Happy New Year greetings from the President of the Russian Union of Principals

Dear Colleagues!

The outgoing 2018 turned out to be very important and fruitful for the Russian education system.

On April 26, 2018, the XI Congress of the Russian Union of Rectors took place, in which the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin took part.

The May decree of the President of Russia defines the strategic objectives and priorities of the Russian higher education for the coming years.

The University Corporation is ready to do everything necessary to promote the development of cooperation between Russian universities at the intercollegiate, regional, interregional and international levels, strengthening the unified educational space, the intellectual potential of our country and the global competitiveness of Russian education.

One of the initiatives aimed at strengthening the unity of Russian education and improving its quality is the program for creating scientific and educational consortia of Russian universities (the Vernadsky program). The implementation of the Vernadsky program will contribute to strengthening the unity of the all-Russian educational space; the transformation of regional universities into centers for the training of qualified personnel, taking into account the requirements of the digital economy and the objectives of regional development; effective training of scientific personnel in various regions of our country.

We have such a very successful experience: in due time, in 1957, Academic Campus (Akademgorodok) was established near Novosibirsk, and now such consortia can be created in large cities of Siberia and the Far East, and I

I hope for your comprehensive approval and support of colleagues from other regions.

The Second Moscow International University Ranking “Three University Missions”, created within the framework of fulfilling the instructions of the President of Russia following the 10th Congress of the Russian Union of Rectors, confirmed the high competitiveness of Russian education. The top 333 universities in the world include 17 Russian universities, which indicates the high competitiveness of Russian education.

Dear Colleagues! Russian universities have always been the backbone of our state, and a steadily developing education system, its high quality and competitiveness, readiness to respond to great challenges and ensure a breakthrough in the future is a guarantee of Russia’s national security.

I hope that in 2019 we will have success in our work and in all joint undertakings.

I wish you new successes in your noble work for the benefit of Russian education!

Happy New Year 2019!

President of the Russian Union of Principals

The Principal of Moscow State University Lomonosov,

academician V.A. Sadovnichy