Ural Federal

www.urfu.ru 1 ’s Address

The strategic plan of Federal University expresses our commitment to preserving our traditions of research freedom, striving for efficient collaboration and knowledge exchange, development of academic mobility. In today’s world of rapid change the future depends on whether the University is ready to develop and to follow the best world practices. The University provides high-level education and professional training so that our graduates could find interesting and lucrative jobs. Graduates of are in high demand on the labour market: lots of our students get attractive job offers while they are still studying. This means that we are moving in the right direction and are training sought-after professionals. Academic community is international by its nature. Higher education all over the world is based on the same concept of a free, independent university which originated in medieval . At the same time each country, each region contributes something unique and special to this model. Going global, Ural Federal University is seeking to offer the academic community its own unique traditions and experience. Today we’re building a world-class university. UrFU has been included in the list of top-15 Russian that receive special governmental support for increasing their global competitiveness. In the years to come we’ll have to make a lot of changes, and not all of them are going to be easy. Still, for Ural Federal University it is a historic opportunity to enter the top-100 of world universities. Ural Federal University is open for all forms of collaboration. These days the University is playing a major role not only in the region, but also has a significant impact on the whole area of Central Eurasia. We are dedicated to going further and creating a global partnership network which is the cornerstone of quality education and research. The University is a platform for developing social technologies and open discussions, a ground for testing social models. Ural Federal University is not only an educational institution, it is a social centre, the very core of the new economic transformations. Since its foundation, the University’s fundamental mission has been to train professionals for regional industrial enterprises. Nowadays, under the conditions of re- industrialization, when Russian higher education is aimed at dealing with the lack of qualified engineering staff, this focus of the University’s policy fully meets the needs of the state.

First day of the academic year at Ural Federal - Viktor Koksharov student flash-mob on the University square Rector

2 www.urfu.ru 3 University Overview

Ural University is the oldest higher educational institution in the Ural region bringing together fundamental education and practical application of knowledge. During its 93- year history more than 300 000 people graduated from the University; it has become the leader in higher professional education in the region and one of the leading universities in . These achievements are based on the University’s system of values combining the aspiration to keep the best traditions and the innovative approach towards the challenges of modern times. The University is in close contact with its partners and constantly improves the study process in accordance with their needs. Such approach allows to train specialists being in high demand on the labour market. The list of UrFU partners includes the major industrial enterprises and companies being of crucial importance for Russian economy. Ural Federal University is one of the leading research centres in Russia carrying out research in natural, formal, technical, social sciences, humanities and arts, economics and management. Since 2008 it bears the name of , the first , being the University’s graduate of 1955. In 2009 the University was awarded the federal status. In 2011 Ural Federal University merged with . Consolidation of two oldest universities in the region resulted in the substantial increase in the University’s international reputation and positions in rankings; the university is ranked among 550 top world universities according to QS World University Rankings-2013. There are more than 50 000 students in 17 UrFU Institutes, including 25 000 full-time The University’s main building students. The number of PhD students is 500, the number of doctoral students equals to 20. The University actively involves students in large-scale projects, provides them with the opportunities to implement their initiatives, fulfil their creative ambitions, express themselves, get enhanced scholarships, tuition discounts and educational loans, and participate in the university management. The highly-qualified academic staff of Ural Federal University includes 4 000 people; among them there are 600 professors, Doctors of Sciences, about 2000 Associate Professors, PhDs, 26 members of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Visiting professors from the leading Russian and foreign universities, experienced specialists in different fields, renowned cultural and political figures come to UrFU to deliver lectures and seminars.

