Ural Federal University www.urfu.ru 1 RECToR’S AddRESS The strategic plan of Ural 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 Ural Federal University 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 Europe. 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 universities 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 Russia. 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 Boris Yeltsin, the first President of Russia, being the University’s graduate of 1955. In 2009 the University was awarded the federal status. In 2011 Ural Federal University merged with Ural State University. 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, European Union and USA. It is a member of the Shanghai Cooperation organization’s Network University, CIS Network University and the University of the Arctic. 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 Vladimir Lenin, 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, Arkhangelsk, UrFU graduate of 1955 Yakutsk, Kaliningrad, Vladivostok, Stavropol and Ekaterinburg. They now rank among Russia’s top higher educational institutions along with Moscow State University and St.Petersburg State University. The merger process of USTU-UPI and USU to create Ural Federal University