Report on International Scientific and Practical Conference "Post-graduate Preparation of the Scientific Staff with the Purpose of Maintenance of Innovative Development of Economy"

International Scientific and Practical Conference "Post-graduate Preparation of the Scientific Staff with the Purpose of Maintenance of Innovative Development of Economy" was organized by BelISA in accordance with the Plan of Scientific and Practical Measures (conferences, seminars, exhibitions, etc.) of the State Committee for Science and Technologies for 2006 financed through out the budget line “Realization of Scientific Practical Measures, Preparation and Edition of the S&T Literature” (Order of the Chairman of the SCS&T of 3 May, 2006 N 88).

The goals of the Conference:

• To discuss problems of personnel maintenance of the S&T and innovative activities in the Republic of Belarus and its regions;
• To develop concrete proposals on optimization both improvement of preparation and certification of the scientific staff of higher qualification on the basis of the state order for maintenance of innovative development of the country;
• Study of the international experience;
• Informing the republican and international community on opportunities of preparation and certification of the staff of higher scientific qualification in Belarus and other NIS countries.

It’s the first Conference in Belarus organized jointly by the State Committee for Science and Technologies, High Certifying Board, Ministry of Education and the National Academy of Sciences.

203 representatives of various organizations from Belarus and foreign countries — bodies of state management, scientific establishments, universities, mass media, etc. have taken part in the Conference, including: the State Committee for Science and Technologies, High Certifying Board of Belarus, High Certifying Board of Russian Federation, High Certifying Board of Armenia, High Certifying Board of Kyrgyzstan, National Centre of the Scientific and Technical Information of Kazakhstan, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health Care, Ministry on Extreme Situations, Academy of Management at the President of the Republic of Belarus, Belarusian State University, Kiev National Economic University, Kharkov State University, Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Belarus, BelISA and other research organizations, and also representatives of mass-media — Belarusian TV, news agencies, "Vedu" newspaper.

Statistics on participants of the Conference is the following:
– 20% of participants represented bodies of state management, 
– 15% — scientific organizations, 
– 25% — universities, 
– 12% — innovative organizations, 
– 10% — mass media, 
– 9% — other organizations.

38 reports were delivered at the Conference in the framework of plenary and thematic sessions. Thirty lecturers exhibited their reports in the desk section. The complete information on discussed questions is submitted in the articles of the Conference issued before it.

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CONFERENCE

Having heard and discussed the reports of participants the Conference has noted, that in Belarus there was a stable system of preparation and certification of the scientific and pedagogical staff, basically ensuring needs of the country for the staff of higher scientific qualification.  It is enhanced with the purpose of more complete satisfaction of inquiries of the society, science and innovative economy.

At the same time the Conference has specified a number of adverse factors in development of post-graduate education system of the republic. First of all, it is

• the low share of post-graduate students and persons working for doctor's degree who defended their thesis in time;
• the large share of post-graduate students who stopped training ahead of schedule;
• disproportionably low share of the post-graduate students and persons working for doctor's degree prepared in priority directions of science and innovation sphere;
• weak international cooperation in the field of preparation and certification of the scientific staff of higher qualification.

Taking into account exclusive importance of preparation of the scientific staff of higher qualification for maintenance of steady development of Belarus and CIS the Conference recommended:

1. To create flexible, purposeful and effective system of state management in preparation of the scientific staff of higher qualification ensuring its high quality and satisfaction of inquiries of the society, science and innovative economy.
2. To create coordination mechanism of the system of preparation of the scientific staff of higher qualification in universities and scientific organizations of all levels with needs of a science and science-based productions development.
3. To speed up transition to target preparation of the scientific staff and experts in priority directions of scientific and innovative sphere and science-based productions on the basis of the state order and contracts.
4. To actualize development of new legal base ensuring creation of legal, organizational and economic conditions for effective activities of the republican system of post-graduate education.
5. To introduce systems of middle-term and long-term forecasting of requirements in the scientific staff and experts of higher qualification in the country as a whole and in separate branches of economy in view of the state S&T priorities.
6. To create information and analytical centre on preparation of the scientific and pedagogical experts of higher qualification with the purpose of information support of state personnel policy in scientific sphere, monitoring of personnel, forecasting of requirements in the scientific staff of higher qualification and adjustment of interaction with the similar centers of the other countries.
7. To define the order and procedures of certification and accreditation of organizations and establishments in the sphere of post-graduate education. To carry out certification of post-graduate courses, paying special attention to preparation and fastening of the staff preparation in directions which determine progress of the society (information technologies, biotechnologies, new materials).
8. To strengthen the responsibility for efficiency of PhD course on the part of the post-graduate student, scientific supervisor and administration of university (management of scientific organization) for qualitative selection of the post-graduate students and creation of maximum favorable conditions for carrying out PhD research.
9. To ensure continuity of separate parts of the system of higher education and post-graduate education based on the uniform connected educational standards of various levels — higher school and post-graduate professional training.
10. To strengthen the role of High Certifying Board in formation of the scientific staff of higher qualification on priority directions of science and innovation sphere and science-based productions by means of PhD and doctor thesis’s’ topics regulation.
11. To ensure a new organizational and legal level of integration of science, higher school and science-based industrial structures in preparation of the scientific and pedagogical staff of higher qualification.
12. To carry out transition to a four-year cycle of preparation of PhDs under the scheme "magistracy – PhD course" in order to increase efficiency of the PhD course.
13. To develop organizational and legal bases for monitoring activities of the system of post-graduate education in the republic.
14. To ensure development of international cooperation in the field of preparation of the scientific staff of higher qualification.
15. To ensure acceleration of process of uniform scientific and educational area of CIS creation on the basis of common principles of state policy in education and science; requirements and criteria of preparation, training and certification of the scientific and pedagogical staff.
16. To consider expedient regular conferences of the given thematic orientation.

The Organizing Committee thanks news agency of the Belarusian TV and radio, news agencies "BelTA", "BelAPAN" and “Vedu” newspaper for information support of the Conference.