Zhanna Belyaeva: Social Mission Should Become Part of Strategy for Russian Universities

16:38, August 8, 2020

The VI Academic Fundraising Forum will focus on the role of impact universities

Promoting projects in the area of creative economy, culture and environment will help Russian universities in their promotion according to the UN sustainable development goals. This is among the findings of GSEM UrFU and Analytical Center Expert research presented in August at the ideas marathon The Third Mission of Universities. The event was held with the support of nine Boiling Point platforms and many leading Russian universities.

«Formal requirements for social missions and social impacts of universities have not been on the agenda for a long time. But in recent years we can see the evolution of the meanings: universities are no longer just education and research organisations, they engage in various innovative transfer projects», — says Academic Director of GSEM School of Management and Interdisciplinary Research Zhanna Belyaeva.

According to Prof. Belyaeva, a social mission should be an integral part of strategies and long-term policies for Russian universities. Along with that, universities can impact organisational, cognitive, social and educational development of territories.

«The 2020 pandemic became a driver for those project that truly have an impact on territories development, support the main function of a university and allow it to become recognisable at the global level», — commented the expert.

International accreditations can serve and a measuring tool for social responsibility level of a university. Such accreditations take into account economic growth indicators, graduates employment, participation in sustainable development of the territory. Advantages of some regions in achieving SDGs coupled with universities’ teams integration will allow for elaborating a new impact mission for Russian universities: creating scalable mechanisms and partnerships for innovations and social capital raising.

The role of impact universities in socio-economic development will be the focus of the VI Academic Fundraising Forum at Ural Federal University on November 13-14, 2020.