Highlights of Minister A.A. Fursenko's speech at the Presidium of the Government of the Russian Federation meeting on June 23, 2008

Moscow, June 23, 2008

At present one of the key factors limiting the development of Russian economics is staff shortage. It reveals in the principal economical branches including science and higher vocational education.

The problem is that the quantity of scientists of the most productive age is decreasing fast. The rise of the middle age is characteristic for both research organizations and universities. Nowadays the researchers' average age is 49, candidates' of science - 53, doctors' of science - 61.

The sociological researches describe the picture of hierarchical youth priorities. Among the most significant are:

- salary increase in the field of science;

- terms and conditions for valuable realization of the scientific ambitions, the most popular ones are the provision with modern devices and equipment and access to the world sources of scientific information,

- opportunities for professional and career growth,

- providing adequate living conditions for young researchers and teachers.

The problem of the talented youth attracting to the field of science and education is solved fundamentally by creating clear and stable perspective of career growth. That demands (i) the salary scale close to the developed countries' level and considering more liberal tax structure of Russia; (ii) opportunity to take up the next post on a competitive basis and taking into account the; (iii) opportunity to choose the workplace of profession by participating in the contests at various organizations.

The considerable part of measures for specialists' training and securing is integrated into the federal target program "Scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel of innovative Russia" in 2009-2013 (the Program hereinafter).

The Program is aimed at creating terms and conditions for effective reproduction of scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel, at attracting youth to the field of science, education and high technology and keeping scientific and educational succession.

The Program's system of measures combines target financing of: scientific researches in the Russian scientific-educational centers (approximately 400 projects a year, amount of financing up to 5 million rubles each), researches under the guidance of the leading Russian scientists - candidates and doctors (in all - approximately 1000 projects a year, amount of financing up to 2 million rubles each), young scientists and target candidates' researches, including the ones under the guidance of famous foreign scientists (approximately 800 projects, amount of financing up to 1 million rubles each); and target financing of infrastructure projects - young scientists' probation, the organization of All-Russian and international scientific youth conferences and schools, contests and competitions, providing program support to centers and groups of children (youth) scientific and technical creative work, to young technicians' sections and students' design offices.

The most important infrastructure part of the Program is to provide the leading scientific and scientific-pedagogical universities with modern scientific and technological devices for researches and educational process and to build hostels for students and young scientists (and to provide the personnel mobility). The universities were chosen during the program contest of developing the leading innovative institutions in the framework of the prior national educational project. The latter event also provides support of creating federal universities.

The total volume of financing the Program is 90,454 billion rubles, including 80,39 billions from the federal budget.

We regard this FTP as the most important element of a wider program to support the system of higher vocational education's reorganization and its integration with science and economics.

Besides, to improve the living conditions of young scientists we suggested the increase of FTP "Dwelling" financing, taking into consideration that the building lands will be provided by the Russian Academy Of Sciences and other scientific and educational bodies.

At the same time we find it important to make certain changes in the Federal target program for education development so that all the listed programs' measures supplemented each other.

The natural addition of scientific FTP should be departmental target programs of retraining personnel like, for example, a departmental target program "Retraining senior personnel and training specialists for integrative structures in high-tech industrial sectors" of the Ministry of industry and trade of Russia.

As predicted, to the end of 2013 the realization of FTP "Scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel" in 2009-2013 measures will provide the following positive results, characterizing its social and economical effectiveness:

- decrease of personnel's average age for 3-4 years,

- increase of the quantity of high-qualified researchers up to 8-16% of the current level,

- improvement of scientific researches' quality - to increase the number of Russian articles in the leading scientific media of the world - up to 50% of the number of Russian authors' articles.

In view of the aforesaid I ask to support the presented Program.