During his visit to the Moscow Physics and Technology Institute in the city of Dolgoprudny, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chaired a conference on upgrading a system of training for specialists on demand.
Vladimir Putin's opening remarks:
Good afternoon,
Today, we are going to discuss urgent problems of developing higher education, including those linked with the current uneasy processes in the economy and the labour market.
The main strategic goals of modernising higher education have already been determined. We had many disputes on this score. We must build a flexible educational system that should meet the demands of society in general and its members in particular. It is important to introduce modern programmes of education and methods of assessing its quality.
It is this system that will give young specialists a chance to find a worthy place in the labour market, and will ensure permanent growth of the quality of labour by granting a wide range of services on professional retraining and upgrading of skills.
During a crisis, higher education also plays the role of a major social stabilizer, alleviates the pressure on the labour market, and helps people promptly receive a new profession, and new information in the broadest sense of this word, that would be in demand in the labour market.
Today, we should fully use these potentialities of our higher education without stopping the efforts to upgrade higher professional education.
Formation of a network of national research universities is one of the key directions here.
In February, we amended the law on higher education, thereby giving these universities a legal foundation for their work.
Their main task is to bring the training of scientists and engineers in Russia to a fundamentally new level, and eliminate the shortage of qualified manpower in high-tech economic sectors.
National research universities also have another mission of equal importance - to provide scientific and technological support for the development of our high-tech economic sectors, and introduce into the economy and social sphere scientific and technical achievements competitive at a global level.
We are also hoping that these universities will help us streamline the supply in the market of educational services. It is common knowledge that we have too many experts in humanities - lawyers, economists, and managers.
It goes without saying that we should not destroy what we already have. But we should enhance the prestige of education in the technical, natural and scientific spheres. The universities can play a major role in this respect.
Their establishment is bound to promote competition in the educational environment. A relevant category will only be assigned on the results of a contest between the development programmes of higher educational establishments, and by the Government's decision.
Deep integration of the education and research, and close connection with production should be the main criteria at such a contest.
To become research universities, higher educational establishments should define their priorities early on. They should give up non-profile specialties and concentrate on building a fully-fledged innovation environment - small innovation companies, promotional companies, techno parks and similar entities.
Now I'd like to say a few words about practical steps towards the formation of a network of national research universities. We should launch this process in the first half of the current year. Some 10-15 higher educational institutions are expected to receive this status at the first stage.
I'd like to ask the Ministry of Education and Science to submit to the Government draft provisions on the contest for the development programmes of the proposed universities.
We have reserved three billion roubles for this purpose in 2009, although we are redefining budget priorities.
Now I'd like to mention the problems linked with the consequences of economic turmoil.
One of them is the employment of graduates this year. In the current conditions, many of them will find it difficult to get a job because of the growing tensions in the labour market.
Under the circumstances, the educational system should promptly react to the current changes.
I consider it necessary to support those young people who would like to continue their education or undertake scientific research.
I have a number of specific proposals in this context.
First, we should expand Master's and post-graduate programmes, especially in technical areas and other specialties that will be in demand after the crisis.
Second, we could prolong education at post-graduate courses.
Incidentally, as I've already said at a meeting with students, we will increase the number of budget-funded Master's seats up to 35,000, and up to 30,000 at post-graduate courses (last year there were about 25,000 of these).
Third, I consider it necessary to resume the institution of student researchers in the leading state educational establishments and scientific companies. A graduate will be able to occupy this job on the basis of a short-term labour contract (two or three years).
I think these measures will allow us not only to create a labour reserve for high-tech development after the crisis, but also to stabilise the situation with the employment of graduates in the next couple of years.
Fourth, we must create the best possible institutional and economic conditions for putting higher educational establishments into the innovations environment that will be based on promotional companies, small businesses, techno parks, and funds of support for the students' technical enterprise.
Finally, one more important task for higher educational establishments is to take part in the implementation of regional employment support programmes. They should by all means provide for advanced professional retraining of workers facing lay-offs. There is no need to explain how important this is in current conditions.
The already approved regional programmes envisage the retraining of more than 165,000 people. Needless to say, a considerable part of them could receive a new trade in higher educational establishments, and they should be ready to provide such a service.
I think it would be irrational to create a network of additional educational and training centres, particularly in places with good educational institutions, a solid foundation, and highly qualified professors. It is better to support them directly and create the conditions for retraining wherever necessary. This is what I wanted to say in the beginning.
Vladimir Putin's final address:
I congratulate the Institute management on personnel training and its organisation.
I congratulate it on close contacts with industry and basic Russian research institutions.
Such symbiosis of education, science and production is extremely effective.
Our meeting concerns streamlining the system of training specialists to be sought for. This theme transcends the limits of Institute activities by far. It is an essential problem. Russia's future largely depends on it because good specialists will make the entire national economy more competitive. If we cope, we will hit the targets posed for the time through 2020 and later.
To be sure, we could not discuss all relevant issues today but what was said was of tremendous interest, I think.
The agenda included improvement of young specialists' housing accommodations, and co-funding education loans. I want to tell you in this connection that the Government is discussing the prospects of state allocations for this purpose. True, the state cannot achieve the full scope of co-funding at once but, at any rate, we will make the initial step to co-fund such loans even within this year.
The agenda also concerned extending the rights of research and educational institutions-in particular, in industry and starting small enterprises, which my colleagues have talked over. That is correct, I think-we should not limit such activities.
We also discussed streamlining labour remuneration in the military-industrial complex. A proposal was made here to improve the system of contracts with the Defence Ministry and other agencies. Legal incomes from innovation license contracts were also discussed. It is an essential matter, and we will necessarily take stock of it.
Thank you for this talk. It was a very timely and highly professional meeting, which concerned practical matters. I hope we will have more meetings in a similar format.
Thank you.