SPIEF Junior

The Russian government is planning to implement the Priority-2030 programme in 2021–2030, which will enable at least 100 universities to receive grant support and use it for their development. The programme will kick off in the coming weeks, and agricultural universities have a chance to benefit from it significantly. This is crucial because growth in Russian agribusiness is dictated most of all by the educational level of experts working in the industry. Today, 54 universities subordinate to the Ministry of Agriculture are involved in training personnel for agriculture, but universities are not the only ones involved in this process. Big business is gradually becoming a prominent player in the agricultural education system. Its presence can be seen at all stages of training: from early vocational guidance to continuing education programmes. Why do agricultural holdings even need this? What issues do they resolve and how do they negotiate with universities? Does Russian agribusiness benefit from this cooperation?

Discussion topics:
- Universities: a major factor in the growth of domestic agribusiness. Challenges and opportunities facing the Russian agricultural education system;
- Cooperation between universities and agribusiness: examples of successful collaboration. Which goals have already been achieved and which ones are next?
- Agricultural education and business in five, ten, and fifteen years. What is the future of this cooperation?
- Will Russian agribusiness win out in the long term?

Moderator
Yelena Saratseva, Deputy Director, Russian Quality System Autonomous Non-profit Organization

Speakers
Vladimir Avdeenko, Head, Directorate for the Development of Agro - and Biotechnologies, Innopraktika
Stanislav Aleynik, Rector, Gorin Belgorod State Agrarian University
Matias Badano, Founder, NANOTICA Agro
Irina Donnik, Vice President, Russian Academy of Sciences
Sergey Koloskov, CEO, Digital Agro
Nadezhda Orlova, Director, Department of Innovation Economy in Agriculture, Institute for Agricultural Research, Higher School of Economics
Mikhail Sterkin, Marketing and Development Director, PhosAgro
Rustam Hafizov, Deputy Director, Association of Innovative Regions of Russia (AIRR)

Rustam Hafizov

Deputy Director, Association of Innovative Regions of Russia (AIRR)

Khafizov Rustam - Deputy Director of the Association of Innovative Regions of Russia. Currently, the Association includes 16 regions of Russia leaders in the field of economic and innovative development. The Association assists in promoting of joint innovative, economic, scientific, technical and educational projects of the regions - members of AIRR.

From 2007-2014 he worked in the Government of the Volgograd Region on the implementation of investment and innovative projects in the region.

2014-2018 worked in the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation on issues of innovative development of regions of Russia for the formation and implementation of cluster policy, he was engaged as well in supporting of high-tech export-oriented companies and foreign economic activity.