The interaction of educational institutions with enterprises was discussed by teachers and company representatives at the round table «Ensuring the quality of Russian education in a multipolar world: Modern challenges and development vectors», held on November 27 as part of the St. Petersburg Congress «Vocational Education, Science and Innovation in the 21st Century».

«Ensuring the quality of education is directly related to ensuring the quality of life, and a lot has been done in this direction in St. Petersburg», Vladimir Okrepilov, Doctor of Economics, Professor, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Scientific Director of the Institute of Regional Problems of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Department of Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences «Regional Problems of Economics of Quality», opened the discussion.

«Since 2022, a period of mobilization of the economy has begun in Russia, associated with sanctions pressure, and we will not go anywhere without the quality of Russian education. St. Petersburg is the only city in the country where the college – factory link is being successfully implemented. We are confidently moving towards high-quality training, and this is what our industry needs now», Andrei Maksimov, Chairman of the Committee on Science and Higher Education, said in his welcoming speech. «Less than 100 years have passed», he emphasizes, «when the phrase «staff decide everything» became strategic again».

«Undoubtedly, it is impossible to quickly improve the quality of education without the industrial sector, and the success of the Russian economy as a whole and the resolution of issues related to the development of domestic products directly depend on the quality of education», confirmed Yulia Antokhina, Rector of St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation.

According to the rector, St. Petersburg universities occupy leading positions in the country in personnel training. One of the proofs of this is about 75% of employed professionals. «And our task is to keep this brand of education», she summed up.

Elena Gorbashko, Doctor of Economics, Professor, Vice-Rector for Research at St. Petersburg State University of Economics, member of the Scientific Council of the Department of Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences «Regional Problems of Economics of Quality», shared the university’s 25-year experience in training personnel for the Russian quality infrastructure: «We have created a multi-level personnel training system that starts with primary and secondary education; we have established cooperation with leading companies in the city and the country».

«Our students are in such demand that they often go to work from the second year of their bachelor’s degree», says Svetlana Kuzmina, Doctor of Economics, Professor, Director of INPROTECH, Head of the Department of Management and Quality Systems at St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University LETI named after V. I. Ulyanov (Lenin).

The personnel problem has affected virtually every company today. «The unemployment rate in the market is 2.7%, which means «no one»: there are no such people. And a lot of students are booked by high-tech companies even before graduation», said Anastasia Zhukova, Doctor of Economics, Professor, First Deputy General Director (for Development and Investments), SUE Vodokanal of St. Petersburg.

She outlined three main requirements of employers for graduates: good familiarity with the company already at graduation, understanding from the first day of coming to work what exactly needs to be done, and the ability to learn. «I see an opportunity for this in the mentoring system», concluded Anastasia Zhukova.