In Moscow, in the House of Unions, a round table was held on the topic "Assessing the Effectiveness of Scientific Research." The meeting, which was attended by representatives of the executive and legislative authorities, as well as the academic community, was chaired by the head of the Committee on Science and Higher Education of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Sergey Kabyshev.
One of the issues on the agenda was the obvious crisis of the current system of higher education, imposed on us 20 years ago by Western countries and not quite corresponding to the challenges that Russia is facing today. For example, for a long time postgraduate education has been perceived by many as a platform for training a new generation of researchers. However, in order to maintain the country's sustainability, it is equally important to train teachers of the highest category. Those who will not only do research, but also raise new generations of specialists for the real sector of the economy. First of all, engineers.
Last year the Empress Catherine II St. Petersburg Mining University developed a new methodology for the training of scientific and pedagogical personnel. It summarized all rational ideas in this sphere, from the necessity to study disciplines related to psychology, rhetoric and curatorial work in the first year of study to the mandatory defense of the PhD. Alexandra Kopteva, Executive Director of the International Competence Center for Mining Education under the auspices of UNESCO, presented the details of this concept to the audience.
"As we know, the dissertation, the defense of which in the Soviet times was a prerequisite for graduating from graduate school, has lost this status in recent decades. As a result, many young people refused to write it, which made their lives much easier, but, of course, had a very negative impact on the level of their competence. The return of the PhD to its former meaning is one of the prerequisites of the methodology introduced into the curriculum of Mining University within the framework of the pilot project, which is being implemented on the initiative of President Vladimir Putin," said Alexandra Kopteva.
Sergey Kabyshev, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education, assessing the modernized concept of training scientific and pedagogical personnel, noted that our country "has entered a new historical era". And this "requires a serious rethinking of approaches", both to the creation of conditions for improving the performance of scientific activity, and to its evaluation.
"The formation of balanced incentives for fruitful fundamental and applied research is impossible without the introduction of a standard of scientific activity methodology and scientific ethics in the training of young scientists. In this regard, the positive experience of Empress Catherine II St. Petersburg Mining University is extremely useful", - emphasized Sergey Kabyshev.
He also emphasized that postgraduates, as well as students "should be, first of all, citizens and patriots of their country, to create a layer of national intelligentsia, imbued with a sense of responsibility for the Motherland". This postulate, among others, is an integral part of the new methodology implemented in the graduate school of Russia's oldest technical university.
Stepan Kalmykov, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, expressed confidence that the existing approach to the training of scientific personnel undoubtedly requires changes, since the current realities reduce the requirements for young people. Often, in case of low self-control, it negatively affects their motivation and does not allow them to fully realize their potential.
"Of course, we need to get away from many of the shortcomings that abound in graduate school. And, above all, to return the procedure of compulsory defense of the dissertation in the term of study. This is very important for the development of a young scientist", - Stepan Kalmykov is sure.
It should be noted that the new methodology of training scientific and pedagogical staff, which is currently being implemented in the postgraduate school of St. Petersburg Mining University, will be further scaled to the whole country. The realization of this task will undoubtedly increase the sustainability of Russia's socio-economic development.