4 www.urfu.ru 5 University Overview

Ural Federal University is a state university which receives funding from two main sources - the state budget and the income from tuition fees and delivering research services. Ural University is the core of the research cluster comprising scientific institutes of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, specialized laboratories and high- tech enterprises. Research complex of the University includes dozens of research centres, the Innovation Infrastructure, Research Library (the library stock includes more than 3 mln volumes) and a number of museums and collections. In 2013 Ural Federal University entered the list of 15 Russian universities that won in a competitive selection for the right to receive special subsidy targeted at enhancing the global competitiveness of the university and increasing its positions in the international rankings. In October 2013 the Roadmap that will allow UrFU to enter the top-100 of world universities by 2020 was officially approved. UrFU’s win in the Open Russian Competition «Best project of the year – 2013» became another acknowledgement of choosing the right strategy. The Development Program of Ural Federal University received the gold award from the International Project Management Association (IPMA) - «Sovnet». Endowment fund was established in the University for the implementation of various projects. Everyone can make a contribution to the endowment and to the development of his or her alma mater. UrFU Campus includes 14 educational buildings and 15 dormitories; now a final stage of construction of a new dormitory for 1 000 students is being completed. The University’s infrastructure also includes health camps and a recreation centre. The University’s building at 51 Lenin avenue The University takes part in a number of international projects financed by state organizations and non-governmental foundations of the Russian Federation, and USA. It is a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Network University, CIS Network University and the . The University’s extensive sports facilities provide opportunities for more than 30 sports teams to train and compete. Ural Federal University is not only a place for study, but as well a place for creative development. There are more than 30 artistic groups at UrFU. Every two years the University holds one of the largest student festivals in Russia - «Spring UPI at Ural Federal». Student years at UrFU are a time for getting exciting knowledge and living an exciting life.

6 www.urfu.ru 7 Brief History

Ural Federal University is the oldest higher educational institution in the Ural region. It was founded in Ekaterinburg in 1920 by the decree of , the head of the Soviet Government. After some time the University split into two: Ural State University (USU), specializing in fundamental, natural and mathematical sciences, humanities and social studies, and Ural Polytechnic Institute (UPI, later - Ural State Technical University, USTU-UPI) which was essentially focused on training engineers for metallurgical, heavy engineering, construction, radio technology and power engineering industries. UPI was also engaged in the dynamic development of the knowledge areas which were new for the USSR back then: nuclear power engineering, organic chemistry, telecommunication technologies. Both universities maintained close ties with each other and their partners – Ural industrial enterprises, which turned Ekaterinburg into one of the largest university cities in Russia. Construction of the University campus started in the 1940-s; now it occupies the whole district in the city. In 2008 the modernisation reform of the Russian higher education system was launched. A number of universities already having close relations were merged, received a federal Boris Yeltsin, the first status and additional financing. President of Russia, Federal universities are located in Rostov-on-Don, Krasnoyarsk, Kazan, , UrFU graduate of 1955 Yakutsk, Kaliningrad, Vladivostok, Stavropol and Ekaterinburg. They now rank among Russia’s top higher educational institutions along with State University and St.Petersburg State University. The merger process of USTU-UPI and USU to create Ural Federal University (UrFU) began The University Square in 1951 in 2009 and was fully completed by the spring of 2011.

8 www.urfu.ru 9 University and Regional Community

Ural Federal University is a full-fledged participant and an organizer foundation stone of the building of the research and educational of numerous large-scale events in the region. At the International centre «Information and telecommunication systems and Industrial Exhibition and Innovation Forum «INNOPROM» the technologies» was laid. Ministry of Communications and Media of the University not only presents one of the best stands but also introduces Russian Federation allocated 683 million roubles on the development a number of discussion platforms devoted to the issues of modern of the “University” technology park; in fact, it means that the education. According to the Prime-Minister Dmitry Medvedev, construction of a new university campus has been launched. who participated in the plenary session of «INNOPROM-2012», the Together with the media holding “Expert” UrFU traditionally holds primary aim of federal universities should be to train highly qualified the annual conference «Economic Growth Points of the Big Urals”. At engineering and research staff; this target should form the basis for the conference a world-class panel of specialists gather to exchange the industrial development state programme. After discussing the views on development trends of the regional economy. current situation in higher professional education, the Prime-Minister and UrFU Rector Viktor Koksharov came to the conclusion that new Ural Federal University is one of the leading research and educational specialists must be competitive on the international markets, which centres which expertise in the sphere of training IT specialists is means that universities will have to move to a new, international well recognized in Russia and abroad. Academic year 2013/2014 level - invite leading researchers and lecturers, provide academic has been announced the Year of IT at UrFU. The ACM International exchange programmes. This is exactly what Ural Federal University Collegiate Programming Contest World Finals that will be held in is already doing. Ekaterinburg on June 22-26, 2014 with the active support of Ural Federal University will become the key event of the year. UrFU The University maintains active collaboration with industrial proposals formed the basis for the Development Program of IT-area enterprises in the sphere of development and implementation of in Russia up to 2020. their innovation growth programs. In a short period of time the University has taken a leap from project generation to creating UrFU also serves as a venue for a unique cultural event - Vienna Music Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev meeting UrFU products. Annually UrFU small innovative enterprises present their Film Festival. Striking videos of classical music concerts and operas, Rector Viktor Koksharov at «INNOPROM-2012» developments at “INNOPROM”. shown on a large screen with high-quality sound - this is what this open-air festival is all about. In 2013 UrFU organized a panel discussion «Corporations and Russian universities: reload formula» within the frames of the Annually UrFU holds dozens of interesting joint projects aimed at exhibition. The University also initiated the discussion of the giving students «a breath of fresh air» - an opportunity to meet development of engineering education in Russia. Participants of the the most distinguished international experts. University regularly 1st QS Rankosium Forum discussed the opportunities of increasing organizes the lectures of the prominent researchers. the positions of Russian universities in international rankings. The 1st QS Rankosium Forum was held with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and QS company. Development of the world-class Ural university technology park goes at full speed in the Sverdlovsk region. September 2, 2013 the

10 www.urfu.ru 11 Education

Ural Federal University offers a variety of programs tailored to fit various career goals: there are 349 Bachelor, Master and Specialist degree programmes and 20 vocational secondary education programs as well as those for continuing education: Master of Business Administration (MBA), advanced training and retraining for professionals, doctoral degree programs. The University’s structure comprises 17 Institutes, 255 departments and 14 branches. The University’s regional branches are located predominantly in the Ural region and in the neighbouring states (, , Abkhazia). The University provides first-class academic facilities which allow us to achieve a high level of teaching and research. Every year over 600 students are awarded the Presidential Scholarship, scholarships from the government, the Governor of Sverdlovsk region, V.Potanin’s charity foundation, the Scholarship of the first President of Russia B.N.Yeltsin, and scholarships from regional industrial enterprises. In 2010 the University won the contest «Systems of Quality Assurance in Professional Education Institutions» by proved the excellent results we have achieved in the field of education quality. UrFU Lyceum A special form of pre-university training is offered by the University’s Specialized Educational Scientific Centre (Lyceum). Its focus is on providing enhanced training: our students obtain the essential independent research skills. There are only four such centres in Russia, in the largest university cities: Moscow, St.Petersburg, Novosibirsk and UrFU Institutes Ekaterinburg. The Lyceum carries out educational activities in two directions: natural sciences (75%) and humanities.

• Graduate School of Economics and Management • Institute of Physical Education, Sport and Youth Policy In September 2013 the Lyceum was ranked the 4th in the list of top-5 best secondary • Institute of Military Technical Education and Security • Institute of Fundamental Education schools in Russia. The selection was based on the results of the Unified State Examination • Institute of Public Administration and Entrepreneurship • Institute of Mechanics and Machine Building obtained by the Lyceum students. Besides, the ranking organizers took into account the • Institute of Humanities and Arts • Institute of Civil Engineering wins on the All-Russian and International contests. The Lyceum also became the winner • Institute of Natural Sciences • Ural Power Engineering Institute among the secondary schools of the Ural region in the Olympiad ranking compiled by the • Institute of Mathematics and Computer Sciences • Institute of Physical Engineering Russian Rectors Union. • Institute of Material Studies and Metallurgy • Institute of Chemical Engineering Ural Federal University actively supports the Lyceum in the implementation of significant • Institute of Radioelectronics and Information Technologies projects. In particular, in 2016 the International Young Physicists’ Tournament (IYPT) will • Institute of Social and Political Studies be held in Ekaterinburg; the lyceum students many times participated in the tournament. • Institute of Open Educational Technologies

12 www.urfu.ru 13 Investments in education

One of the most important missions of Ural Federal University is to In spring 2013 the University launched a project being absolutely develop and enrich the regional and national sector of educational unique for Russia – «Test drive at Ural Federal». The initiative services. Training of the talented youth is the primary task of the allowed 350 talented school children from the Sverdlovsk, the University. Ural Federal University renders all-round support to , the Kurgan, and the Orenburg regions, the Perm territory, secondary schools and school teachers. The University holds annual Bashkiria, and a number of CIS countries to come to congress for school teachers of the whole UrFU for a few days and get acquainted with the largest federal where they can participate in short-term professional development university. Within the frames of the project participants attended programs free of charge. Leading university researchers and faculty lectures, passed tests, lived in the dormitories getting fully members give lectures, master classes and seminars for the teachers integrated with the university environment. The project aroused of physics, chemistry, biology, , literature, great interest among the upper-formers. During the first initiative history, social studies, informatics and foreign languages. more than 1 mln people visited www.testdrive.urfu.ru One more important direction of the University’s activity is working with talented secondary school students. The most successful project in the sphere is the “School for prospective students”. Ural Federal University hosts dozens of regional and all-Russian Olympiads for school students and regularly organizes contests and tournaments in the priority fields of study: chemistry, physics, mathematics, economics, literature etc. A special form of pre-university training is offered by the University’s Specialized Educational Scientific Centre (Lyceum); the lyceum students are active and successful participants of all-Russian and international contests. «Test drive: 3 days at Ural Federal». March 2013 The first-year students who show the best results during entrance examinations participate in the Festival for talented students. In October 2013, 453 students became the heroes of the festival; their scores at the Unified State Examination exceeded 250 in engineering and natural subjects and exceeded 290 in humanities. Within the frames of the Program for supporting talented first-year students they are awarded monthly stipend in the amount of 10 000 rubles. The secondary schools that trained the best students got access to the University’s educational facilities; UrFU established computer classes in some of them. These activities increase the chances of the secondary school students to obtain good results during the entrance examinations.

14 www.urfu.ru 15 Scientific Research

• 25 leading scientific schools — Climate and environmental physics laboratory • 15 research and educational centres (RECs), («Studies and forecasting of permafrost problems», including those in partnership with the Ural Dr Jean Jouzel, Nobel Prize Co-Laureate, ) , Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences — Laboratory of edition archeography («Returning to • UrFU implements research and development projects Europe: Russian elites and European innovations, norms for and on commission from high-tech enterprises of and models (18th – early 20th centuries)”, Professor Sverdlovsk region (50% of the University’s R&D) Marie-Pierre Rey, Panthéon-Sorbonne University) • UrFU conducts research within the frames over 600 Research Units research projects, grants, federal special-purpose • Multiple Access Centre «Modern Nanotechnologies» programs and international projects annually with • Unique Equipment Multiple Access Centre «UNICUM» a total turnover of 850 mln rubles in 2013 • Research Institute of Physics and Applied Mathematics • in 2013 UrFU has implemented three new • Kourovskaya Observatory projects to get subsidies for the implementation of initiatives targeted at the development of • Botanical Garden hi-tech industries (Order of the RF Government • Space Monitoring Centre of 09.04.2010 No 218) with a total amount • REC «Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials» of financing equal to 530 mln rubles. • Cyclotron Centre of Nuclear Medicine • UrFU publishes 8 scientific journals which are on • Centre of Regional Economic Research the list of scientific publications recommended by the Supreme Attestation Commission of the Russian • Sport Science and Technology Laboratory Federation and is working on the development • REC «Nuclear Energy – Efficiency and Safety» of 6 journals that will be indexed by Scopus • Fundamental Research Laboratory of Organic Synthesis • UrFU is the leader among federal universities by the number of publications in the scientific journals International laboratories indexed by international databases (4th place in Russia) under the guidance of the renowned international researchers • 110 researchers who have had over 100 citations in international databases in the past seven years • Climate and environmental physics laboratory Key objectives of the University in the sphere of research • every year UrFU holds over 200 international, national • Laboratory of edition archeography and regional scientific conferences and seminars • Laboratory of international and regional economics • International cooperation and Priority directions of research in accordance • over 150 foreign visiting scientists in 2013 • Laboratory of nano-sized ferroelectric materials internationalization of research with the Competitiveness Enhancement Program • international collaboration with more than • Laboratory of non-conventional low-size materials • Incentives for international publication of the University in 2013-2020: 30 universities ranked among top-200 world • Integration of scientific research with the Ural • information Technologies and Human Being in the Information Society universities according to international rankings Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences • power Engineering, Resource Saving, and Environmental Management • UrFU carries out 2 ‘mega grant’ research • Development of research for the benefit • flexible Technologies and New Materials project in accordance with the Order of the of industrial enterprises and • living Systems and Health RF Government No 220 of 09.04.2010:

16 www.urfu.ru 17 Innovation Infrastructure

Department of Innovation Marketing Small Innovative Enterprises Assesses commercial potential of projects, conducts marketing Are created to commercialize the results of UrFU’s innovative research, develops marketing strategies and brands for innovative research. By the beginning of 2014 there have been more than 70 enterprises, promotes innovative products. small innovative enterprises with the participation of UrFU. Centre of Technology Transfer Innovation and Implementation Centres and Entrepreneurship This complex manufactures prototypes and preproduction series for Searches and selects commercializable ideas and R & D results, UrFU’s innovative enterprises and partners. By the beginning of stimulates realization of innovation projects, creation and 2014 UrFU has had five of such centres, and by 2015 there will be development of innovative enterprises, attracts funding and more than ten of them. investments. Communication Centre «Skolkovo - Ural» Centre of Educational Technologies Provides support for UrFU’s small innovative enterprises and their and HR for Innovative Activities partners seeking to become participants of «Skolkovo» or already Involves students into innovative activities, encourages them to operating under this status. By the beginning of 2014 ten of UrFU’s generate ideas and projects, assesses capacity of project teams and small innovative enterprises has managed to become «Skolkovo» trains staff for innovative enterprises residents in the following three clusters: energy-efficient, nuclear, information and computer technologies. Innovation Maintenance and Development Centre «Innovative Diving» Maintains the development of the innovation infrastructure, Special program for the youth. It includes two on-site stages: Innovative Production of UrFU Enterprises provides it with legal and financial support and assistance. Supports «Innovation diving Assessment» where employers assess UrFU’s innovation and implementation centres. professional skills of participants and the residential school «Innovation diving business camping» where participants model Intellectual Property Centre One of the University’s main areas of focus is the development of knowledge intensive business through innovative business projects, as well as a distance learning course commercialization of research and development results in the sphere of high technologies. Organizes and provides protection of intellectual property for UrFU «Commercialization of an innovative idea». and our partners, both in Russia and abroad. UrFU’s innovation infrastructure provides: Modeling and Prototyping Centre • students’ involvement into innovation activities; • development and realization of innovative projects starting from business modeling to Allows to fulfil the tasks related to production and testing of trial protection of intellectual property rights and product promotion; models and prototypes of innovative products • establishment of research and development centres in partnership with corporations; • extending and strengthening of international innovation-oriented collaboration.

