Year-End Meeting of the Council of Rectors of Tatarstan and 'Entrepreneurship Factory' Finals
Both events on December 23rd featured President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and Rector Ilshat Gafurov.
During the Council's meeting Rector Ilshat Gafurov (who was elected an academician of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences this week) voiced several key points pertaining to the education and research plans for the nearest future.
The first one was Moscow International University Rankings. This new ranking will be administered by Expert RA and is planned to become the main benchmark for institutional performance in national higher education.
Then the participants touched on the Strategy of Scientific and Technological Development of Russia recently approved by President Vladimir Putin for 2016 – 2025.
Dr. Gafurov used the opportunity to talk about KFU's recent achievements, including new cooperation agreements with Japan.
The new «Universities as Innovation Centers» program will be headed by Vice-Premier Olga Golodets. To reach the program goals, as Rector Gafurov said, it would be optimal to establish 100 “base departments” jointly curated by universities and their industrial partners.
All the activities will be supervised by the Association of Tatarstani Universities, a newly established professional organization. It will work on many large-scale projects, such as real estate development for invited academics.
In conclusion Rector Gafurov said that 2017 will be the Lobachevsky Year at KFU (in celebration of the renowned scientist's 225th anniversary). The Lobachevsky Medal will be re-established as a regular prize for outstanding achievements in geometry.
President Rustam Minnikhanov said, «The economy grows, new enterprises appear. Changes happen at the universities as well, although much is still to be done. Our rectors must be represented in the Academy of Sciences and participate in all programs that are important for the Republic. Higher school must be in close ties with the region. Your results reflect on everything. That's why educational and research centers are links in the same chain».
Some of the participants then proceeded to the award ceremony of the Entrepreneurship Factory, a provincial contest for young businesspersons. The fruits of the three-month preparation period were judged by an investment commission comprising academics, businesspeople, and public officials.
The ceremony itself was held at the Institute of Management, Economics and Finance. By the way, this was the second time in two weeks when President Minnikhanov was able to see the Institute's new facilities and infrastructure. IMEF, as was announced, plans to open bachelor and master programs in entrepreneurship. The Entrepreneurship Center, soon to be headquartered here in a coworking format, will provide consulting and other services to new businesses and students willing to take up this path.
Rector Gafurov noted, «Physicists, chemists, technical specialists – everyone goes to business nowadays. In this case, I think, we will be able to create a good starting platform for high-tech businesses. Our alumni mostly find employment as hired workforce, but experience shows that they are capable of creating new high-tech jobs as well».
The contestants then presented their cases to the investment commission. The voting rights were given not only to the experts but also to the audience in the ballroom. President Minnikhanov gave some advice to the competitors; it also became known that he will be one of the mentors during the next season of the Entrepreneurship Factory.
Rector Gafurov noted that it is now common knowledge that business needs a proper ecosystem to thrive. He was glad to point out that the participants have learnt to be self-reliant and ambitious.
The two companies that ended up as winners this time are Pervaya (ventilation systems production) and Velson-Mebel (furniture production).
