MISiS Is Successful Example of Innovative University – Rector
Rector of MISiS, the National University of Science and Technology,
Alevtina Chernikova announces that the strategic goal of the university is
to join World’s Top Universities
(c) Photo : Alevtina Chernikova’s account on Facebook
17:44 26/08/2014
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The Moscow State Institute of Steel and Alloys (MISiS) has a reputation as
one of the best universities in Russia and the world. It is ranked in the
international university tables and is working, pursuant to a presidential
executive order, to join the World’s Top 100 Universities by 2020.
How popular is a Russian engineering education for foreign applicants? What
arrangements have been made to provide comfortable conditions in which to
live and study? Rector of MISiS, the National University of Science and
Technology, Alevtina Chernikova, addresses these and other questions in an
interview with RIA Novosti’s Anna Kurskaya.
Have you received foreign applications this year?
Alevtina Chernikova: Yes, of course. Prospective students from foreign
countries who want to become engineers and enroll in our university apply
every year. This year’s admissions campaign is no exception.
As of today, we have over 500 foreign applicants or almost 30 percent more
than last year. There is growing interest in this university both among
foreigners and all prospective students in general.
If we compare the admissions data for 2014 and 2013 (disregarding the fact
that 2014 is the first year we are enrolling students jointly with the
Moscow State Mining University, which we have taken over), we have more
than a thousand more applicants than last year. Hopefully we’ll accept good
students, who want to receive a high-quality engineering education meeting
global standards.
How many foreign students do you have? What countries are they from?
Alevtina Chernikova: We have about 1,500 foreign students from 50
countries: 1,000 in Moscow and 500 at our branches elsewhere. The vast
majority of them come from the CIS countries, primarily Kazakhstan and
Uzbekistan; they are followed by students from Azerbaijan, Armenia,
Belarus, Moldova, etc. We have a branch in Dushanbe, the capital of
Tajikistan. The non-CIS countries represented are Vietnam, China, Mongolia,
Angola, Congo, Egypt. There are also students from Europe – France, Germany
and Italy.
Not long ago, MISiS announced that its strategic goal was to join the list
of World’s Top 100 Universities, based on the main international rankings.
One of these criteria is the number of foreign students. Do you think
outreach is important in this regard?
Alevtina Chernikova: The important thing for us is quality, not quantity.
We want to accept motivated students, who have made a conscious choice to
pursue an engineering profession.
Of course, we are working in this area both in the Russian Federation and
elsewhere. For example, my university is a member of the Time to Study in
Russia consortium, which holds academic competitions both in the CIS and
farther afield. This year MISiS sponsored competitions in 15 countries
worldwide. This certainly promotes its popularity and competitiveness in
Russia and abroad.
We are primarily oriented to the CIS countries. Our university is the core
institution for the CIS that trains and retrains professionals in the area
of metallurgy and materials science. We are building up our capabilities
with each passing year. There is every reason to believe that the prestige
of the Russian engineering education will only grow. Our graduates are
proving this by their successful work in many countries.
What facilities do you have for training foreigners? Do you have a modern
campus?
Alevtina Chernikova: This university has all the necessary amenities for
getting a good education, including modern interactive study-rooms,
scientific and educational centers, world-class research laboratories,
curricula that has been coordinated with employers and a highly
professional faculty. The entire infrastructure is geared toward training
top-notch specialists capable of competing on labor markets at home and
abroad.
There is also a focus on creating good living conditions for foreign
students, and to help them adapt. After all, it is always stressful to
leave one’s family and home and travel to a foreign country.
We have modern and well-equipped dormitories. In 2013, our campus was
recognized as the best in Moscow and third best in Russia. Last year, we
commissioned the first block of the Commune House for students in the
master’s program and post-graduate students. It’s very comfortable. The
rooms are singles or doubles.
There is also a Club of International Friendship run by students, which
helps to reduce the assimilation period and make it less painful for
foreign students.
Do you teach Russian?
Alevtina Chernikova: We know from our experience that foreign applicants
have insufficient knowledge of Russian to study in Russia. In 2013, we
opened a Center for Studying Russian as a Foreign Language, which we are
currently expanding.
What disciplines are particularly popular with your foreign students?
Alevtina Chernikova: These are our traditional disciplines that this
university is very strong at: metallurgy, mining, materials science,
information science and computer engineering.
Are your graduates competitive internationally? What jobs do they take at
home?
Alevtina Chernikova: There is no doubt that our graduates are highly
competitive both here in Russia and internationally.
Our foreign students can be divided into three categories. Some are sent to
study in Moscow by industrial businesses located in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,
Angola, Vietnam, Mongolia and other countries, with which we have been
cooperating for years.
The second category includes students enrolled under intergovernmental
agreements. Both categories return home to take jobs that are waiting for
them.
There is also a third category that includes young people who have chosen
our university on their own, the majority of whom are our compatriots. Of
course, some of them return to their countries, but during the last two or
three years, more than 50 of them became Russian nationals and their choice
cannot fail to please us.
Do you have to modernize curricula, retrain teachers and invite foreign
professors in order to join the list of the World’s Top 100 Universities?
Alevtina Chernikova: MISiS is a successful example of an innovative
university. We are leading the field in the area of technological
education, and at the same time we are a full-fledged research center. We
are seeking to integrate the educational process and research activities as
much as possible.
We have a rule: master’s theses and scientific degrees should be based on
concrete research or business projects. We do all we can to coordinate our
curricula with employers.
MISiS has been introducing advanced educational methods. We were among the
first to accredit curricula not only in Russia but also in other countries.
Jointly with employers, we develop uniquely designed curricula along with
our own standards, which enable graduates to rapidly adapt to specific
business environments.
Of course, these tasks can only be handled by highly qualified faculty
members. In recent years, our university has focused on organizing modern
scientific and educational centers and research laboratories. We invite
world renowned scientists to teach at the university and head research
teams. Their research teams include university instructors, master’s
students and post-graduate students, something that provides our students
with additional competitive advantages.
There is also an emphasis on holding further training courses for
instructors. Last year alone, more than 100 MISiS employees took refresher
courses at leading Russian and foreign universities. Top professors from
other universities come to MISiS, and we send our instructors to their
universities. We have maintained long-standing contacts with the leading
scientific and educational centers, with which we have student exchanges
and dual degree programs.
This certainly enhances the competitiveness of each faculty member, and the
university as a whole. The more talented people we employ, the more gifted
students will enroll, the more successful the university will be.
What educational institutions do you have student exchange programs with?
Is the conferring of a dual degree a regular practice?
Alevtina Chernikova: Yes, this program has been in operation since 1998.
Our partner universities are L’Universite de Lorraine, L’ecole superieure
d’ingenieurs de Sandettie, and L’ecole des mines in France, the RWTH Aachen
University and the Clausthal University of Technology in Germany, and
universities in Kazakhstan, Belgium and The Netherlands. Nearly 300
students recently received diplomas from foreign universities along with
MISiS diplomas.
In addition, we have been actively promoting one-term exchange programs. In
early 2014, we signed an agreement with the French embassy, under which our
students can study at French universities free of charge.
Whom would you advise to enroll in Russia’s engineering universities from
abroad? For whom would this be the optimal choice?
Alevtina Chernikova: I’d advise this primarily for those who wish to become
highly skilled engineers. This is a necessary condition. But in general,
the factors determining the choice of a Russian university are the
fundamental nature of Russian education, its high quality, and the wide
range of educational services. Russia has the potential to assume a leading
position in the world academic community. This can happen quite soon.