18 www.urfu.ru 19 International Collaboration

Ural Federal University has strong global connections; Program (HESP), and Regional Seminar for Excellence in Teaching internationalization is one of the University’s top priorities. UrFU (ReSET). Our specialists realize a whole range of applied research has established partnerships with over 150 foreign universities; the projects collaborating with their partners from Germany, USA, University actively participates in international network projects: South Korea etc. CIS University, SCO University, University of the Arctic (UArctic), The University is also developing ties and undertaking collaborative Association of Sino-Russian Technical Universities research through inviting foreign professors to Ekaterinburg: e.g., Over 1,000 foreign students from 36 countries are currently enrolled since 2012 Dr Jean Jouzel (France), co-laureate of the Nobel Peace at Ural Federal University. The majority of our international students Prize, has been the head of the UrFU Climate Change Laboratory. come from Central , China, , Korea, Vietnam, Guinea. From 2013 the University has launched a large-scale project The University holds annual international summer schools devoted «Returning to Europe: Russian elites and European innovations, to Russian language and culture, economics and management. norms and models (XVIII - early XXth centuries)» under the guidance of a renowned French researcher, Dr Marie-Pierre Rey. UrFU Graduate School of Economics and Management offers double Master degree programs in partnership with the leading European Ural Federal University is the largest regional platform for universities: «Theoretical and Experimental Economics» with the international events. In 2014 UrFU will host the ACM-ICPC Humboldt University of Berlin (Germany), and «International (International Collegiate Programming Contest) World Finals in Management» with Lille 1 University (France), «Industrial 2014; in 2016 the International Young Physicists’ Tournament will Management» with Lappeenranta University of Technology (Finland). be held in the University. Besides, UrFU Business School offers a joint Executive MBA program Annually Ural Federal University is visited by more than 100 foreign with Pierre Mendes France University in Grenoble (France). delegations representing the leading world universities, diplomatic Currently at UrFU there are two Master programs taught completely structures and major companies and enterprises. in English: «Russian Studies» and «Political Philosophy»; in 2014- UrFU International Students UrFU is a corporate affiliate of the Russian Council for International 2015 this list will be seriously expanded. Affairs. Annually more than 150 UrFU students and researchers go abroad Ural Federal University is pursuing greater understanding of other within academic mobility programs. There is a local group of cultures and places. It is the meeting point of various world the Board of European Students of Technology (BEST) at UrFU; cultures. In 2008 a unique Centre of Chinese language and culture activities of BEST group allow UrFU students to participate in short- – the Confucius Institute – was established on the basis of UrFU term courses at European universities 4 times a year. Institute of Social and Political Sciences. In 2013 the Thai Cultural UrFU scientists participate in international research funding Centre was officially opened in the University. programs such as the EU’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7), Open Society Institute’s International Higher Education Support

20 www.urfu.ru 21 Museums and Collections

Archaeological Museum

Formation of the archaeological collection at Ural Federal University started in late 1940s. During this time archaeologists discovered more than 4 000 monuments in the territories of the Sverdlovsk, , Kurgan, Tyumen, Omsk, Perm regions, Udmurtia, the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. Unique artefacts formed the basis of archaeological expositions of 11 museums of the Ural Federal District, the Archaeological museum of the University; they are exhibited in Hermitage. Many of the archaeological finds are exhibitied in Russia and abroad (Australia, Hungary, South Korea). Laboratory Museum of Ural Underground Art (B.U.Kashkin Museum) The Museum was founded in 2008 under the Contemporary Culture Centre of the Department of Art History and Cultural Studies as an experimental laboratory for studying and collecting underground and naïve art of the Ural region, The basis of the collections is formed by the works of the famous figure of the underground art in Sverdlovsk-Ekaterinburg of 1970-1990s –the Old Man B.U.Kashkin (iconic panels, art books, photographs etc.). The Museum regularly holds contemporary art exhibitions. Archives Apart from Moscow and St.Petersburg, these archives are the largest in Russia, comprising Library more than 6 000 early printed and manuscript books of the XV-XXth centuries. This impressive collection reflects the integrity of the Old Russian book and manuscript tradition and its development in the modern and contemporary time. The collection was UrFU Research Library provides access to the most important and relevant information employing the up-to-date information and created by the UrFU Archeographic Laboratory, Institute of Humanities and Arts. communication technologies to all members. Annually the library is attended by more than 100 000 visitors. The Library holds an extensive collection which includes over 3 mln educational and scientific volumes, dozens of electronic databases, an electronic archive, and a unique The Museum of University History collection of rare books of the XVII century that was donated to Ural Federal University by the Library of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum in the The Museum’s exposition highlights the most remarkable milestones in the University’s beginning of the XX century. The research library has a status of zonal library and exercise guidance of the libraries of 52 state universities history. of the Ural region.

