The total number of universities in the association has reached twenty-five. Among them are the most authoritative technical and economic institutions of higher education in Russia, whose areas of study are related to training personnel for the mineral and raw materials complex of the country.
On Tuesday, November 24, an online meeting of the University Consortium "Nedra" too. The main issue on the agenda was the entry of new candidates to this non-profit organization, among which were Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Samara Technical University, SPbSEU, and a number of others. Their rectors emphasized that the new structure, created only a month ago, had already received the status of "an influential platform that contributes to the competitiveness of the national higher school."
One of its tasks, as it was noted at the meeting, should be the accumulation of efforts in terms of strengthening the influence on government structures to solve problems existing in the mining and oil and gas industry, as well as in the system of higher technical education. For this purpose, it is necessary for heads of higher education institutions to join the public councils created at ministries, including the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Education and Science and Ministry of Natural Resources, the Federation Council and the State Duma. Preliminary agreements on this issue have already been reached.
"Among our main objectives is the increase of the level of adaptation of higher education institutions to the needs of the labor market and further integration of large specialized companies, government agencies and universities. Formation of unified scientific and educational environment, including by means of unification of educational standards and equal access of the members to modern educational and scientific infrastructure," explained the chairman of the consortium, rector of St. Petersburg Mining University Vladimir Litvinenko.
opportunity to delegate up to five students selected through a competition to study abroad, in Austria, Great Britain, Germany or Finland, and to obtain a European degree. They will sign contracts, according to which in case of their non-return to their homeland, they will have to compensate all costs which range from 1.6 to 2 million rubles (these funds will be allocated on a parity basis by the International Competence Center for Mining Engineering Education under the auspices of UNESCO and the universities). Similar programs will also be available for postgraduate students (the cost of each of them studying abroad is about 2.5 million). To participate in the contest, both categories of applicants will need to prepare a presentation in electronic form. Faculty members of the association will be entitled to be certified as a professor, associate professor or assistant professor, which will enhance their professional status.
Vladimir Litvinenko called short-term summer schools a no less important format of academic mobility development. Next year, if the sanitary and epidemiological situation allows, it is planned to send abroad about 200 young people from Russian universities, members of the consortium, to participate in those. Another thousand or so students will undergo ten-day internships at Russian partner universities that have the appropriate infrastructure. In this regard, Rector of Mining University asked his colleagues to assess the level of their academic and research base in order to better understand the opportunities associated with the admission of Russian and foreign students this summer.
Among other things, it was noted that the "Nedra" consortium should become a legal model for the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation in the field of contractual relations between the university and the student. And the creation of collaborations of higher education institutions in training profiles will help to create a competitive environment and improve the quality of higher education.
Let us remind that the order to establish a consortium of universities "Nedra" was signed by Minister Valery Falkov in October. It includes technical universities that train students in such areas as applied geology, mining, oil and gas, and geodesy. These are specialists who after graduation are employed in oil and gas and mining companies or become field-specific scientists. The creation of the consortium was initiated by eleven universities, including St. Petersburg Mining University, NITU MISIS, Tomsk Polytechnic, T.F. Gorbachev Kuzbass Technical University, Tyumen Industrial University, M.D. Millionshchikov Grozny Oil University, Ugra State University, and a number of others.
