old, and, as Deputy Head of the Ministry Dmitry Pyshny noted, modern certification commissions of the CIS countries “all came out of the Soviet Higher Attestation Commission, the successor of which is the Russian one.” Chairman of the Higher Attestation Commission Vladimir Filippov added that this is precisely what determines the similarity of the systems. Nevertheless, there are still differences, which is why no agreement has yet been created on the mutual recognition of academic degrees in the CIS. Although some CIS member states already have agreements on mutual recognition of education, these are either bilateral treaties or framework agreements.

In 2022, Russia initiated the process of creating an agreement on the mutual recognition of academic degrees in the CIS. “The successful solution of this big task will give a powerful impetus to international scientific and educational cooperation… will contribute to the development of innovative sectors of the economies of all Commonwealth countries,” believes the head of the Ministry of Education and Science Valery Falkov. To implement this project, during the anniversary meeting of the Higher Attestation Commission, representatives of the CIS countries discussed which certification mechanisms need to be unified for automatic recognition of scientific degrees. The emphasis was on the structure of dissertation councils, the number of their members, requirements for publications for defense, accessibility of dissertations for the scientific community and the range of scientific specialties.

Mr. Filippov noted that studying experience is also useful for introducing best practices into the domestic system. As a result of the meeting, the Higher Attestation Commission prepared a list of recommendations (available to Kommersant), among which is the requirement that “applicants for academic degrees of candidates and doctors of science in medical, pharmaceutical, veterinary, and legal sciences” have an appropriate basic higher education. This rule applies in many CIS countries, but it does not exist in Russia. It is also proposed to introduce a competition for the best dissertation works to popularize science and create dissertation councils with the participation of the Higher Attestation Commission at universities operating in the CIS countries with the support of the Russian Federation.

Polina Yachmennikova