Applied, Not Abstract: How Hands-On Research Is Reshaping Higher Education in Russia
By 2030, more than 70% of young people in Russia are expected to actively participate in the Priority 2030 and Advanced Engineering Schools (PISH) programs – a shift that is quietly reengineering how universities, industry and the state work together.
Training Ahead of Demand
This initiative was conceived from the outset as a way to change how universities operate. The core shift is a move away from one-size-fits-all education toward training specialists for clearly defined technological fields. In this model, universities stop functioning as closed academic environments and instead work in close coordination with companies from the real economy.
As President Vladimir Putin emphasized in 2024, “It is important for us to strengthen the potential and overall quality of higher education and to support universities that are committed to development. That is exactly what the Priority 2030 program is designed to do.”
Advanced Engineering Schools (PISH) have become one of the most practice-oriented instruments within this framework. They are created not “inside” universities but at the intersection of education, science and business. Curricula are designed around partner requirements, and students are involved in project-based work from their earliest years – work that is aimed at tangible, real-world outcomes.
Alexander Dmitriev, head of the Department of Security Studies at RANEPA St. Petersburg, explains that PISH programs are far more focused on delivering results aligned with the current scientific and technological agenda, primarily in engineering and natural sciences. They are designed to produce outcomes demanded by specific industries or even individual enterprises. Traditional university education remains essential, but PISH is intended to accelerate Russia’s scientific and technological development through additional, advanced engineering tracks. The format itself is different, with a strong emphasis on laboratories, testing facilities and technology parks equipped with modern hardware.
University and Corporation: A Working Alliance
One of the defining features of PISH is the direct involvement of major companies in the educational process. According to Evgenia Kuzmina, head of the Cybersecurity Academy at Innostage, cooperation with universities through PISH will allow businesses to attract young specialists with fresh perspectives on complex problems and to build a strong talent pipeline.
Industry leaders are not acting as sponsors but as full-fledged customers of workforce training. In February 2025, Russia’s Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov reported that 50 Advanced Engineering Schools already work with more than 250 partners. These include corporations such as Rostec, Rosatom, Roscosmos, SIBUR, Gazprom Neft, KAMAZ and Tatneft. These companies help design programs, provide experts, and open their facilities for internships and joint research.
In engineering schools working with the nuclear sector, students study digital modeling, materials science and control systems already used in active industrial projects. Partnerships with IT companies focus on software development, data analytics and applied artificial intelligence.
Restoring Practical Meaning to Engineering
Just a few years ago, cooperation between universities and industry was often limited to box-ticking internships and fragmented R&D projects. Advanced Engineering Schools have changed that logic. Student teams now work on prototypes, digital twins and engineering software not as academic exercises but as parts of real joint projects with companies.
In several universities, student teams are embedded in long-term research tracks, where results are evaluated directly by industry partners. This approach restores the applied nature of engineering education and makes research relevant rather than abstract.
An Engineer of a New Type
For students in PISH and participants in Priority 2030, university is no longer merely a preparatory stage before employment. Education and professional activity are intertwined through project teams, industry mentors and real technical assignments. This is how a new type of engineer is formed – neither a narrow executor nor an abstract researcher, but a specialist capable of working in interdisciplinary environments and understanding industry needs.
According to Ilya Vorotyntsev, acting rector of the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology, this is exactly the model universities are betting on today. Industry needs not only new technologies but also highly qualified professionals of a new generation – “scieneers,” combining the skills of scientists and engineers with managerial, business and analytical competencies. In that sense, PISH represents an effective, applied pathway to creating such specialists.
