Currently, the Corporation's enterprises work in partnership with 22 companies
How is the federal project "Advanced Engineering Schools", launched in 2022, developing? What needs to be changed to make it more effective? What will be the next stage of the program? These and other issues were discussed by representatives of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, leading universities of the country and industrial partner companies during the panel discussion "Transformation of the Advanced Engineering Schools project: New Challenges and strategic guidelines" on the sidelines of SPIEF 2026. The meeting was moderated by Dmitry Afanasyev, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.
Yulia Tsvetkova, Director of Human Resources Management at Rostec State Corporation, took part in the discussion. She spoke about the role of advanced engineering schools in training personnel for high-tech industries and outlined the Corporation's future plans for the development of the project.
Today Rostec is one of the largest industrial partners of the program. 22 advanced engineering schools out of 50 operating in the country work in partnership with the Corporation's enterprises.
"We have ambitious goals and tight deadlines. Therefore, we are simultaneously developing existing projects and preparing for new ones. We are looking at niche areas that are strategically important for Rostec, as well as broader ones covered by our regional partner universities and enterprises," said Yulia Tsvetkova.
According to her, the key task of the next stage of the project's development is not so much quantitative growth as filling schools with real content. It is here that new competencies are formed, which are then implemented into educational programs and production processes of enterprises.
"22 years is a big responsibility and a challenge. Each advanced engineering school should become a growth point that provides a synthesis of technology, science, and education, creating a unified RnD circuit. These are years of daily systematic work. It is in this area that new knowledge and experience should be generated as part of the solution of frontier tasks and the development of new technologies. In fact, they are training specialists who are not yet at Rostec or in the country," Yulia Tsvetkova emphasized.
Rostec is considering the possibility of creating new companies in a number of promising areas. In particular, projects of schools working in the field of defense technologies, robotic technologies, as well as in the field of bioengineering and bioinformatics are being worked out. Leading Russian universities are being considered as potential partners, including TulSU, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, RTU MIREA, YuRGPU NPI, BSTU Voenmeh, IzhSTU, MSU, MISIS, and the 2nd Medical University (Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University).
Special attention was paid in the presentation to the integration of the results of targeted personnel training into the teaching staff. Rostec annually enrolls about 4,000 students in targeted programs.
According to Yulia Tsvetkova, today, thanks to active efforts on the part of Rostec, universities and the Ministry of Education and Science, targeted training is no longer perceived as a way to "bypass the general competition" and becomes a premium training program for engineers. As part of Rostec's educational and professional tracks, students have the opportunity to find a job from the very first year, work at enterprises under the guidance of mentors, and participate in real-world research and development work. As a result, graduates gain an advantage in adaptation and speed of integration into real production processes.
Rostec believes that proven modules responsible for the formation of competencies necessary for employers should be included in the federal State Educational Standard (FSES), and enterprises should continue to "package" new competencies and knowledge into educational programs using the released funds.
The experience gained by Rostec in the framework of the training of system engineers on the tracks "Wings of Rostec", "Rostec Code", "Rostec.Biotechmed, Rostec.Arsenal", "Rostec.Quality", fits seamlessly into the teacher training system.
One example is the cooperation of the United Instrument Corporation Holding with RTU MIREA. As part of the Rostec Code track, students are involved in R&D already at the undergraduate stage, study in small groups and work on projects under the guidance of mentors. The platforms for such training are the technoparks Istok — RTU MIREA and Altair. It is important to note that the recruitment of students in the department of microwave electronics at MIREA is from among the students of the Rostec Code track.
Another successful example is the advanced engineering school Digital Engineering, implemented jointly with the United Engine Corporation and Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. Students of the master's program "Advanced Digital Technologies in Engine Engineering" have been employed since the first semester and master modern design tools, including the CML-Bench platform and digital twin technologies in the design of gas turbine engines. This allows them to solve frontier tasks within the framework of R&D and thereby form new experiences and new knowledge that are integrated into the training program.
The experience of preparing students within the framework of the Cyberplatform Engineering program at SFU, which includes the Rostec Code educational and professional track, also deserves attention. Graduates of the program can enroll in an industrial postgraduate program and defend scientific work in the interests of a Corporate enterprise under the guidance of two mentors — academic and from the employer.
"It is fundamentally important for the Corporation that new knowledge and competencies created in advanced engineering schools are promptly included in the educational programs of universities. Then we can get away from the eternal and difficult discussion.: elite vs. mass education. This logic, as well as the synchronization of training programs, research tasks, and mechanisms of interaction with industry, should be embedded in the development strategy of engineering universities," commented Yulia Tsvetkova.
Today, advanced engineering schools in the fields of aeronautical engineering, digital engineering, microwave electronics, cyberplatform engineering, quantum technologies, mechanical engineering and a number of other promising areas are working in partnership with Rostec enterprises. Since 2022, more than 140 educational programs have been implemented within the framework of the University, with over 3,000 students enrolled in them. More than 1,800 engineers and over 370 teachers have improved their skills, and 65 laboratories, pilot plants and virtual factories have been created under the auspices of the Corporation.
