“University merger vital for Russian North”
The establishment of a new federal university in the Russian North has critical importance for the whole region, the Arkhangelsk regional administration argues. The new regional university could be established before 2011.
In 2006, the Russian government presented a reform on the structure of state educational institutions. Until then there had been three types of higher educational institutions in Russia: institutes, universities and academies. Today, Russia has only federal universities and national research universities.
New Russian universities
One of the new federal universities was founded two years ago in Krasnoyarsk, another –in the south of Russia in Rostov-on-Don. This year, the Russian president signed a decree on the establishment the Far East federal university in Vladivostok. The first two federal universities are already funded each with 5,3 billion RUB (140 million EUR), and Vladimir Putin has promised to invest as much as 200 billion RUB of federal money in the last one. The Moscow and Saint Petersburg universities have got federal status by special presidential decree.
Two national research universities are already established in Moscow on the basis of Institute of Steel and Alloys and Institute of Physics and Engineering.
According to Mr. Grigory Balykhin, chairman of the State Duma educational committee, the government in general supported the idea of establishing federal universities in the Urals region (Ekaterinburg), in the Volga region (Kazan) and in the western Kaliningrad enclave. Most likely, new universities will also be founded in Yakutia and Voronezh.
The law on the federal universities has passed the first reading in the State Duma and will probably be adopted by end November. Minister of Education Andrey Fursenko once announced that Russia will have no more than 10 federal universities. However, according to later notes from ministry officials the exact number of them is not yet clear. Most experts expect the total number of federal universities to be between 16 and 20. In other words, there will be one university for every 4-5 subjects of the federation.
Minister Fursenko has also said that only 150-200 state funded universities will be left in the country. Today its number exceeds one thousand with the number of students amounting to more than 7,5 million. The reduction of the number of the universities will not be made administratively but only as a result of competition, ministry officials say.
Arkhangelsk University
Today many regional universities apply to the ministry and the presidential administration for federal status. Arkhangelsk Oblast is so far the only region in the Russian part of the Barents Region working seriously in this direction.
The idea of establishing the new type of university in Arkhangelsk was presented by the late rector of the Pomor State University, Vladimir Bulatov, several years ago. At that time, his project was not supported by the other Arkhangelsk universities, which feared an unfriendly merging. The regional administration meanwhile took the position of neutral observer.
Today the situation is quite different. The new Arkhangelsk Governor Ilya Mikhalchuk has showed himself as a main lobbyist of the project, and is promoting the idea for federal authorities. His deputy on social issues, Mrs. Elena Kudryashova, long before her appointment in the regional government was probably the most vigorous supporter of professor Bulatov in promotion of his ideas.
The preliminary concept of the new Northern Federal University has already presented to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev when they visited Arkhangelsk this summer. In July, the issue was also discussed in a meeting with Minister Andrey Fursenko during his visit to Arkhangelsk. Reportedly, the minister assessed the project quite positively but suggested to elaborate more on the project. He also offered assistance in the preparation of necessary documents.
In September, a big delegation of Arkhangelsk universities and regional officials visited Krasnoyarsk to study the experience of the newly established federal university. In early November the rector of Arkhangelsk State Technical University, Professor Alexander Nevzorov, released some main parameters for the future educational structure, which would imply a merging with the Pomor State University and the Severodvinsk Technical University (Sevmashvtuz). The new structure will have 30,000 students, 5000 teachers and 60 percent of the educational programs will be on bachelor level and the rest – on master level.
Dr. Elena Kudryashova says to BarentsObserver that “the establishment of the federal university is of critical importance for the whole sector of higher education and science in the Russian North. According to the concept of the new university it will be oriented towards training of specialists and research activity in the fields of mineral resources development, including oil and gas, chemical and timber complex, development of coastal infrastructure, information and communication technologies, efficient system of environmental security in the North and Arctic, studying humanitarian, pedagogical and social sciences.”
Ms. Kudryashova noted that geopolitical reasons will be instrumental in the government decision on the establishment of the new university. In other words, the federal university in the European North of Russia should become a leading intellectual and scientific institution providing Russia with research on the Euro-Arctic Region.
-The international constituent is extremely important in this project, - stressed Mrs. Kudryashova. We all know very well about our universities integrating in the educational environment of the Barents Region, and we especially underline it in our concept. The new powerful university will bring new possibilities for the university sector of the whole Barents Region.
-First of all this means attraction of sufficient federal allocations to the region, which will significantly increase the potential of cooperation in the fields of higher education and science;
-Secondly, it is fundamentally important that the area of responsibility and activity of the future university will go far beyond the borders of one federal subject and this is one of the factors of positive integration of all territories of the Russian part of the Barents region and a possibility to reach new levels of cooperation with our partners in northern Norway, Finland and Sweden.
-Being for several years a member of the Barents Working Group on higher education and research and participant in many international projects, I know very well about the potential for cross-border cooperation in the North of Europe and the role played by the universities here. We would very much like that the ongoing internationalization of the university education will make the new institution attractive not only for Russian but also for foreign students, and first of all from the Barents Region, Ms Kudryashova underlines.
Murmansk Oblast
Meanwhile, authorities of other regions of the Russian North are anxious about the future of their universities. In early September, the Minister of education and science of Murmansk Oblast, Mr. Vasily Kostyukevich, said in the interview to Regnum agency that the regional government is going to form a special working group responsible for working out a conception of education development. The regional minister stressed that the Murmansk universities have quite a low chance to save their current status.
This is explained by the fact that the Murmansk State Technical University is not belonging to the Russian Ministry of Education, but the Federal Agency of Fisheries. The Murmansk Pedagogic University also has low scientific background, said the minister.
The Murmansk regional government very well understands that the number of institutions of higher education will be reduced. Today, the Murmansk region has 28 universities and university branches, 33 technical schools and 16 professional colleges. It is obviously unrealistic to recruit students to all these institutions, especially seen on the background of the gradually shrinking population in the region.
Komi Republic
The government of the Komi Republic does not intend to establish a federal university in the region. There, officials also understand the inevitability of a reduction of number of higher educational institutions but still hope that the two main universities – the Syktyvkar State University and the Komi Pedagogical Institute could avoid this future. Today, the Komi Republic has 24 universities and university branches. Most of them are private.
According to BarentsObserver’s information, neither Petrozavodsk nor Vologda have plans to apply to government for the establishment of federal universities on their territories.
The Lomonosov anniversary Nevertheless, the Chairman of the Arkhangelsk regional Committee for science and education Mr. Vsevolod Osipov believes other subjects in Northwest Russia will take part in the competition for the right to establish a federal university. However, Arkhangelsk, he said to BarentsObserver, has more advantages.
Mr. Osipov said that most likely the Government will make a decision on establishment of the new university by 2011, when Arkhangelsk will celebrate the 300-years anniversary of the legendary Russian academic Mikhail Lomonosov. The ambitious anniversary celebration program of the famous Russian scientist, who was born in Arkhangelsk region, has been approved by federal authorities and this could increase the chance of the Arkhangelsk university, he argues.
Governor Mikhalchuk has said that the establishment of the new university would be the best possible gift to Arkhangelsk in connection with Mikhail Lomonosov’s anniversary.
BarentsObserver Arkhangelsk