Mikhail Mishustin held a strategic session on the development of educational organizations that provide training for engineering personnel and scientific developments for technological leadership

Published on: 2026-05-12

Source: Government of the Russian Federation –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

M. Mishustin: “For the qualitative completion of tasks to achieve technological leadership, it is necessary to radically reduce the gap between the content of engineering education and the demands of industries. Above all, this should be done through intensive practical training at the enterprise.”

Introductory word of Mikhail Mishustin:

Dear colleagues, good day!

Today we will discuss the issues of development of engineering and technical education. Training specialists in these most important areas is a key link in the implementation of national projects of technological leadership.

The basis for system approaches to organizing the activities of specialized universities and colleges has already been formed. The challenges facing them have been identified.

Now it is necessary to improve training programs for engineering personnel, and to conduct scientific and technical research.

It is necessary to actively build and deepen cooperation between institutions of secondary and higher technical education and companies.

It is very important to understand which specialists, for which industries and in which regions, need to be trained in order to respond promptly to changes in the labor market (we recently talked about this). These changes are very rapid, and, without a doubt, this precise adjustment, when changes in the labor market, the demand for professions have their reflection in workforce training, is exactly what we must implement.

For example, in some federal subjects the demand for representatives of working professions exceeds the number of graduates several times. Such imbalances need to be eliminated as quickly as possible.

A serious support here is the forecast of staffing needs – this is, let me remind you, a new tool that was created by order of the President.

In the next academic year, we detailed quotas for targeted training based on applications from organizations for the first time. These quotas are allocated to universities by the number of admission places, specialties, and directions, including scientific ones.

Colleagues, it is obvious that for the quality fulfillment of tasks related to achieving technological leadership, it is necessary to fundamentally reduce the gap between the content of engineering education and the demands of industries. First and foremost—this should be done through intensive practical training at enterprises. All the more so because a significant number of companies consider such a model of cooperation with universities and colleges to be a priority.

This concerns teachers and mentors. They must have every opportunity to improve their qualifications, acquire relevant production skills and in the areas of technological leadership, for which two techno-parks operate in the field of secondary vocational education – in Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod.

It is also necessary to continue, in accordance with the new decrees, to refine our flagship projects — let me remind you, these are “Professionalism,” “Priority-2030,” advanced engineering schools, and the construction of a network of campuses.

And, of course, to expand the project on improving the quality of teaching fundamental disciplines at the university based on advanced engineering schools. It has been implemented since last academic year by order of the head of state, in order to help students master key natural science subjects.

Earlier, we examined in detail the creation of the chief designers’ institute. Today, it operates in 38 engineering universities. It involves representatives from higher education, industry, the academic community, specialists who have a direct relationship with design activities.

Let’s discuss how things stand here. And also – the preparation of the methodology for the work of the main scientific organizations and scientific-production associations, on the basis of which it is planned to manufacture samples of technological production lines, products or materials. In a unified management chain “research – design – construction – pilot production – testing – certification – small series.”

Colleagues, the issues currently designated relate not only to a specific industry, but also have systemic significance for the country, economy, and industry. Since they are directly linked to the development of the personnel and scientific-technological potential, ensuring the country’s competitiveness and achieving technological leadership in key areas.

Within the framework of today’s strategy session, it is necessary to develop a set of measures that must be implemented in the near future in order to eliminate the shortage and structural imbalance of engineering personnel, and to improve the quality and training.

I emphasize that in this work, the expertise of the academic community, the experience and opinion of business, corporations—all interested parties—have fundamental importance.

Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the information source. It represents an accurate report of what the source claims, and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.