During his address to the Federal Assembly, Vladimir Putin paid special attention to the development of science and education, and emphasized the need for additional measures aimed at making "today's teenagers become professionals in their field, ready to work in the economy of the 21st century."
"We will direct the new national project "Personnel" to this end. We talk a lot about it, of course, but it is necessary to strengthen the connection of all levels of education from school to university. They should work in a unified logic, for a common result. Of course, the participation of future employers is important here. Since the current academic year, a career guidance system has been deployed in all schools of the country. Starting from the 6th grade, children can get acquainted with different specialties," the President of Russia emphasized.
By coincidence, on the same day the Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University hosted the All-Russian seminar "New Approaches to Secondary Education in the Interest of Forming the Country's Technological Leadership", which brought together more than 200 principals of schools, gymnasiums and lyceums from 60 regions of Russia. The central theme of the forum was the search for ways to increase the efficiency of interaction between secondary and higher education systems. According to the participants, joint work in this area should put into action a mechanism that will make it possible to level the problem of staff shortage in the real sector of the economy.
As Forpost found out, the interest in the topic of integration of all levels of education is simply enormous. So there is no need for additional motivation. The main task is to unite the efforts of all parties and develop a unified guide to action. This was the goal of the discussion that took place after the opening ceremony of the seminar.
Vadim Pavlov, Advisor to the Governor of the Ulyanovsk region on technological development, noted that for several years he has been the curator of the Olympiad of schoolchildren "Granite of Science", which is held on the initiative of Mining University. The first stage of selection in the regions is held remotely, and this, according to the speaker, is an obvious obstacle to the creation of links between school, higher education institution and enterprise.
"We want to take the initiative that schoolchildren of the Ulyanovsk region participate in the Mining University Olympiad not online, but directly within the walls of the university. After all, because of a series of intellectual duels held in virtual space, they do not have a clear idea of what the level of this or that university is, and therefore, they do not understand where they really want to go", - suggested Vadim Pavlov.
Rector of St. Petersburg Mining University Vladimir Litvinenko fully agreed with this idea. However, he noted that in order to make it a reality, it is necessary to create a team of like-minded people, including the governor of the region.
"I was once told about such a problem: the head of one of the Russian regions forbade his children to participate in our School Leader competition with the wording that they should study at local universities, not in St. Petersburg. But I hope that this is an isolated case, because the best should study with the best, and then return to their native land to bring maximum benefit to their small homeland. In the case, of course, if conditions for this are created there," said Vladimir Litvinenko
He also said that last year more than 50 people entered Mining University based on the results of "Granite of Science". And he elaborated on the plans for the development of this Olympiad.
"Winners of such competitions are often much more motivated to study than those young people who enter on a general basis. However, the latter, due to higher USE scores, which are not an objective criterion, obtain an advantage in the admission process. Of course, we would like the Mining University itself to have the right to screen applicants. In this case we could raise the level of freshmen and, as a consequence, of our graduates", - said the rector.
Maya Kuntz, director of Lyceum No. 533 of the Malaya Okhta educational complex, addressed her question to Andrei Maximov, head of the St. Petersburg Committee for Science and Higher Education. She asked to clarify how contacts between higher and secondary schools are built at the city level.
"We have a wonderful project for 10th graders called 'Theater Lesson at the Mariinsky Theater'. Maybe something similar could be done for children planning to go into a technical specialty? After all, every educational institution cooperates with a certain university. Is it impossible to scale such a program at the level of the whole city?", - Maya Kuntz appealed to the head of the Committee.
Andrei Maximov assured that he is open to any suggestions and is in constant contact with the Education Committee. As for the popularization of technical professions among teenagers, in St. Petersburg, on the initiative of KNVSH, for example, a competition in engineering among high school students is held. Its results are taken into account for university admission.
Representatives of new regions were also present at the forum. For example, Ekaterina Strokan, deputy director of the specialized physics and mathematics school No. 17 in Donetsk, addressing the Rector of the Mining University, asked about the prospects of opening engineering classes in the capital of Donbass under the patronage of the St. Petersburg university. In her opinion, it would be relevant given that today it supervises Donetsk Technical University.
"Indeed, we help our colleagues from the DNR and LNR, and we do so on the instructions of the President. We support them in everything, from purchasing furniture and retraining teaching staff to assisting in the construction of new university infrastructure. We also have students who are on the balance sheet of the technical universities of the Republics. The guys study for a year under our program and then return home. Mining is also taking part in the large-scale construction of a new educational building in Donetsk. It will be built taking into account all modern standards and requirements. The implementation will require about 15 billion rubles or even more. This is not budget money. The President of Russia has instructed us to provide comprehensive assistance, and we are helping," said Vladimir Litvinenko.
Sergey Serdyukov, the former chief designer of both Nord Streams, attended the opening ceremony of the seminar. Today he is the representative of the Rector of St. Petersburg Mining University, but he is still well aware of the real situation on the labor market.
"Today there is a shortage of personnel in about 50 different professions at Russian enterprises. In this regard, of course, it is necessary to intensify work to popularize engineering education. We should do everything to ensure that young people go to technical universities, become engineers and contribute to Russia's economic growth," emphasized Sergey Serdyukov.
The seminar discussed not only the prospects of integration of secondary and higher schools, but also their connection with real production and scientific organizations. Alexey Velichko, representative of Gazprom VNIIGAZ, told about one of the examples of such interaction. He emphasized that today academic science, higher education institutions and industry often "exist in parallel dimensions". In his opinion, the project initiated by its management and Rector Vladimir Litvinenko is all the more valuable.
"The essence of the idea is to create an integrated scientific and educational platform on the basis of Mining University for solving specific tasks. The idea is to create an integrated scientific and educational platform on the basis of the Mining University to solve specific tasks, including industrial practice tied to the implementation of certain projects, which will increase its value both for students and for us. We will obtain the opportunity to select the best students and then engage them to work on a paid basis, and they, in turn, will increase their competitiveness and become more in demand both in the market in general and in our eyes," said Alexey Velichko.
Forpost will summarize the results of the All-Russian seminar "New Approaches to Secondary Education for the Formation of the Country's Technological Leadership" on Monday, March 4.