From November 9 to 12, the Educational Perspective All-Russian forum was held at Lomonosov Moscow State University. Its site became the MSU University Gymnasium. On November 11, there was organised the Strategic Session of the Association of Classical Universities of Russia (ACUR) titled The Role of the Classical University in Developing Research Environment and Research Organisation in Secondary Schools. The session was held off- and online.

At the Strategic Session, Rector Aleksei Chumachenko made a report on the pedagogical projects of SSU implemented within the Priority 2030 programme. One of the moderators of the discussion platform was Head of SSU Priority Projects and Programmes Elena Yelina.

The meeting was opened by Principal of the MSU University Gymnasium Alexander Leontovich, commenting on the programmes and projects implemented by the gymnasium. He marked that the University Gymnasium was focused on openness and cooperation with the regions and hoped that due to participation of Russian universities in the Strategic Session, new plans and ideas would appear.

Head of SSU Priority Projects and Programmes Elena Yelina in her opening speech welcomed the participants of the Strategic Session and outlined the main issues of the upcoming discussion. The main topics for discussion were the issues of interaction between classical universities and secondary schools, conducting research by school teachers, school graduates and further academic knowledge, as well as the development of regulatory documents that would regulate the relationship between universities and schools.

‘The introduction of schoolchildren to science is primarily a matter of classical universities,’ Elena Yelina noted. In her speech, she touched upon the main problems of involving school students in research: the low level of research projects, the role of teachers in school scientific and project work, the re-training of teachers, which takes place not on the basis of the university, but on the basis of regional educational development institutes.

‘We need to think about how to optimise all the cooperation methods with schools that are used in classical universities. And how they can be applied,’ Elena Yelina summed up the main tasks of the scientific meeting.

The second moderator of the meeting was CEO of the Association of Classical Universities of Russia Evgenia Karavayeva.

SSU Rector Aleksei Chumachenko in videoconference mode thanked ACUR for the opportunity to share the work of his university with schools. Presenting pedagogical projects of the university, he noted that today a fifth part of SSU students are getting pedagogical education.

‘Saratov University has developed a variety of interaction methods with schoolchildren and teachers – these are lectures, special courses for schoolchildren, excursions to university centres and laboratories, to the SSU Botanical Garden, organisation and holding of regional Olympiads,’ Aleksei Chumachenko said.

The rector focused on the key features of the existing university pedagogical projects, such as the Pedagogical Classroom, the CONSILIUM Centre for Support of Young Teachers of Saratov Region, and the Week of Pedagogical Education festival. And he pointed out that a serious educational breakthrough in our country is possible only when motivated and very well-educated young people enter the university, and they can be trained by high-class school teachers. It is the education and training of such personnel that is a serious strategic task of the university.

The next to speak about the SSU pedagogical projects was Deputy Head of the Office of Social Work Marina Kabanova. She described in detail the SSU Pedagogical Internship and commented on the main issues of pedagogical education that Saratov University works with: the problem of communication between teachers and children, the problem of organising research due to high teachers working load, the possibility of developing criteria for the effectiveness of teachers who can do research. Among other things, urgent questions were raised: how to make a researcher out of a teacher, who will become a role model for students in the future?

The participants of the strategic session discussed the basic principles of preparing higher education graduates of “classical” pedagogical courses. After the reports were made, they were discussed by the forum members. The participants shared their experience with colleagues, forming new objectives for the development of teacher education.

Vice-Rector of Moscow Pedagogical State University Lyudmila Trubina spoke about the new concept of teacher training during five-year learning, revealing the need for more in-depth and long-term training of specialists. Rector of Ivanovo State Polytechnic University Evgenii Rumyantsev talked about the experience of his university in developing the initial research experience. Also, the forum members considered various strategies of interaction between classical universities and secondary schools in research organisation of schoolchildren.

The research experience of schoolchildren under the supervision of teaching staff members of Saratov University was shared by Principal of Boarding Lyceum 64 Roman Ovsenev. He commented on the features of the lyceum, which teaches talented children from different social categories for free and provides free meals and uniforms. The lyceum cooperates with Saratov University, on the basis of which the Support Centre for Talented Children was established. Pupils of Boarding School 64 conduct research projects supervised by the university teaching staff. They present the best works for the SSU scientific community.

Tver State University shared its experience in organising educational support for talented schoolchildren. The staff of the Higher School of Economics told the audience about educational and scientific research in high school.

In the second part of the strategic session, the forum participants talked about other successful forms of work with teachers and schoolchildren and determined emerging regulatory, organisational, and methodological difficulties.

The strategic session at the Educational Perspective All-Russian Forum ended with a discussion and presentation of certificates to the participants.