The President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Vladimir Platonov, took part in the European Forum of Russian and Soviet Universities’ Graduates, held in the capital of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicosia (the visit was organized with the support of the Moscow Government and the Department of Economic Policy and Development of Moscow).
The Forum was organized by the Representative Office of Rossotrudnichestvo (the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation) in the Republic of Cyprus, the World Association of Graduates of Higher Educational Institutions, the Cyprus Association of Alumni of Russian and Soviet Universities, the Cyprus-Russia Friendship Society, with the support of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Cyprus.
Representatives of Associations for Graduates and Alumni of Soviet and Russian universities, working in Europe, leading professionals, journalists, politologists, scientists and cultural figures, chairpersons of friendship societies and other non-governmental organizations of Europe were the participants of the Forum.
A graduate of the Russian Peoples’ Friendship University, who for decades trained cadres for dozens of foreign states, Mr. Vladimir Platonov, moderated the round table "Science and Applications - Parallels or Crossed Paths", telling about the developments of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry in vocational education.
Mr. Platonov, the President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, noted that the key problem of the economy today is the lack of qualified personnel. According to analysts, by 2025 Russia will face a staff shortage of 10 million people. The ways of solving this problem lie in cooperation between business community and institutions of higher learning. "The training of a sought-after specialist is impossible without direct contact of a university with employers," said Mr. Platonov.
Today, the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry is about to sign an accord with the People's Friendship University of Russia, which contains a provision for employing Russian and foreign graduates of the PFUR. It will consist in the joint organization of master classes, training seminars, practices and internships for students in order to develop the necessary professional skills and competencies. The interaction will allow the two organizations to participate in the International Employers’ Club (the project began in 2018), which will become a platform for interaction between businesses, educational institutions and graduating students.
Consolidation of the resources of education, business and the state is the most important factor in the development of not only the higher, but also secondary vocational education, oriented towards the needs of the real sector of the economy. Business enterprises should become an equally important part of the educational process, just as a professional educational organization itself. For several years the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been implementing a pilot educational project jointly with the Moscow College of Modern Technologies. This educational institution adheres to rigorous standards and utilizes the most modern programs in coordination with technological leaders of the energy complex and the main educational partner - the National Research University of MEI.
"Moscow is the place of innovative economy, so we need accelerated rates for developing a system of modern vocational education," said Mr. Platonov. A possible format for such work is the creation of regional professional educational clusters, functioning on the principles of PPP (Public-Private Partnership). The leaders of high-tech industries, small and medium-sized businesses, employers, professional communities, representatives of governmental bodies, basic educational organizations should become participants of such clusters.
These entities will be able to coordinate all aspects of the sectoral professional vocational education - from the early career guidance of schoolchildren to the continuous vocational education system. Here it will be possible to concentrate on one site the material and technical, educational, informational and intellectual resources of all interested participants in the educational process (professional educational organizations, governmental and business communities).
The President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that this idea could be implemented within the format of the groundbreaking project, - the creation in Moscow of a research and production cluster, introduced by the Mayor of Moscow, Mr. Sergei Sobyanin, during a meeting with the Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin.
In order to exchange innovative educational projects, attract entrants to Russian universities, promote the development of direct partnerships between educational institutions in Russia and Cyprus and create joint educational programs, an exhibition-presentation of Russian universities was held within the framework of the Forum.
As a result of the event, a Memorandum was signed on the establishment of the European Coordination Council under the World Association of Higher Education Postgraduates.