ASU has been granted the status of flagship university

19 April 2017 Department of Information and Media Communications

The final stage of the competition for development programs of flagship universities was held on 17 April 2017. Subsequent to the results, Altai State University has become one of the 22 winners and has been awarded the status of flagship university.

The meeting of the Board for Realization of Flagship University Development Program took place at the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. Only 33 Russian universities qualified for the final round of the competition. Rectors of these higher education establishments were invited to present their growth strategies in person. As a result, the experts chose 22 winners that were divided into two groups.

The first group consists of the following universities: Vladimir State University, Murmansk Arctic State University, R.E. Alekseev Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University, Novosibirsk State Technical University, Siberian State Medical University, Tula State University, Cherepovets State University, and P.G. Demidov Yaroslavl State University. These higher education establishments will be co-financed on federal and regional levels.

The second group includes the rest 14 universities: Altai State University, Shukhov Belgorod State Technological University, Gorodovikov Kalmyk State University, Kemerovo State University, Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University, Mari State University, Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University, Petrozavodsk State University, Pskov State University, Gagarin Saratov State Technical University, Sochi State University, Pitirim Sorokin Syktyvkar State University, Togliatti State University, and Ulyanovsk State University. They will receive auditor and expert support from the federal center and grants from regional budgets.

“The members of the council were to choose the best projects that would be able to contribute to the development of their region,” said Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation Olga Yu. Vasilieva. “We evaluated each application individually, considered development program of each university, and took into account the regions’ opinion on their relevance and further support.”

According to the minister, each selected university will now how to become a real pillar of support for their regions by training qualified specialists and developing educational and scientific potential.

All the chosen universities must introduce their five-year development programs to the Ministry of Education and Science in the next 3 months.

Rector of Altai State University S.V. Zemlyukov commented on the results of the competition:

“Altai State University made a good impression on the members of the expert committee. This is the case of both presentation and development strategy. The final result was influenced by the fact that Siberian Federal District was represented by 4 winners at one, which impelled experts to divide Siberian universities into two separate groups. The status of flagship university is not just prestigious. It guarantees us preservation of admission quotas, and master’s degree and postgraduate courses. As for the additional financial support, we hope for the best!”

Minister of Education and Science in Altai Krai A.A. Zhydkikh also attended the meeting and rendered his entire support to Altai State University and its development program.

It is to be noted, that the comparison of the number of points gained by Altai State University and other higher education establishments clearly demonstrate that ASU is highly competitive and does not lose out to other winners. Moreover, ASU even took the first place in some categories (the percentage of master’s degree and postgraduate students). No other winner, except Novosibirsk State Technical University) is present in such international rankings as ARWU, QS, THE, and RUR.

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