The Fight Is Just Beginning: The Fate of Russia Is at Stake

The twenty-first century has brought the world profound contradictions and imbalances of a civilizational scale. One of the fundamental conditions for the existence and development of humanity is the provision of growing demands for energy (fossil fuels) and mineral resources. The essence of these contradictions lies in the uneven distribution of the world's resource potential. More than 60 percent of any type of mineral resources are concentrated in 8-15 countries. Some possess oil and gas, others have non-ferrous and rare metals, while a third group holds uranium. At the same time, there is a significant disparity in per capita resource consumption between developed and developing nations.
Adding to this is the depletion of easily discovered, economically and technologically accessible large high-quality deposits. This creates a complex web of problems, and solving them requires the combined intellectual capital of the global community. The weight of a given country in the international division of labor is primarily determined by the quality of its education, and competition in this field is becoming increasingly intense.

At the same time, a general neoliberal anti-educational paradigm continues to be imposed worldwide. The founder of the Davos Forum, Klaus Schwab, and post-capitalism theorist Jeremy Rifkin have provided a theoretical foundation for the dismantling of education. In their works The Fourth Industrial Revolution and The Great Reset, they advocate for the reformatting of the mentality of every individual on Earth. The very concept of "sovereignty" is meant to simply disappear.

Destructive educational standards entered our country as early as the Soviet era, in the 1980s. Even then, schools abandoned their role in upbringing and the goal of shaping a creator-minded individual. As a result, the targeted system for training an engineering workforce for our industrial economy collapsed. Its primitive remnants have survived in the form of the specialist degree.
As the cornerstone of higher education, the foreign two-tier Bologna system was introduced, which was fundamentally incompatible with our economy. Let’s recall: the bachelor's degree provides only general theoretical knowledge without reinforcing it through practice. Who needs such an employee in production? Moreover, most bachelor's graduates are in no hurry to join the labor force at domestic factories and plants. This has led to a severe personnel shortage in the industrial sector.

A few words about the master’s degree. This is a two-year postgraduate education program, officially declared as preparation for research activities and a factor in career advancement. However, master's students in no way serve as a resource for filling personnel gaps in domestic industry or education.

After Vladimir Putin assumed the presidency, an embargo was placed on the reckless transfer of exclusive rights to exploit Russian mineral resources under conditions clearly unfavorable to the country. The question of reindustrialization and economic sovereignty arose, and the main obstacle in this path became the shortage of highly qualified engineering personnel. Today, every second company in Russia is searching for an engineer who truly matches the qualifications stated in their diploma.

It was precisely this problem that led to the issuance of Vladimir Putin’s decree of May 12, 2023, “On Certain Issues of Improving the Higher Education System”. This document launched a large-scale social experiment, with its main objective being the restoration of sovereign meanings and methods in the educational process.

Empress Catherine II  Saint Petersburg Mining University ranks among the top ten globally in the "Engineering, Mining, and Mineral Extraction" category in international rankings, out of 1,350 technical universities specializing in this field. It was the first in the country to implement a new higher education model as part of a pilot project.
What makes it innovative? Instead of the fragmented bachelor's and master's system, the university has introduced a unified level of engineering education — a six-year fundamental higher education program. By the time students graduate, they will have completed 52 weeks of practical training and experience, including 16 weeks of pre-diploma practice and six weeks of an engineer-internship, accredited by partner companies. Students are also required to master at least two working professions and acquire eight or more additional professional competencies.

 Moreover, subjects like "Fundamentals of Scientific Knowledge Formation" allow students to develop a deep understanding of research methodology early on. Organizationally, this is reflected in their designation as student-researchers.

The interaction between the university and the real sector of the economy has become much closer. A new concept, "academic partner," has emerged. This no longer refers simply to providing production facilities for student internships but rather to involving enterprises in a broader participation in the educational process. Business representatives are now actively engaged in the work of a specially created "Practical Skills and Experience" department, as well as in evaluating diploma projects. Industrial mentors from partner companies supervise the students’ practical training and guide them through the process of developing professional skills. Today, more than 120 of the largest companies are collaborating with the Mining University under this new format.
The system for assessing students' residual knowledge at the final stage of their studies has also undergone a fundamental transformation. The diploma project now consists of three mandatory sections: technological, economic, and scientific. Each graduate must not only successfully pass the state examination in their specialty and defend their diploma project but also receive a positive assessment of their engineering competencies from the academic partner.

After defending their primary diploma project, some graduates will have to defend their newly acquired knowledge before a special scientific council to obtain a second diploma as a research engineer. Up to eight percent of the graduating cohort will be eligible for this distinction.
Specialized higher engineering education within this model is not a separate educational level. Instead, it represents an additional engineering qualification in the field of new technologies or advanced scientific knowledge, lasting from one to three years.
The transition to producing engineers of a new caliber has also necessitated updating requirements for educators. At the Mining University, new teaching roles have been introduced, including lecturer, assistant lecturer, student pedagogical mentor, and student scientific mentor. The main goal of these innovations is to restore analog thinking and establish a system of teacher accountability for achieving the final educational goal. This objective is to ensure that students acquire specialized knowledge and develop the motivation for self-realization in the industry.

Naturally, the implementation of the new educational strategy has not been entirely smooth. Significant challenges arise, for instance, from issues in secondary education. The universal transition of universities to a basic higher education model by 2026 must be accompanied by a new school reform.
Furthermore, successful large-scale implementation of the Mining University’s educational model is impossible without coordinated efforts from the executive authorities and public support. Therefore, it is necessary to add the implementation of personal accountability mechanisms for the heads of relevant government institutions responsible for the quality of education regulation.
Despite being primarily aimed at achieving national sovereignty, the educational reform based on these principles is fully aligned with global trends. A look at China and other Global South countries reveals a similar trajectory in education. Even in the West, particularly in the UK and Australia, education regulators are gradually moving away from neoliberal doctrines. Naturally, their proponents resist such changes—a resistance that is also present in Russia. Overcoming this opposition is, perhaps, the greatest challenge that lies ahead.