Forming University’s programs and intellectual property portfolio to ensure international competitiveness

Development of Blended Learning practice based on Telecommunication Training and Information System for basic educational programs

On the basis of Telecommunication Training and Information System professors and students have a unique opportunity of Blended Learning, implying a combination of full-time (offline) and part-time (online) forms of interaction between professors and students. The process of teaching and learning becomes more flexible and individual, saves time for the participants of the educational process.

Within this approach, RUDN University has developed programs of courses in different disciplines for distance learning, courses for entrance and final testing in an expanding set of disciplines.

Since 2018, the University has been introducing distance learning courses. Electronic courses on “History of Russia” and “Philosophy” have become the most detailed and informative. They were used by 8185 and 890 students respectively.

More than 160 teachers were trained in the special course of TUIS.

Requirements for support of students with disabilities (visually impaired, hearing impaired) are taken into account. A mobile version of the system available on tablets and phones was also created.

“With the Telecommunication Training and Information System in RUDN University distance learning is available to me from any place and from any device. It is very convenient and it saves my time. And most importantly, now I can choose how and when and what to learn” - student Telenkova Alina (2nd year, postgraduate student of the Institute of Foreign Languages RUDN University).

Full-time postgraduate study implementation

The project of “full-time postgraduate study” is aimed at solving the problem of increasing the personnel potential of the University and has become one of the most successful initiatives of the RUDN University.

Correct understanding of the motivation of future researchers has already brought results. Now postgraduate students who receive a scholarship (38,630 rubles per month), have an opportunity to devote themselves entirely to science.

Involvement of a postgraduate student to permanent work at the Department with his supervisor gives him an opportunity to engage in research closely. The young scientist expands his scientific knowledge and is formed as an integral employee, focused on the further academic career in RUDN University, and this is a guarantee of the future personnel reserve of our University.

In 2017-18, the number of postgraduate students who passed the competition under this program reached sixty people. Taking into account the international policy of the University, it is especially significant that 15 winners are foreign citizens from India, Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Ecuador, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, the Philippines, Lithuania, Haiti, Burundi, Belarus, Iran and Iraq.

Postgraduate students of the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Academy of Engineering, Agrarian and Technological Institute, Philological Faculty demonstrated the greatest interest to participate in the program.

In 2018, 82 articles in scientific journals indexed in the WoS/Scopus database were prepared by postgraduate students participating in the special program “full-time postgraduate study”. Participants of the Program published articles in such publications as “IEEE Internet of Things Journal”, “Veterinary World”, “Journal of Organic Chemistry”, “Dalton Transactions”, “FEBS OPEN BIO”, “Lecture Notes in Computer Science”, etc.

During 2018, full-time postgraduate students participated in scientific and thematic events held at leading universities and scientific organizations, such as The conference reports 13th International Scientific and Practical Conference “Science and Society” (UK, London) and the All-Russian interdisciplinary seminar-conference of Geological and Geographical Faculties of Lomonosov Moscow State University “System Earth” (Russia, Moscow).

The University holds a competition for the best scientific reports. Full-time postgraduate students receive diplomas for the best reports and scholarships, grants in Russia and abroad. Four postgraduate students passed internship in Russia.

Development and promotion of MOOCs in foreign languages according to the main educational programs

Modern technologies allow to access to basic educational programs via the Internet.

Within the project, RUDN University, following the leading universities of the world, joined the process of creating its mass open online courses. The professors of the mass courses became the best specialists and researchers in their field of our University.

A comprehensive solution to this problem - MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) - an educational technology that allows absolutely free to provide training to everyone, up to several dozens of thousands of people at the same time.

Online courses are formed with the help of video courses, author’s models, illustrations, animation and infographics. This allows course participants to perceive information better.

In July 2018, four MOOC courses were placed on the Open Learning platform: the authors of these courses are S. B. Zinkovsky, A. I. Kurbatova, I. V. Linko and A. A. Vorobyova.

Our massive open online courses in foreign languages on the main educational programs have found their audience. Today, 12 unique e-courses-modules of the main educational programs in English, placed on international platforms by categories of training are available in the Internet.