Practicing professionals who have devoted many years to working with schoolchildren took part in the discussion: A.P. Novikova, Deputy Vice-Rector for Educational Activities at Novgorod State University; A.A. Shishov, Director of the Centre for Pedagogical skills; A.N. Golovenkina, Teacher of the Year of Russia (2014), Academic Director of Wunderpark School; E.I. Kalinina, Head of Directorate for Educational Programmes and Methodology of SberObrazovanie, Teacher of the Year (2016); I.S. Demakov, Director of Gorchakov Lyceum of MGIMO, member of Council for FGOS of the Ministry of Education of Russia, Teacher of the Year (2017). The session was moderated by R.I. Kotov, MGIMO Vice-Rector for Educational Programmes, General and Secondary Professional Education, head of the Russian Schools Abroad strategic project of the Priority 2030 state programme to support Russian universities.

Opening the session, Roman I. Kotov outlined the most relevant areas of work with talented schoolchildren, which the Gorchakov Lyceum of MGIMO is focused on. In particular, individual educational paths are the most modern and effective tools in developing each child's abilities. How to provide a child with the maximum development opportunities and create an environment that allows him or her to determine their professional interests - these are the questions the moderator called for the attention of the meeting participants.

Anastasia P. Novikova shared the strategic projects of Novgorod State University. The first project is aimed at creation of the Innovative Science and Technology Centre "Intellectual Electronics - Valdai". It will be the basis for intellectual and technological sovereignty of the region in IT technologies, engineering education and biomedicine. The first part of the infrastructure site will open in November 2022 in Veliky Novgorod. The second project predetermines Novgorod University as a generator of cultural identity and combines the transmission of cultural and historical heritage throughout the Russian Federation and beyond. Such projects set the vector for the development of the university's educational policy and form new trends in the work with applicants and talents on the territory of its presence.

“A pre-university centre of the University is not only an instrument of achieving the indicators of the federal programme "Priority 2030" in terms of quantity and quality of students, but it is also a factor of regional migration policy in retaining talented children and their employable parents in Novgorod region”, - says A.P. Novikova. For example, in 2022 the Novgorod State University opened a university lyceum for maths and natural sciences and a regional network of specialised classes with programmes in medicine, psychology, pedagogy, and technology, which allows to implement a continuous education model in the region in the most sought-after professions for the coming years.

In all educational programmes of the pre-university and university, the emphasis is placed on new educational technologies - project activities, individual learning paths, tutor support, practice-oriented approaches, peer-to-peer education, internships in the laboratories and project teams of the residents of the Intellectual Electronics Valdai Centre. Starting fr om the school level, a pre-university student gets a practice-oriented experience of participating in real employer projects, wh ere he/she can try an activity and understand what suits him/her best - biomedicine, IT, engineering, modern technologies, humanitarian profile, archaeology, or maybe something else, and upon graduation he/she will graduate as a specialist with experience of implemented projects in an interesting activity, as well as with a possibility to be employed at large enterprises of the region.

“"Every child is talented, declares Artem A. Shishov. - Our task is to help EVERY schoolchild find his or her talent. And, of course, to reduce the outflow of talented children abroad”. The talent identification system in Russian education has not been fully developed, - Shishov says, - since the Olympiad system works only for a small percentage of schoolchildren. It is necessary to move to work with each child - to identify the ability that, when combined with interest, grows into talent. For this purpose, it is essential to organize the work of psychological services and to work with teachers, providing them with currently relevant professional development courses.

Alla N. Golovenkina drew the attention of her colleagues and listeners to the fact that the Russian Federation is very diverse fr om region to region, and when designing a system of work with schoolchildren, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the region to get results. In particular, Ms Golovenkina shared her experience: having worked successfully with gifted schoolchildren in the Republic of Tatarstan, she and her colleagues found it necessary to adapt the system for work in Yamal. In this northern region settlements are so distant from each other and transportation is difficult, that it seems unrealistic to hold training sessions in the regional centre - Salekhard. It would be more effective to hold face-to-face shifts in particular districts of the region, as well as mobile sessions.

A.N. Golovenkina urged to pay attention to Yakutia, Chukotka, Kamchatka, Yamal, wh ere there are many talented high school students who are not always aware of the opportunities offered by universities for entrance (for example, privileges for winners of university competitions).

Ekaterina I. Kalinina touched upon the issue of digital tools as assistants in building the educational process. Both pupils, teachers and the state are interested in the development of this sphere. The SberClass project implemented by Sberbank grew out of the need to develop personalised learning, which was mentioned earlier by R.I. Kotov. In a regular classroom, the teacher's workload is such that there are not enough resources to identify and develop everyone's abilities. We are developing a platform that allows the student to build their own educational path and develop 21st century skills. Humanistic, person-centred education is seen as the foundation of our innovative developments. "We are now working with some schools in pilot mode to create a comprehensive solution for schools," says E.I. Kalinina.

"Not all children who enter MGIMO Lyceum want to study at MGIMO in the future," Ilya Sergeevich Demakov shared his observations. - They come to the lyceum because "they teach well there". I.S. Demakov believes that the lyceum's task is to create a target setting, an environment and a cultural model, a reference point - MGIMO student. These parameters need to be worked with by the management and teachers. And for the student himself it is a meta-task which he realizes last, as he is focused on solving current tasks within the next 45 minutes of the lesson.Lyceum teachers work in the same paradigm, offering a local skill that can be learned in 45 minutes. “Figuratively - we give different cubes from which the child will then put together his or her professional benchmarks - becoming a student at MGIMO or Baumanka,”, - says I.S. Demakov.    

Summing up the meeting, R.I. Kotov noted that the common thing that sounded in the reports of all the speakers was human-centredness. “At the heart of our activities is the child. By putting this principle at the core, we can expect children to build a better world when they become adults”, - the experts unanimously concluded the meeting.

The “Russian Schools Abroad” Project  

Справочная информация:

The “Russian Schools Abroad” Project (RSA) - is one of the five strategic projects implemented by MGIMO under the "Priority 2030" state programme to support Russian universities. The project meets the urgent need of Russian-speaking citizens and foreigners for qualified secondary and additional education outside the Russian Federation. In 2022, the first two schools were opened - in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan). By 2030 at least 15 RSA schools will be opened abroad.