Posted on 11/03/2005 3:23:35 AM PST by mym
BOSTON. Headlines in the Western press are pessimistic about Russia's commitment to democracy. The arrest and conviction of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the takeover of NTV, constitutional reforms that replace elected regional officials with appointed governors, vague assurances from Vladmir Putin that while he would not run for a third term in 2008, he would not disappear from Russian politics - all paint a portrait of sharp retreat from the Yeltsin era.
But the picture in Russia is more complex. Leaders in higher education and civil society have a more nuanced story to tell.
Changes underway in higher education are a good indicator of the deep transformation taking place in Russia. Private universities are gaining strength and state universities are being encouraged to modernize by opening themselves and their curriculums to the West.
For instance, cutting-edge science is being conducted at 16 research and education centers across the country. Affiliated scientists have produced thousands of publications. In the past year alone, more than 70 patents have been filed and 16 new enterprises have been started. Nine other campuses host centers for advanced study and education in the social sciences. They are building a cadre of policy experts that advise the government on issues like sustainable economic development, migration and ethnic diversity, human rights and the rule of law and healthcare.
At the national level, the Ministry of Education and Science is bringing Russia into the "Bologna process," which is creating a Europe-wide higher education area. University systems in 40 countries will have a common framework for undergraduate and graduate degrees, transferable credits, shared standards for academic quality and mobility for students and faculty.
The isolation of Russian intellectual life is over. Although much more must be done before Russia's universities fully recover from years of...
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
The dominos continue to fall.
What do you mean?
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