22 www.urfu.ru 23 Sport

Today Ural Federal University is a leader among Russian universities in terms of student sports and organization of sport activities. The University infrastructure includes 15 sport facilities (with a total area of 16 547 square meters): swimming pool, stadium, indoor track, rooms for sports classes, wrestling gym, fitness studio, etc. It is planned to build an ice stadium: its design documentation is being elaborated at the moment. UrFU has men’s and women’s teams in over 30 sports, such as football, hockey, volley- ball, basketball, rugby. The University holds over 100 annual student sports competitions, including one of the largest sport events in Russia - «Cross-Country Race of Nations» popular among students and local community. Sport achievements of UrFU students are well-known all over the world. For example, in 2012 Konstantin Tszyu, the world champion in boxing, and Anton Shipulin, the bronze winner of the Olympic Games 2010 in biathlon, graduated from Ural Federal University. Another UrFU alumnus, Egor Mekhontsev, won the boxing gold medal in London Olympics 2012. Pavel Datsuk, a Stanley Cup champion and a world champion in hockey, is a current UrFU student. UrFU students showed brilliant results at the Universiade-2013 in Kazan having won 7 gold medals, 1 silver medal and 1 bronze medal. Ilya Khlybov won gold in sambo wrestling. Ksenia Ustalova won the 400 meter race; together with Alyona Tamkova they won the 4х400 relay race. Gold medals were awarded to volleyball players Alexandra Pasynkova and Anastasia Salina. Ivan Tatarinov won gold in Greco-Roman wrestling. The University’s rock-climbing team is one of the strongest in the world. It comprises the multiple champion of Russia Dmitry Sharafutdinov, one of the world’s best climbers, Cross-Country Race of Nations and prize-winners of Russia’s World Cup stages Maria Krasavina and Sergey Sinitsyn. UrFU cheerleading team «Phenomenon-A», the gold medallist of the 2012 European Cheerleading Championship, became the first team to win the competition in the whole history of this . The University is proud of our academic tradition in sports and physical culture: we have 12 distinguished coaches of Russia, 2 honoured masters of sport, 16 international masters of sport, 31 masters of sport. Every year there is a Candidate’s degree thesis in the field of physical culture defended at the University, and once in three years - a doctorate thesis.

24 www.urfu.ru 25 Official Graduation Ceremony

Bright, large-scale and recognizable graduation ceremony has already become a tradition of Ural Federal University. For the first time it was held in 2012 when the great festival was organized for 6 000 Bachelors, Master and Specialists. In 2013 the students undertook the large part of the organizational activities. On the last day of June at the main university square the graduates dressed in gowns and graduation hats were officially awarded their diplomas. The graduates received the documents from the University top management, Directors of Institutes, Heads of Departments and UrFU honours graduates. The remarkable feature of the Graduation Ceremony 2013 was the countdown «to the start». The digital display on the stage ticked away the seconds till the symbolic start of a new life of the graduates with a new horizons opened to them. The main surprise for the graduates was the prize drawing. The grand prize - a new car – was presented to the graduate of the Institute of Natural Sciences. In the final part of the ceremony 6 000 graduation hats were tossed in the air. After the official ceremony a disco party was organized for the graduates in the exhibition hall «Ekaterinburg – EXPO». The disco was a present for those graduates who took the decision to make a contribution to the University endowment fund. Official Graduation Ceremony

