The now traditional meeting of Mikhail Fedoruk with the NSU staff and students has clarified some of the burning issues.
Firstly, the Rector touched upon the general situation at NSU including financial, educational, scientific and constructing aspects, as well as how the university moves on developing and raising its positions in the frameworks of the Global Competitiveness of Leading Russian Universities Program. NSU鈥檚 stable third place among Russian universities in different ratings proves the good work that is being done by the collective body of the university. Among the latest things, this year NSU has become the , opened some and officially launched some (NSU).
The Rector paid the audience attention to the busy period in developing projects: the strategy of financing new labs in cooperation with research institutes has been worked out; dozen construction works have started; a new NSU site is under development. Moreover, Mikhail Fedoruk mentioned that one third of the second tranche sum on the program 鈥淭op-100鈥�, which the university is going to receive soon, will be allocated to the departments with the development of their activity in mind. These measures are supposed to promote the NSU image and increase the rating positions.
鈥淥ur departments are to develop on their own scenarios, which would contribute greatly to our global competitiveness,鈥� said the Rector.
Having given the general background, the Rector went on to answer questions from the audience.
Here, a few wide-ranging topics were risen up. Firstly, , especially what criteria are going to be applied to sel ect the labs. 鈥淲e at university are always criticized for being a bit un-ambitious about our aims. Compared to other universities, yes, we prefer to play it safe. Being evaluated according to the rating positions, first and foremost we stick to fulfilling the program requirements, which is essential for the university to enjoy the benefits of the program. Possible failures in the ratings lead to the lack or even absence of funding. After we master the art, we will certainly upgrade our strategies,鈥� answered the Rector addressing the issue of new laboratories.
A couple of questions dealt with the construction of the new university building and distribution of the rooms and classes. According to the Rector, the task of allocating the rooms to departments will fall on a new committee headed by the Deputy Rector Sergey Malinovsky.
The Dean of the Economics Department, Gagik Mkrtchan expressed his concern at staff ageing. 鈥淢ikhail Petrovich, do we conduct any measures to facilitate young specialist retention? When professors come to me and say they are exhausted, I can hardly find a replacement.鈥� 鈥淚 share your concern,鈥� said the Rector. 鈥淲e are going to support our PhD students by attracting them to junior research positions. Moreover, we plan to provide financial benefits to postgraduate students conducting seminars and to postdoctoral scholars. Our Chairs are now experiencing not just tough time, but rather an unmitigated disaster, but we are determined to solve the problem. Many universities are transferring to effective contracts, but it is not the case here, and you know why. So, the employment issue is quite a difficult one. I can assure you, our research institutes face this problem as well.鈥� To that Gagik Mkrtchan noticed that if graduates could start their business inside the university, they would be likely to stay and work for their alma mater. He continued that education at NSU attracts applicants as it is, but it would be even more effective to create a structure that would encourage applicants to enter NSU rather than advertise our education services. Teaching primary school students does not seem to be efficient enough as having gained professional knowledge of high quality the students can choose a more attractive university for them, say, in the capital. Mikhail Fedoruk replied that the students he met at the Olympiads of different levels claim they plan to enter 吃瓜官网.
The next and the biggest group of questions touched upon financing 鈥� a transparent system of allocating funds to the departments, wages and scholarships, benefits, etc.
The Dean of the Physics Department, Alexander Bondar shared his practice of allocating money at his department. 鈥淲e have a small committee, 5 experts, who accept requisition notes from the professors planning to go on business trips. The notes are considered individually, in terms of corresponding to the aims of the program. If it is acceptable, the Dean signs the permission. The same can be organized whenever departments need to allocate the money received. It is not the only possible way to organize it all openly, though. There might be some other schemes.鈥� Alexander Bondar also addressed the question of evaluating and granting the methodological materials published in 2013. Random expertise has shown that some materials were not of a sufficiently high level, so the authors got them back for editing; thus, they have not been paid yet. Decisions on the terms of payment will be made based on the expert recommendations. Mikhail Fedoruk further noted that the payments come fr om extra-budgetary funds.
The students who attended the meeting raised the question about working hours of the university sports centre. The issue is burning as the problem had been set up earlier, . In a nutshell, the facilities are always rented by various commercial organizations which make money by conducting classes there. There is almost no free time left for NSU students to take up sports without additional payment. 鈥淭he issue is quite complicated,鈥� replied Mikhail Fedoruk, 鈥漚nd we cannot just disregard various aspects. In the past we subsidized the swimming pool and the gyms, but now we cannot afford it. Hence, the commercial time and free gaps for students compete against each other. On the other hand, there is a certain disorder concerning the established schedule, which is the responsibility of the Chair of physical education; there should be an established list of sports clubs with the allocated time, and the general regulations are to be adopted. However, it is impossible to disregard the commercial component, and all the time cannot be allocated to free trainings. Nevertheless, we are ready to face the problem and meet some wishes as sports should become as important for the university image as academic education. We are interested in healthy students,鈥� pointed out the Rector.
Winding up the meeting, Mikhail Fedoruk said, 鈥滻 earnestly ask you to try to understand the conflicting or competing demands. We strive to create an atmosphere that could be comfortable for all, but sometimes we might overlook or omit something. You are always welcome to apply to me or the Deputy Rectors, pose the problem and try to cope with it. During the present transition times, which are connected with reforms and new programs both in the RAS and at the university, we are steadily moving forward. The issues raised can be solved effectively only with the help of your feedback. I am ready to meet you even more often, provided you have a longing.鈥�
