Forum of University Cities at TSU: Day 2

The first half of the day the participants spent at the case study conference conducted by Vladislav Belov, Deputy Director of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Professors from British, French, German, Norwegian, Spain, and Russian universities presented their case studies. Inna Pomorina, Professor of Bath University, presented a report Influence of Universities on the City Economy.

According to Professor Pomorina, the main contribution a university can make is providing the population with jobs. Bath University is a second large employer in Somerset. The management of the University establish highly efficient relationships between the University and the people of bath. They organized festivals and events that promote science.

University of Nantes (France) presented its case study. The population of Nantes is 600,000 people. 55,000 students study at the university. This is very similar to the situation in Tomsk.

Professor Carsten Weber, Co-Director of the Institute for Social Studies of University of Regensburg, presented a case study “Young University in a Historical City. Opportunities for the Synergy”.

Professor Michelle Debrenne, Head of the NSU French Center, presented a report “University in Academgorodok: Advantages and Problems”.

Novosibirsk Academgorodok was founded in the 1950s of the 20^th century as a result of promoting the idea of putting science outside the city. Academgorodok has become a convenient and environmentally friendly place to live, study, and work.

According to Professor Debrenne, the main goal of the University and the city is to continue developing this special space. The infrastructure must attract new students and professors who will develop knowledge and conduct new research.

Tomsk Association of Graduates of the Leader of the 20^th Century Presidential Programme and the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Fund of Tomsk Region presented a case study of Tomsk. The theme was “The Students Capital of Russia: Supporting Students Business and Initiatives”. The representatives of the Fund talked about business incubators where startups are born.

University of Nice presented a report, “The Russian Heritage in the History of a French University Town”. The Head of the International Department shared the story of the legendary Sophia Antipolis technological park. Many famous companies, such as Hewlett-Parckard, Honeywell, IBM, and Air France, have headquarters there. Nice and Russia have very close relationships that have had a great influence on the development of Sophia Antipolis.

Professor Jean-Louis Truel, Vice-President of Cercle Kondratieff Association, presented a case study, “How to Build an Innovation Ecosystem of a Small Town, Relying on a University”.

Back in the days, Limonges was a small agricultural town that produced agricultural and mineral goods. However, new challenges of the digital epoch allowed University of Limonges to propose a new strategy of development. It turned the town into an innovation centre with strong traditions.

Maria Jose Pineira, Professor at University of Santiago de Compostela and Head of the European programme City Dynamics (Spain), shared the experience of her University in the report, “University City”.

At the beginning of the 20^th century, University of Santiago de Compostela began to grow very quickly. It started changing the cultural environment of the town, paying attention to its history and architectural integrity

Tatyana Savinova, Senior Adviser at University of Tromso-The Arctic University of Norway and Coordinator for cooperation with Russia, had a report, “Influence of the Arctic University on the Development of the Region”.

Two roundtables took part at the Library in the afternoon.

The first roundtable Who Creates a Brand of a University City: A University or a City? Was opened with the report from professor Val Jerdes, General Partner at Foresight Ventures, American expert in startups. It took him 15 minutes to tell the story of Silicon Valley and Stanford University.

Sergey Metrofanov, Founder and Senior Adviser at Mitrofanov&Partners, moderated the roundtable. He noticed that Stanford University and TSU have much in common. For example, both have campuses that are open for the public.

Ilya Myasnikov, Associate Professor at the TSU Department of Journalism, spoke about the experience of TSU in developing its brand. In order for a university to be recognized in the global community, it is necessary to create innovations (education programmes and technologies) that are commercially viable on the international market.

Dina Spicheva, Associate Professor at the TSU Department of Social Communication. Talked about one of such trends in her report, “University City as an Oasis For Digital Nomads”. TSU could become a driving power for the brand strategy, combining both positioning of Siberia and of Tomsk as a global communication hub.

Professor Irina Kuzheleva-Sagan, Head of the TSU Department of Social Communication, presented a concept of a new Master’s Degree programme, “Brand Management of Places in Digital Environment”. She invited her colleagues and the guests to contribute to the project. It is difficult to argue with the statement that the choice between universities if often made on the Internet.

Nicolas Buchoud, Founding principal of Renaissance Urbaine and President of the Grand Paris Alliance, participated in the discourse on possible brand strategies. He acknowledged that the most important part of any brand is people.

The theme of the second roundtable was “Making Tomsk More Attractive: Aspects of Comfortable and Safe Environment”. Nikolay Minaev, Head of the Department of Science and Higher Education of Tomsk Region, and Olga Kolesova, Head of the TSU Laboratory for Comparative Research on Historical Urbanism and the Vice-President of Cercle Kondratieff, moderated the event.

The participants shared their opinions on the issue:

Many students in Bath choose universities, considering education programmes, quality of life (infrastructure, recreation areas, and atmosphere), and safety. Parents are especially concerned with the latter.

For French students there are no differences between universities of Tomsk and Novosibirsk. They go to study in Siberia. All their personal fears and emotional expectations are based on this idea. For them it is easier to come to a summer school first. When they come for the first time, they see, how nice people are, and they are ready to come again.

German student look for convenient accommodation, because European universities to do not provide their students with dormitories, as a rule.

Siberian universities become more attractive for European students. They are curious and want to travel. Promoting Siberia as a region could be the right thing to do when it concerns brand development.

The roundtable ended with announcing the winners of the competition How to Upgrade My Campus. Nikolay Minaev presented the winners with the awards and prizes, provided by the Administration of Tomsk Region, the Embassy of France, and the German Consulate General in Novosibirsk.