Transition to domestic software discussed at the “Boiling Point” of Altai State University
On October 13, as part of the XVI Altai IT Forum, a meeting of the commission on digital transformation of Altai Krai “Transition to domestic software” was held at the “Boiling Point” of Altai State University. Maxim Gerasimyuk, Vice-Rector for Digital Transformation and Media Communication, gave a report on the experience of Altai State University.
The participants of the meeting were Vitaly Snesar, Head of the Administration of the Governor and Government of Altai Krai, Evgeny Zryumov, Acting Minister for Digital Development and Communications of Altai Krai, Pavel Pletnev, Chairman of the Altai Chamber of Commerce and Industry Committee on IT, as well as representatives of ministries and departments of the region and specialized companies.
Maxim Gerasimyuk, Vice-Rector for Digital Transformation and Media Communications of AltSU, spoke about the experience of import substitution at Altai State University. He noted that Altai State University is the second university in Siberia in terms of the number of students (together with the college). In total, about 20 thousand people study and work there. To ensure the sustainability of the functioning of the university, 3 thousand automated workstations (AWS) have been created at Altai State University, more than 1 thousand units of printing equipment are in operation, and 21 computer classes have been opened.
“To quickly and efficiently convert this entire infrastructure to domestic products is a very difficult task. We have adopted a plan for import substitution; it is based on the requirements of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and the recommendations of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation. The plan contains a lot of target indicators that we must fulfill, but the most important and difficult one is that by January 1, 2025, we must transfer 100% of educational workstations to the domestic operating system,” said Maxim Gerasimyuk.
Another task associated with import substitution is the formation of the necessary competencies for working with domestic software among students and teaching staff. For this purpose, a training center has been opened at the university (on the basis of the college), where employees can undergo training on the transition to Astra Linux. Also, the Information Technology Department constantly provides training on how to work in the Astra Linux operating system.
During his speech, Maxim Gerasimyuk also told how import substitution is proceeding in terms of the implementation of IT services in educational, scientific, administrative and economic activities, as well as in the field of network infrastructure and information security of Altai State University, and what problems the university faces.
“The import substitution policy is influenced by many factors – the price of the product and the cost of ownership. Often, domestic developers bring to market a product that is not compatible with other resources we need. Another important topic that worries me: often large developers provide very weak technical support for the product they offer to the market,” noted Maxim Gerasimyuk.
According to the Vice-Rector, the most stable situation is in the field of information security, where the university has all the necessary domestic solutions.
“The university has long come to the conclusion that it is necessary to develop its own educational foundation in order to work effectively in the field of information security. Together with our partners, we have already implemented a project to create an information security laboratory that trains bachelors and masters. This year, under the Priority 2030 Program, we are implementing another project on information security - the creation of another laboratory with a certified Infotex hardware and software complex. Thus, we are building an educational cycle in this direction from secondary vocational education to master’s degrees,” emphasized Maxim Gerasimyuk.