NIU was discussed at the highest level

On May 4, 2009, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the Minister of Education and Science Andrei Fursenko . Their conversation focused on national research universities.

Talking about how the work on the new project is progressing, A. Fursenko noted that after V. Putin visited the Physics and Technology Institute on March 3, 2009 and gave instructions there to complete work on the preparation of a Government resolution on the competition of national research universities, the Ministry of Education and Science prepared everything Required documents. The terms of the competition were agreed upon, the criteria by which universities would be selected, funding was found within the budget allocated to the Ministry for 2009, and funding sources for 2010 were identified.

However, some issues remained unresolved. The Minister of Education and Science noted the existing disagreements with the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, which lie in how this program, which is scheduled to last for five years, will be financed further. A. Fursenko believes that this project should become a priority and the scope of its financing should be outlined, despite possible difficulties with the budget.

“What will universities gain as a result of giving them the status of national research universities?” - asked V. Putin. A. Fursenko replied that much more stringent requirements would be imposed on them. “We believe that they should provide not only a very high level of education, but also a high level of research. We believe that these universities should provide a level of research that matches our best not only universities, but also academic institutions,” he said.

Universities of the new type will receive additional money from the state, but the minister believes that “at the same time, thanks to their status, thanks to the changes that will take place within them, they will be able to attract additional money from industry and business.”

A. Fursenko also expressed hope that such universities “will integrate much more closely with academic institutions. Thanks to this, a not very large network of universities will be created - not only in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but throughout Russia. These will be the institutions around which we would like the strongest young guys to concentrate.”

“Will scientists be able to conduct research there on a commercial basis?” - asked V. Putin. The minister answered this question in the affirmative and added that almost all universities that became winners of the national project (there are about 60 of them) increased their budget for commercial research. “Moreover, some of them have budgets comparable to leading academic institutions.”

“How do you propose to eliminate the contradiction between the status of an institution and commercial activity?” - this was the next question from the Prime Minister. A. Fursenko said that today there are no direct contradictions in the legislation, since “today all government agencies have the right to work under contracts.” He also expressed confidence that legislation regarding autonomous institutions will be “brought to fruition.”

The minister spoke about another unresolved problem - the status of small enterprises at universities - around which discussions are ongoing with colleagues from the Ministry of Finance. According to A. Fursenko, a network of small innovative businesses should appear around leading universities. Universities will transfer their intellectual property to these companies for implementation, and this will not only not lead to “the erosion of state property in terms of property and money,” but, on the contrary, will allow “to launch the innovation process.”

A. Fursenko believes that this very process will encourage national research universities “to be among the first to move into autonomous institutions, because, of course, they will want more, they will want to transfer not only intellectual property, but also some material resources. But we can only resolve this if they have a different form.”

“Nevertheless, today, without waiting for the final formation of the regulatory framework for autonomous institutions, this process, in my opinion, should be launched, since everything is ready,” the minister noted. He also said that the ministries agreed that "this process is normal and will not lead to abuse", only the Ministry of Finance has objections. A. Fursenko is convinced that the step to create small innovative businesses around leading Russian universities should be taken immediately. V. Putin’s answer was: “Okay.”

Based on materials from the Internet portal of the Government of the Russian Federation
www.government.ru