HSE University Signs Cooperation Agreement with Russian Academy of Sciences

The document, signed by HSE Rector Yaroslav Kuzminov and RAS President Alexander Sergeev, formalizes agreements on joint work in education, the training of future researchers, and the support and promotion of research.

HSE University and the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) have cooperated closely in several areas. The Academy institutes have opened three joint faculties with HSE University: the Faculty of Physics, the Faculty of Chemistry, and the Faculty of Biology and Biotechnologies. They are in fact educating the people who will eventually take their place.

‘This is a “projection” of RAS on our university,’ said Yaroslav Kuzminov, ‘Our colleagues from RAS have the opportunity to “tailor” the educational process to their needsand, from the very beginning, teach students by involving them in research. Each student has a mentor. This is a brilliant tradition, and we are happy to see how these faculties are developing.’ According to Yaroslav Kuzminov, HSE University is negotiating with one more Academy institute about opening a Faculty of Geography at HSE.

The official cooperation agreement not only formalizes the joint projects already in place between HSE University and RAS, but outlines new areas for cooperation.

‘We have already come up with several serious projects in which RAS and HSE University could combine their efforts to achieve new results not only in the interests our two organizations, but for research and education at the national level,’ said Alexander Sergeev.

Alexander Sergeev believes that one of the promising fields for joint work is the advancement of the state neuroscience programme. ‘I am aware that HSE University devotes serious attention to this scientific field, and the research is supported with cutting-edge equipment,’ he said. It is important that the neuroscience programme at the national level ‘has the same status as the recently approved programme in genetics’.

HSE University and RAS will also be working on the economic dimension of science development, including at the regional levels. Fundamental and investigative research should receive appropriate funding, the RAS President believes. The level of funding for civil research in Russia lags behind that in the rest of the world, and if this doesn’t change, ‘we will fail to get the Russian economy on a scientific and technological track.’

The Russian researchers should have access to long-term financing and sustainable working conditions, which will allow them to work here and now, rather than moving abroad, Yaroslav Kuzminov believes.

To make this happen, long-term programmes aimed at supporting individual researchers and research teams with good reputations are necessary. The possible solutions include long-term grants, and public co-funding of researchers’ salaries at universities and research centres. Supporting academic journals is another task. The outcomes of Russian researchers’ effort should be available in all digital libraries in the world, HSE Rector Kuzminov believes.