National campus network project to boost regional potential

Russia will speed up implementation by 2030 of a large-scale state project centred on the building of a network of 25 modern campuses using its leading universities as a basis from which to increase the investment attractiveness and scientific and educational potential of particular regions.

In addition to education and research facilities, the campuses will house dormitories, laboratories, spaces for design and modelling, co-working spaces, libraries, and areas for walks and sports.

The infrastructure of each will be tailored to train specialists needed in a particular region of Russia.

Wide geographical scope

According to the Russian Lenta business newspaper, the geographical distribution of such clusters will be wide, ranging from the Russian North-West to the Far East.

At the initial stage the campuses will be built in Russian cities such as Tomsk, Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Ufa and others. Later, the list of cities will be further expanded.

As part of the project, more than 100,000 living units for students and teachers will be created, with more than 60,000 square metres of new educational and scientific buildings to be built. The total area of the campuses will be more than 5 million square meters. The volume of investments has not been disclosed.

According to Russian Deputy Minister of Education and Science Andrey Omelchuk, the establishment of the campuses will increase the investment attractiveness and scientific and educational potential of particular regions.

“These campuses will become points of attraction for students, young scientists and businesses. In addition, in some regions, the new campus should unite several universities at once,” Omelchuk said.

Anchor institutions

The idea to establish the network of campuses was first put forward in 2021, but its actual implementation has only started in recent months.

It is expected that the largest regional universities will serve as anchors for the clusters, while in the case of Moscow and St Petersburg several such campuses will be built.

For example, in Kaliningrad, the local Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University will be an anchor university for the project on the basis of which at least three educational complexes will emerge. They include “Biomed”, “Institute of High Technologies” and “Higher School of Philosophy and Social Sciences”.

On the campus of Moscow Bauman Moscow State Technical University, one of Russia’s most prestigious technical universities, the newly established cluster will consist of two research centres, a digital transformation cluster, a quantum park, an innovation hub and two dormitories. The total area of the campus facilities will be 169,000 square metres.

Finally, the SakhalinTECH campus at Sakhalin State University will consist of two facilities – a research and education centre and a student campus of three dormitories connected to each other. A total of 1,500 undergraduate and graduate students will be able to live and study there.

Unlocking regional potential

According to Alexander Bakharev, press secretary of Sakhalin State University, the project is very important for both Sakhalin State University – one of the leading universities in the Far East – and the entire Sakhalin region.

Bakharev said: “The Sakhalin project is a very good example of how the construction of a campus helps to use the developments of local scientists to unlock the potential of the entire region.

“The project will help us focus on the development of unique areas that are crucial for Sakhalin State University.

“This is everything related to the study of the sea, the oil and gas industry and alternative energy, the climate agenda, social sciences and linguistics. Due to its geographical location, the region has unique scientific developments in the study of aquaculture and the use of aquatic bioresources.”