The University Is to Restructure

Dr Alexander Mamatov, Vice-Rector for Academic Study and Informatisation, presented proposals from the working group tasked with improving the organisational structure of the University.

The coming academic year will see the founding of four new Institutes. The Institute of Earth Sciences is a reorganisation of the Faculty of Mining and Resource Management. The Institute of Economics and Management will be realised through the unification of the Institute of Management and the Institute of Economics. The Institute of Social and Humanitarian Studies will be comprised of the Department of Sociology and Theology and the Faculty of Journalism. The Institute of Engineering Technology and Natural Science, will be formed from the Institute of Physics and Technology and the Institute of Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacology.

A decision was also taken to create an independent Educational Training Faculty, which had been part of the Institute for Cross-cultural Communication and International Relations.
Dr Igor Konstantinov, Vice-Rector for Scientific and Innovative Affairs, was keen to emphasise that, despite the changes, existing joint scientific programs and projects will continue as normal.

Professor Oleg Polukhin, Rector of BNRU, speaking to the structural changes and the prospects for their further development, stressed that the university management needed to make adjustments to the current management system, saying,

“Today, the paradigm of managing scientific activity is changing in Russia. This has been spoken about repeatedly by President Putin. To successfully compete with leading universities in Russia and abroad, we need to change the structure of management in science, and highlight our innovative and productive activities. The Regional Governor, who is also the Chairman of the University Supervisory Board, has also set us the task of commercialising our scientific developments and creating enterprises associated with our University. We must surround ourselves with effective innovative enterprises and produce products and services on the basis of our research and development.”