ASU delegation participates in network meeting of Russian flagship universities

"Flagship Universities as Points of Intersection of Vertical and Horizontal Links in the Intra-National System of Regional Development" network meeting is being held on the premises of Togliatti State University on June 4–5, 2018. Leaders and representatives of 26 Russian flagship universities, as well as 17 universities – winners of the competitive selection of "Universities as Centers for Innovation Creation Space" federal project take part in the event.

On the first day, the participants of the network event discussed the flagship universities’ impact on the regional development in the context of interaction with the industrial sector and the government, analyzed approaches towards flagship universities’ efficiency assessment, and listened to the presentations by representatives of the business community about the commercial sector’s expectations from scientific and technological cooperation with the universities.

Altai State University is represented by Evgeni Popov, Vice-Rector for Scientific and Innovative Development, Mikhail Ryazanov, Vice-Rector for Information Technologies and Digital Educational Environment, and Sergey Bocharov, Director of the Project Management Office.

At the plenary session, Vice-Rector for Scientific and Innovative Development Evgeni Popov presented a report on transformation of the classical universities’ research agenda as part of the program for the flagship universities’ development and "Universities as Centers for Innovation Creation Space" project.

"The practice of business meetings and discussion of current issues in the implementation of the program for flagship universities’ development with representatives of universities that received this status is well-timed and useful," Evgeni Popov said. “Today, the flagship universities of the first and second waves have already accumulated certain experience in implementing activities of programs and strategic projects, there are very successful cases in various fields, both in the educational process modernization through the implementation of the project approach, and in the development of applied research on the orders of industrial partners. Of course, this experience deserves presentation and discussion. I believe that the best practices will be taken into account by the universities striving to transform the main directions of their work and increase the effectiveness of their influence on the regional development."

Particular attention in the discussions was given to the development of networking cooperation between the flagship universities. The meeting participants identified the main barriers to the development of such cooperation and proposed the most effective forms of interaction.

"Most participants noted the importance of implementing project management in flagship universities both from the perspective of promoting promising research projects, and from the standpoint of developing student initiatives. The practice of leading universities shows that the project approach allows coordinating the activities of various university divisions with the goal of forming project teams that combine different competencies and coordinate their interaction with interested stakeholders and social communities. The practice of forming student project offices in selected universities stimulated strong interest. The idea makes it possible to involve students in the program activities of the flagship university and, at the same time, increase the creative potential and application of knowledge gained in the course of training," Sergey Bocharov, Director of the Project Management Office at Altai State University, noted.

Within the framework of "Flagship University Image: Challenges and Opportunities" discussion platform, the event organizers particularly appreciated the experience of Altai State University in working with the media community. ASU was mentioned in the list of universities considered to be the leaders of media activity, which includes the context of formation and promotion of the flagship university brand.