Transcript Slide 1

Research management and research
productivity in Russia:
public vs. private university
Yulia Shumilova – Sofia Cusnir
University of Tampere, HEG
32nd ANNUAL EAIR FORUM
Vilnius, 2009
share of Russian publications in international
peer-reviewed journals is decreasing…
Reasons:
• Separation of HE and research
• Two tier system of doctoral studies
• Low academic mobility & language barrier
• Underfunding & Salary system did not
include performance based component
• Low prestige of the academic career
Reasons continued
• HEI accreditation criteria, and university rankings
based on quantitative indicators
• the list of journals recommended by the Supreme
Attestation Commission for doctoral students –
national in scope until 2008
• Sporadic national research grants
Research question
• How is university-based research managed in
Russian HEIs in terms of staff recruitment,
career progression policies, evaluation of
research activities, incentives for research
productivity and funding?
• ‘Competitive horizon’ concept (Hoffman et al,
2008)
• 2 case studies:
- New Economic School (NES), Moscow
- School of Management, Herzen Saint-Petersburg
State Pedagogical University
New Economic School (NES) - 1
• Small private graduate school established
in 1992, based on “American model”
• top-ranked among Economic Schools in
post-Soviet countries
• Teacher- student ratio 1:3
• Mission: “conduct globally competitive
research” and “reverse the brain drain by
hiring Russian economists who completed
their PhD studies abroad”
NES - 2
• first HEI in Russia to introduce tenure
track model:
-PhD studies (usually taken abroad)
-probationary period of 8 years including
interim evaluation in the 3rd year
- tenured position
• Granting of tenure is based on research
performance evaluated through
international peer-review
NES -3
• Recruitment – rigorous, international in scope,
includes public presentation of one’s research
• faculty work load: teaching 30-40%, research –
40-50 % and administrative tasks 20 %
• Diversified funding: tuition fees, sponsored
professors’ positions, alumni donations,
competitive international, national and private
research grants
NES -4
• Unmanaged, self-regulated research + admin
support:
“There is full trust to tenure track professors, as
annual evaluations cannot show anything due to
intricacies of the publication process especially
in the first three years of employment” (R5)
“There is no pressure [to apply for external
funding], but some encouragement is there”
(R6).
The School of Management,
Herzen State Pedagogical University
• formally founded in 2002, affiliated with
traditional public university
• Ranked 2nd among other Russian
Pedagogical universities
• Teacher- student ratio 1:26
• mission: to provide the best classic
education in modern management theory
and practice
School of Management -2
• Funding: state subsidies (70%), students’
tuition fees, competitive institutional grants
(e.g. Innovative University grant of 11
million EUR)
• Limited time resources to do independent
research/ top-down research management
mechanisms
• Lack of info and admin support for
individual grants
School of Management -3
• Recruitment through word-of-mouth, i.e –
non-competitive and subjective
• 5-year contracts, for the highest academic
ranks of docent and professor- discussed
and voted at the departmental meeting;
presumptive tenure
• annual accountability through department
ratings; individual rankings to be
introduced soon
School of Management -4
• teaching (including course design work)–
60%, research – 20-30%, administrative
and other tasks – 10-20%
Discussion
• Different scopes of competitive horizons –
national vs. global
• NES – an example of good practice:
Public research presentation as part of
hiring process, admin. support for grant
applications, international peer review,
reduced teaching load, limited no. of
tenure positions
• What conditions in your opinion are
conductive to higher research
productivity?
• What incentives are created in your
institutions?
Kiitos!
Спасибо!
Thank you!