Rustam Minnikhanov has met initiators of establishment of advanced engineering schools in Tatarstan

On 24 March in the IT-Park in Kazan, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov met initiators of establishment of advanced engineering schools in the republic. The Chairman of the Council of Association for Digital Development Facilitation Rifkat Minnikhanov, Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin and representatives of a number of ministries and departments of the republic also took part in the event.

Speaking at the meeting, Minnikhanov said that the powerful industrial and scientific-engineering potential is one of the key competitive advantages of the republic. Tatarstan ranks the fifth in Russia and the first in the Volga federal district in the industrial production volume and the regional enterprises play a substantial role not only in economic but also scientific-engineering development of the country. Thus, according to results of the regular competition held by the 218 Decree of the Russian Government, Tatarstan enterprises won 15 per cent of grants and the application from the Electropribor Electric Appliances Plant became a leader of the All-Russia ranking.

“At the same time industry of Tatarstan and whole industrial complex of the country still face the acute shortage of qualified engineers and promising scientific-engineering developments. This situation is unacceptable especially under current drastically stiffened geopolitical conditions. The objective of the unprecedented sanctional pressure exerted by the West is the complete cutoff of our country from achievements of the global scientific and technical progress”, - Minnikhanov said.

Tatarstan President noted that in the new reality it is critically important to restore the complete technological independence of Russia.  “And the aim of the strategic initiative  of Advanced engineering Schools for social and economic development is to quickly build modern engineering competences” he said and reminded that the result of this initiative will be development of a network of 30 world level engineering schools in all high-tech branches of Russian economy .

Minnikhanov said it is principally important that these schools will be established on PPP basis with high-tech companies which together with universities will ensure all necessary conditions for innovative approaches to scientific-research and engineering developments, training of engineers and their further employment. Universities can start submitting their applications already in April this year, he concluded.

In their turn, the Kazan Aircraft University presented its project of the aircraft building school, the Kazan Federal University – the project of developing automobile manufacture in the Kama Industrial Agglomeration and the Kazan Chemical-Engineering University – the project of chemical technologies school.

In the end of the meeting Rustam Minnikhanov said: “We can set forth any strategic objectives, but currently we should solve most urgent tasks one of which is import replacement. And specialists should be trained with this objective in mind”.