HSE Campus in Perm to Promote Quality of Education in the Region
As part of his official visit to Perm, HSE Rector Nikita Anisimov met with Dmitry Makhonin, Governor of Perm Krai. They signed a cooperation agreement between HSE University and the Government of Perm Krai. Key decisions made during the meeting include the creation of a HSE Lyceum in Perm for 10th and 11th-graders, with the first enrolment in 2022.
In his opening address, Dmitry Makhonin emphasized that Perm is one of only four cities to have a HSE University campus, and highlighted the fruitful cooperation between the region and the university, which includes several important projects. ‘HSE University is well represented in the region, both in terms of state-funded student places and in terms of graduates. About 10,000 professionals have graduated since the campus was founded in the region,’ he said, adding that there is significant potential for the development of bilateral relations.
Mr. Makhonin also spoke about new projects, such as the creation of a lyceum. He believes that HSE University can partner with the government on projects to develop digital doppelgangers and unmanned mining technologies . ‘Today, our task as a region is to create the conditions to encourage talented young people and school graduates to apply to Perm universities,’ he added.
Nikita Anisimov emphasized that the Perm campus of HSE University maintains active cooperation with Perm Krai authorities, particularly with the local Ministry of Education and Science, and that various socially important educational projects have been implemented over the years.
He gave the example of the university district and the university/school cluster—projects that bring together dozens of schools and thousands of teachers. The projects are aimed at improving teachers’ competencies, as well as discussing and implementing innovative mechanisms for improving school education. The PROFI teacher Olympiad and the network IT university project are also very important.
HSE’s rector said that thanks to this cooperation, the university is able to attract the region’s strongest prospective students and offer a high quality of tuition. He stressed the importance of ‘educational circulation’—when students who leave for Moscow continue participating in projects in Perm Krai. This helps ‘build a bridge’ that could provide them a local future.
Mr. Anisimov also mentioned that Perm Krai is the only region that has given HSE University operational control over numerous buildings, including well equipped study buildings and a new modern dorm, which will open this year. He emphasized that these completed projects and new initiatives are a sign of a high level of mutual trust between the university and the local authorities.
Another upcoming joint educational project is the creation of a lyceum as part of the HSE campus in Perm. It will take advantage of the experience accumulated by the campus in local school education development, as well as the experience of the HSE Lyceum operating as part of HSE in Moscow. Galina Volodina, Director of the HSE campus in Perm, said that they ‘have always dreamt about a lyceum.’ She said: ‘We suggest opening the Lyceum on September 1, 2022, following a competition, as we are interested in enrolling highly motivated students with good knowledge.’ The plan is to enrol three classes, 75 students in total, who will study on the premises of the HSE campus in Perm. By 2025, the university plans to build a new building and increase the number of Lyceum students to 500. Its operations will be similar to the HSE Lyceum in Moscow. Its director, Dmitry Fishbein, spoke about its work and emphasized that one of the most essential tasks in the foundation of the Perm Lyceum is to make sure its students want to stay in Perm Krai and fulfil themselves there. ‘This is quite realistic, and we have already trialled these methods in Moscow,’ he said.
Raisa Kassina, Minister of Education and Science of Perm Krai, said that the decision to create the Lyceum was not a simple one. ‘We are preparing for 2022 and have already planned the budget,’ she said, adding that she hopes the quality of education at the new institution will be fundamentally different. At the same time, she said, the authorities are preparing applications for the construction of the new school building. HSE University is also going to participate in the Open University project, which will provide open access to the university’s lectures, courses and buildings. ‘We hope that HSE University will help in our work with students, regardless of their place of residence and in the most remote locations, in order to elevate the level of education,’ Ms. Kassina said.
The negotiations between Nikita Anisimov and Dmitry Makhonin included the signing of a cooperation agreement. This framework paper declares the parties’ intentions to implement socially important initiatives and projects, volunteering and charity events, and to develop the educational system, organize joint events and provide social support for students.
Nikita Anisimov
‘Today, we agreed not only to create a lyceum, but to reproduce our methods of school education both at the new HSE Lyceum and at two other secondary schools, as we have a whole university district here. Since the foundation of our Perm campus, we have worked with secondary schools in Perm Krai and neighbouring regions. Of course, we are following the federal agenda in youth policy, so we suggested—and I’m happy that Mr. Makhonin agreed and supported this—to implement a number of federal initiatives locally under the forum ‘A Place in the Sun’, which we are going to eventually make international. Perm is a destination for international students, and we have educational expertise in terms of international student flow dynamics and motivations for employment in Russia, and we are going to share our developments. We are also offering our huge experience in research and expertise for the development of Perm Krai, since we are trialling it in our operating regions before offering it for the spatial development of the whole country’.
Dmitry Makhonin, Governor of Perm Krai, said that the region is prepared to create the conditions to encourage young people to stay and build their lives in the region.
Dmitry Makhonin
‘The training of highly qualified personnel should begin in secondary school. That’s why today, we discussed the creation of a Lyceum at HSE University. This is a big step for our region. In the future, this will help us attract motivated and talented students from Perm Krai and other Russian regions to the HSE campus in Perm. We will strive to make Perm Krai a point of attraction for young and promising people. Our joint plans with HSE University include the annual youth forum “A Place in the Sun”, which will bring together youth policy professionals and federal experts.’
HSE’s campus in Perm was founded in 1998, with 11 teachers and 100 students. Since then, it has become one of the region’s leading universities and a leader in the quality of enrolment, with over 1,500 students and over 6,000 visiting students who come for retraining and continuing education. The Perm campus is among Russia’s top 20 universities by quality of state-funded enrolment and among the top 18 by quality of enrolment in fee-paying places.
The HSE Perm university district brings together 45 educational institutions in Perm Krai, Udmurtia and Novosibirsk Oblast. Over the 12 years of the university/school cluster’s operations, 3,743 teachers from Perm Krai and Udmurtia have participated in it.
The PROFI teacher Olympiad has been held for the last 13 years, with participation from 70,000 teachers from 85 Russian regions and 12 other countries.