"Universities must become interesting for school graduates" — Valery Falkov

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Russian universities must become interesting and attractive for school graduates, said Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Valery Falkov on 30 October at the National Centre RUSSIA during the educational marathon Znanie.Science. He delivered a lecture on the development of the national higher education system, including within the framework of the state programme "Priority-2030".

In his address, the Minister outlined the key goals of the current state policy in higher education. He stressed the need to strengthen Russia’s technological leadership. According to him, universities must learn to attract talented applicants and provide them not only with formalised competencies but also with comprehensive skills of thinking and scientific inquiry.

"Universities must become interesting for school graduates. To achieve this, they must conduct full-scale scientific research and involve young people in it. Figuratively speaking, a university lecturer should take a student by the hand and show them the cutting edge of science," emphasised Valery Falkov. 

A large part of the meeting was devoted to questions from the audience. Speaking about the key success factors in research today, the Minister particularly highlighted the importance of a modern technical base and access to state-of-the-art measuring instruments. Providing research institutions with such equipment, he noted, is one of the ministry’s top priorities.

"For instance, in the science city of Koltsovo in the Novosibirsk region, we are completing the construction of the 4+ generation synchrotron SKIF. Essentially, it is a very large and powerful microscope that allows us to penetrate the microcosm at previously unimaginable levels, opening opportunities for major discoveries across various fields of knowledge. As of today, there are only two such facilities in the world, and the launch of SKIF will become a major competitive advantage for Russian science," said Valery Falkov.

The discussion also touched upon breakthrough discoveries expected in the coming years. The Minister cited the example of the Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, whose researchers recently developed a drug to treat ankylosing spondylitis, a disease previously considered incurable. 

"Thanks to this development, 20 million people worldwide now have a chance for recovery. Equally important, this discovery helped to identify the principle for creating other drugs with a similar mechanism of action, including those targeting neurodegenerative diseases. The formulation of such medicines and the completion of their preclinical and clinical trials can all be achieved within the next three to five years," explained Valery Falkov.

The educational marathon Znanie.Science brings together more than 5,000 schoolchildren, students, and young scientists — winners of national contests from 80 regions of Russia and Abkhazia. The marathon highlights the importance of science for all spheres of human activity, from industry to culture. Through dialogue with lecturers, participants learn how science expands human potential and what opportunities the scientific field offers to young people.

The marathon is organised by the Russian society "Znanie" and the Moscow Polytechnic University with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. The event is dedicated to the Decade of Science and Technology.