The Russian government subsidizes educational programs in the field of artificial intelligence in schools and digital universities. 575 million rubles will be allocated from the federal treasury for the distance one–year program "University 20.35", and 415 million rubles will be allocated for additional training of schoolchildren.
The Russian government subsidizes educational programs in the field of artificial intelligence. This is reported in the decree No. 1316 published on the government's website, which is devoted to the financing of lessons in schools. The second document regulating subsidies for university courses will be published later, according to the website. The subsidy is provided by the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia.
Thus, 575 million rubles will be allocated to the University 20.35 in the next three years. A one-year professional development program for specialists involved in the development of artificial intelligence will start on the digital platform in remote form from September 1, 2022.
Now the course costs 95-110 thousand rubles per person – so much will need to be paid to students who want to acquire the competencies and skills of a "Data analyst", "Data Engineer", "Technical analyst", "Architect in the field of artificial intelligence" and "Data Architect". Of this amount, the state is ready to pay up to 85 thousand rubles to everyone.
It is reported that the money for advanced training is included in the federal project "Artificial Intelligence" of the national program "Digital Economy of the Russian Federation". The authorities expect that about 6.4 thousand students will attend the program by 2024.
The government will also finance additional training for students in grades 7-11 in areas related to AI technologies. 415 million rubles will be allocated for these purposes. Schools will be able to receive money through the presidential fund "Talent and Success" program operator.
We are also talking about remote additional classes, where teachers will introduce students to the basic concepts of artificial intelligence and the basics of programming. According to the results of the lessons, projects using AI will be expected from the children. At least 100 thousand Russian schoolchildren should attend the courses in 2022-2024.
Schools will have to report to the Ministry of Economic Development on the number of students who have completed courses – a person will be "credited" if he has completed at least one course and passed the test. Officials and the number of teams of schoolchildren who have formed projects in the field of artificial intelligence will be watching.
The resolution notes that the school on the first day of the month preceding the month in which the agreement is planned to be concluded must meet a number of requirements.
So, she should not have debts to pay taxes, fees, insurance premiums, penalties, fines and interest. There should also be no overdue debt on the return of subsidies or budget investments to the federal budget. The school should also not be in the process of reorganization (although it can join a legal entity that will receive a subsidy), liquidation or bankruptcy.
The management of the school and the chief accountant of the organization will be checked through the register of disqualified persons – if they are there, they will not be given a subsidy. In addition, the school should not receive any other funds from the federal budget for the same purposes – carrying out activities for the formation of projects in the field of artificial intelligence by schoolchildren.
All certificates confirming that the school meets these criteria should be sent to the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia. The agency will consider them within 20 days, and then send a refusal or consent – the educational institution will receive a notification after another 15 working days. Next, teachers will have to develop a strategy and a plan for project training and coordinate them with the Ministry. In addition, the school will be obliged to report quarterly on the results of training and its expenses.
Recall that the digital "University of the National Technological Initiative 20.35" was created by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives in 2017 under the leadership of Dmitry Peskov, Director of the Young Professionals direction of the ASI for the promotion of new projects. The University 20.35 was fully launched in 2018.
The university's website reports that it does not have an educational license and a rector, it does not issue state-issued diplomas and does not train personnel in accordance with the list of specialties approved by the Ministry of Education. The university positions itself exclusively as a digital educational platform, although it focuses on Stanford University, which has also begun the transition to Open Loop University (a concept that abandons the traditional approach to higher education). There are also several services on the site that help a person decide which specialty suits him, collect an individual learning trajectory and compile a set of necessary courses, as well as find mentors.
The university's mission is formulated by its management as a response to two challenges: "The first comes from below – from people who want to be in demand as professionals in new and constantly changing conditions," the website reports. – The second is from the state, which needs specialists with competencies in the field of end–to-end technologies, which include big data, blockchain, artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual and augmented reality, neurotechnology, etc. to implement the National Technological Initiative and digital transformation of the economy."
In July 2022, it became known that students of grades 8-11 will be given the opportunity to take an additional two-year course in modern programming languages on the basis of a digital university. They intend to spend 8.8 billion rubles from the treasury on this. It is assumed that by 2030 1.2 million schoolchildren will attend these courses.