How Impact Universities attract Impact Investment to a region

19:23, November 17, 2020

Scientists and practitioners discussed at the VI Forum of Academic Fundraising

The participants of the VI Academic Fundraising Forum are sure that universities are no longer just educational and scientific organizations, but integrate many innovative, global, capital-intensive, social and green projects. At the plenary discussion, representatives of Russian and foreign universities exchanged experience in the implementation of fundraising projects that affect the culture and society around the university.

“World practice has shown that interaction with partners is a good basis for the development of universities. This is a mutually beneficial process, - notes Rector of UrFU Viktor Koksharov. “For partners, this is not just financial assistance from the native alma mater, but also investments in the training of a professional personnel reserve: those who today invest in endowment fund of the university, tomorrow will receive high-quality trained specialists for their laboratories, and companies.”

He spoke about the experience of supporting business with the help of the university endowment fund. The endowment fund supports many social projects such as Ural Music Night. In addition, one of the important challenges for the university is to change the attitude of obligation among partners and alumni to attract resources. For this Tomsk University staked on the development of entrepreneurship. The university has invested in a number of startups of the best graduates who participated in the track for development. 

“We need systematic work with the thinking of graduates in order to show them a different position: university is the environment that gave you the opportunity to have a successful professional start, and you need to be able to invest in this environment. However, the environment itself must be suitable for this, ”said TSU Rector Eduard Galazhinsky.

The participants also raised the topic of sustainable development, in which universities are actively involved today. For example, Sasa Zikovic, Vice Dean for Science and International Strategic Partnerships, University Of Rijeka (Croatia), told how his university created a methodology that can be used to measure the carbon footprint of the university's scientific products.

“Universities as an ecosystem for collaboration of sectors, development of innovations, community involvement, development of an industrial, digital and creative economy can become leaders in Russia in the implementation of sustainable development goals - 2030,” says Zhanna Belyaeva, Academic Director of School of Management and Interdisciplinary Research GSEM UrFU.

Tim Mescon, Executive Vice President, Chief Officer for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, AACSB International, also pointed out:

“Lecturer in the field of business is a catalyst for prosperity”

Yuri Blagov, Director of the PWC Center for Corporate Social Responsibility of GSOM SPbU noted that in order to take the path of multilateral development, universities first of all need to rethink the structure of stakeholders, to understand that for business schools the ultimate consumer is a business community and need to understand its need.

Magdalena Gaete, Chief Expert, Laboratory of Educational Economics, HSE Campus in St. Peterburg, Dr. Laura Corazza, researcher and lecturer in the field of accounting and reporting in the field of sustainable development, author of the report on sustainable development at the University of Turin (Italy), Ed Overes, professor at the University of Zaida (Netherlands) presented implementation of the third mission and cases of preparing a report on impacts. The main difficulty in preparing the report is the choice of the correct criteria for assessing the impact of the university on internal and external aspects, as well as a systematic approach to data monitoring.

The experts outlined the growing role of universities and the changing DNA of the mission: now the university is not only a “house of knowledge”, it is an intellectual and social platform where lecturers, students, alumni, companies and the state work together to form a sustainable mindset. We invite interested employees and students to participate in the project of impact assessment of GSEM UrFU.