Crimean Excavations of Russian Magnitude

Crimean Excavations of Russian Magnitude

Russian and Ukrainian archaeologists have fallen victim to the 2014 annexation of Crimea. Dmitry Dubrovsky   Photo: Around a quarter of a century after the collapse of the USSR, the island of Berezan serves as a symbol of how boundless archaeology is (Free...
The Incentive Bonus Effect

The Incentive Bonus Effect

How a system of fixed-term contracts and vague renumeration criteria in universities is becoming an instrument of control over faculty. Olesya Zakharova   Photo: Fixed-term contracts as a source of termless problems. (CC0 1.0 , bit.ly/2BFZR13)   Labor law...
Silent Faculty and Students Needed

Silent Faculty and Students Needed

To what extent are faculty and students free to express their opinion about their university, their country, and the world? Dmitry Dubrovsky Photo: One of the loudest discussions about academic freedom began with a Facebook post by HSE professor Gasan Guseynov. (Glen...
Deans are Elected, Directors are Appointed

Deans are Elected, Directors are Appointed

The space for self-governance in Russian universities is shrinking. The country’s premier higher education institution, the Moscow State University (MSU), announced its biggest reorganization yet. Natalia Forrat   Photo: MSU is preparing for serious reform....
The Century of Academic Reforms: Earnings

The Century of Academic Reforms: Earnings

Why are rectors paid so much but lecturers – so little? Dmitry Dubrovsky   Photo: One of the latest innovations is to pay for lectures only after a whole lecture course has been completed by a professor. (Photo: Free photobank, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, bit.ly/2xhxNzu)...
Russia: Who Assesses the Quality of Education?

Russia: Who Assesses the Quality of Education?

The Center for Institutional Analysis of Science and Education at the European University at St. Petersburg analyzed the work of the experts from the Supervisory Authority for Science and Education SASE (Rosobrnadzor). Katerina Guba   Photos: Who are the SASE’s...