On November 20-21, experts and moderators of the business school SKOLKOVO have held the Second Strategic session for MEPhI, which was attended by the administrative staff of the University and its employees, selected on a competitive basis.

It’s to be recalled that one month before there was the First strategic session aimed at updating educational policy, while the November two-day meeting was dedicated to the research component.

The keynote speech of the General Director of the State Corporation for atomic energy “Rosatom” Sergey Kiriyenko became the culmination of the First session, where he outlined the most urgent tasks in the field of nuclear education, but the Second session will be remembered by the team work and brain storming, which was preceded by the speech of Professor of the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO Andrey Volkov, who leaded Strategic sessions, and the rector of MEPhI Mikhail Strikhanov.

Andrey Volkov summed up the First strategic session. He paid attention to prospects of MEPhI development and underlined importance of the team, which is being formed during the Strategic sessions.

MEPhI rector M.N. Strikhanov started his speech with repelling of attacks on the project “5-100”, noting that its implementation was a strategic task, including development, configuration and orientation of the system of Russian higher education.

Drawing a figurative parallel with sports, the rector noted that ignoring of international development standards in the field of science was fraught with retire into its shell with all the ensuing consequences. “The project “5-100” is a successful programm implemented in the system of Russian education and science in recent years”, said the rector.

M N. Strikhanov called the restoration of scientific workers, as a class which was practically destroyed in the 1990-ies, as one of the strategic objectives of the University. Without their restoration, MEPhI will be unable to perform its research function. Also its absence will make triad followed by the University impossible: science, which gives education; basic and applied research; and specific developments, i.e. the “research based university”.

Later participants, working in groups, identified key steps in the transformation of the research activities of MEPhI, as well as planning of works for 2015-2020, after which there was held a regular plenary session.

Innovation policy and management system of MEPhI are topics for the next session.