26 www.urfu.ru 27 UrFU Alumni Association

UrFU Alumni Association was established in October 2012. Its mission is to create a lifelong bond among alumni and connect them to the University’s students and faculty. The Alumni Association is a thriving affinity community enabling the University to develop and grow. It provides UrFU graduates with a wide range of opportunities for socializing, networking and volunteering, and contributes significantly to their rich experience after graduation. There are several important aspects of the Association’s work: • to provide advantage to the University’s graduates by establishing closer links with perspective employers; • to enhance the alumni experience by providing opportunities to improve their qualification, which, in its turn, will increase their lifelong loyalty to the University; • to promote the role and status of our alumni in all spheres of public and economic life, therefore strengthening the University’s brand in the community; • to ensure the continuity of the University for many generations to come, so that our alumni’s children and grandchildren will choose to study at Ural Federal University. Partnership relations between the University and the alumni result in development of The first meeting of the UrFU highly competitive educational programmes, enhanced innovative activity, support for Alumni Association Board students and faculty’s academic mobility. The examples of notable UrFU alumni who continued to make significant contributions and achieve high recognition in a variety of fields should inspire present-day students and assure them that they have made the right choice when entering the Ural Federal University. In 2012-2013 the University established representation offices of the Alumni association in Mongolia, Moscow, , Kamensk-Uralsky and Noyabrsk; it allows the graduates living and working in these countries and cities to maintain contact with the university. It is planned to establish the representation offices in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Israel and Germany.

28 www.urfu.ru 29 Endowment

The Endowment Fund for the Development of Ural Federal University endowment project means that you become a member of a big was created in March 2012. The Fund is a non-profit organization and tight-knit academic family, even many years on after your established by natural persons and based on voluntary contributions. graduation.

The Endowment Fund’s principles of work are quite simple: donators The University’s Endowment Fund comprises four directions: make contributions to provide financial support for fulfilment of the University’s mission of teaching, learning and research. Some — Endowment Fund for UrFU’s development, which includes endowment donors designate funds for specific purposes and have funds for the following: quality of education, research and a right to control how this money is spent. The fund is overseen development, support for talented students, human resource by a special board of trustees who decide how to invest the capital development, promotion of the University and its alumni; to provide the University with a stable income. The endowment’s — Endowment Fund «To the centenary of Ural Federal University»; investment income is spent on funding various University development programmes, with the principal capital remaining — Endowment Fund for the Graduate School of Economics and intact. Management (support of the Institute’s development projects);

Endowment is vitally important for supporting the university — Endowment Fund «Development of education in community and is used in a lot of international and Russian the sphere of IT and computer sciences». universities. During the year and half the total amount of donations to the The University’s Endowment Fund is not merely a financial help to your endowment fund made up 22 575 166, 00 rubles and 1 000, 00 USD. alma mater, but is also an investment into training of professional staff for your company’s future: those who invest their money in the University’s Endowment Fund today will get highly qualified specialists for their laboratories, firms and enterprises tomorrow.

Nowadays the University is becoming the centre for the development Signing the agreement on establishing of the whole Ural region, so donors contributing to the University’s the Endowment Fund progress also invest in the development of a huge multi-million population area and upgrade their own status.

The relations within the Endowment Fund are clear and mutually beneficial for all sides involved in the process. Participating in the

30 www.urfu.ru 31 CONTACTS Rector Victor Koksharov Tel.: +7 (343) 375-45-03 e-mail: [email protected] Postal address: Ural Federal University 19 Mira street, 620002, Ekaterinburg Russian Federation

All people in the photos are UrFU students, staff members and partners. The University thanks all the participants of the photo sessions.

Photos by: UrFU Museum UrFU photo archive Sergey Efremov Ilya Safarov Vladimir Petrov Alexandra Khlopotova

Ekaterinburg, 2013 UrFU Publishing house

32 www.urfu.ru