Tatarstan to allocate 600m rub to engineering schools based on universities of Tatarstan

Universities should have a multi-year programme for the development of advanced engineering school

The main manager of the grant will be the Ministry of Education and Science of Tatarstan. The grant is provided to support programmes for the development of advanced engineering schools based on universities in partnership with high-tech companies aimed at developing engineering training, implementing breakthrough developments and research in the priority areas of technological development in Russia.

There are several conditions:

• universities have an engineering school development programme for a period of at least 7 years (including the year in which the grant is provided) in the following areas: KFU — Automotive industry, intelligent vehicles, cars with low/zero carbon footprint, intelligent production technologies; KNRTU — Production of high-margin products of high processing in low-tonnage chemistry, petrochemistry, gas processing, gas transportation, mineral fertilisers; Innopolis University — Software Engineering;
• availability of documents confirming the readiness of a high-tech company to support the development of advanced engineering school, as well as co-financing of development activities;
• universities must have no debts on taxes and other fees, as well as to the budget of Tatarstan;
• educational institutions may not be in a state of liquidation, reorganisation (except for the accession of another legal entity to them) and bankruptcy;
• managers should not be on the register of disqualified persons;
• the selection participant is not in the list of organisations and individuals for whom there is information about their involvement in extremist activities or terrorism, etc.

The grant can be used to pay for the work of employees involved in ensuring the activities of the advanced engineering school, business trips, the purchase of equipment and software, and the payment of scholarships to students. At the same time, it is impossible to purchase foreign currency — with the exception of transactions carried out in accordance with currency legislation of the Russian Federation when purchasing high-tech imported equipment, raw materials, and components.

“The result of the grant is the development of at least one advanced engineering school on the basis of the KFU, KNRTU, Innopolis University in partnership with high-tech companies aimed at the development of engineering training, the implementation of breakthrough developments and research in priority areas of technological development of the Russian Federation, until December 31, 2023," it follows from the draft resolution the Cabinet of Ministers of Tatarstan.

The remaining funds not used this year are subject to refund until February 1, 2024, except in cases when the Ministry of Education and Science, in agreement with the Ministry of Finance, decides whether there is a need. Also, universities will be required to return the money within 30 days if they violate the conditions and procedure for granting the grant.

Thirty Russian universities out of 89 are selected to create engineering schools

The creation of three engineering schools in Tatarstan was announced by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in June 2022. The first university startup studio specialising in mechanical engineering was registered on November 25, 2022 by the Kazan Federal University in partnership with KAMAZ. It is based in Naberezhnye Chelny. It was headed by 39-year-old Alexander Borisov, the ex-head of the Kazan technopark in the field of high technologies IT Park, who worked in this post for about a year and a half. He told Realnoe Vremya that the startup studio's activities are aimed at generating subsidiaries with the participation of students and researchers.

The school at the KNRTU in partnership with SIBUR will be engaged in the chemical industry, Innopolis University will teach software engineering.

Besides, Mishustin said that KAMAZ, in partnership with the Ural Federal University, plans to create a school specialising in artificial intelligence and digital technologies, and Tatneft, together with St. Petersburg ITMO University, plans to create a school in the field of Biotechnology. In total, 30 universities out of 89 were selected in Russia.

Tatarstan universities have already been allocated money for the development of engineering schools this year from the federal budget — but less

Realnoe Vremya wrote at the end of December 2022 that the Tatarstan authorities would allocate multimillion-dollar grants for the creation and development of advanced engineering schools on the basis of republican universities in partnership with high-tech companies — the amount depended on the number of points. However, the document was not adopted. Instead, the Cabinet of Ministers allocated Innopolis University and the KFU have a fixed grant of 84,5 million rubles each. Another 100 million was provided as a subsidy from the regional budget to finance the costs of creating and supporting one university startup studio. All the money was allocated back in 2022.

In 2023, the KFU, KNRTU and Innopolis University received 348,2 million rubles for three of them — almost twice less than they are currently allocated from the budget of Tatarstan. The total amount of funding for the Advanced Engineering Schools project in 2023 amounted to over 10 billion rubles, which is 4 times more than last year's figures.