On September 7, 2021, there were announced winners of the first cycle of the scholarship program of the Vladimir Potanin Foundation «Academic landing». This professional mobility competition for representatives of Russian universities participating in the Vladimir Potanin Scholarship Program gives academic teachers the opportunity to get acquainted with successful experience and modern educational models and technologies that effectively work in the magistracy, and universities - to exchange experiences and acquire new knowledge.

One of the eight winners is Ramil Safin, an employee of the Laboratory of Intelligent Robotic Systems (LIRS) of the Institute of Information Technology and Intelligent Systems (ITIS), Kazan Federal University.

The competition is aimed at supporting the professional mobility of specialists from various fields of activity. In particular, on the development of the actual competencies of academic teachers of full-time magistracy in order to increase the sustainability of magistracy in Russian universities.

Ramil told in more detail about participation in the competition: «I started my teaching career recently, in September 2020. Until that, in the magistracy, I always had a desire to try myself in teaching - I wanted to share my experience in IT and robotics. However, for this I had to become someone else. I had to become something else. As a graduate student, I had the opportunity to fulfill my aspirations, and I began to teach and gain experience from co-workers at LIRS. Now, thanks to the V. Potanin Foundation, I have the opportunity to go at international level and undergo an internship at a world-class university in Kyoto».

Moreover, KFU took the 14-16th place in the ranking of universities participating in the Scholarship Program of the Vladimir Potanin Foundation in 2021. The rating is a ranking by 11 indicators, based on an assessment of the university's achievements in the Scholarship Competition, Grant Competition and the School of the Foundation. According to Marat Safiullin, Vice-Rector for Economic and Strategic Development of KFU, the rating is a rather powerful and interesting marker of the social and academic activity of teachers and students of KFU. In 2021, 20 KFU Master's Degree graduate student became winners of the Foundation's Scholarship Competition. In addition, grants were won by three Master's Degree teachers, including teachers from LIRS, which contributed for the rise of the university in the ranking.

Recalling, that earlier the Head of LIRS, Professor Evgeni Magid, became the winner of the Foundation twice in different nominations: in 2021, Evgeni was announced the winner of the 2020/2021 Grant Competition for Master's Degree teachers, and in 2018 he won for the creation of a Master's program in Intelligent Robotics.