, doc. physics and mathematics Sciences, Professor of the Department of Astronomy of the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics of St. Petersburg State University, told TrV-Nauka about scientific grants at the university.
Applications for research grants, support for participation in conferences, etc. are part of the development program of St. Petersburg State University (http://csr.spbu.ru/archives/category/programm) and are submitted through the website of the Office of Scientific Research (UNI) of St. Petersburg State University: http ://csr.spbu.ru/ .
UNI competitions are called “Events”: from Events 1 before Events 8. The issue of research grants mainly relates to activities 2 and 5.
Event 2- this is a kind of analogue of the competition “a” for initiative projects of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. At the same time, there are no restrictions on the number of St. Petersburg State University employees participating in the project (scientific topic). Applications for the competition are submitted through the UNI website, and there is much less writing than in many other grant systems. What’s nice is that the results of the competition become known after about 2 months. Grant amounts range from 500 thousand to 3 million rubles. (very rarely) per year. Project financing period ranges from one to three years. These are the advantages of the system adopted at St. Petersburg State University. Now about the cons.
Firstly, this system is only for St. Petersburg State University employees. However, you can get around this if you register employees of other institutions at St. Petersburg State University for a share of the rate and register them on the website of the Office of Scientific Research.
Secondly, this system is intended to completely replace the previous system of financing science at St. Petersburg State University. Previously, the university had permanent research topics, the funding of which usually lasted 5 years, then the funding was almost automatically renewed. Now all the topics are competitive, and if the deadline for the topic has expired, the participants submit to the competition again (possibly with a change in the composition of the participants and the project leader).
The problem is that if the topic is not supported for the new term, then all researchers who are on positions funded for this topic will lose this funding completely.
It is difficult to evaluate this innovation unambiguously. On the one hand, this corresponds to the general trend towards predominantly competitive funding of science. On the other hand, the usual division of funding for scientific topics into a permanent and competitive part is disappearing. Added to this is the difficulty of redistributing the participation of researchers in topics. That is, if the work was funded, for example, on the topic “Stability of Planetary Orbits,” then, after working for a year or two on this topic, it is very difficult to move to a team involved in the transfer of radiation in planetary atmospheres. Unlike the system adopted by the RFBR.
Thirdly, the decision-making system for supporting a particular topic is quite closed. Although gradually there is more openness. For example, the preliminary results of the competition for Activity 2 in 2012 (project ratings) were published on the UNI website.
A significant problem, from my narrow astronomical point of view, is that there is no separate expert council for astronomy, but only a general one for physics and astronomy. That is, the understanding that astronomy is a separate fundamental science is, unfortunately, not very widespread.
In general, the number of grants at the university is not very large. For this reason, younger employees may well not be included in any topic. This gives rise, primarily among young people, to a feeling of instability of their position. The consequence of this is that they leave for commercial firms and various positions in foreign institutes and observatories. The other side of the small number of grants is that applications are submitted to short and therefore cheap topics, which hinders the development of fundamental projects.
For young talented employees from other cities or CIS countries, the housing problem is almost unsolvable. There is no special housing stock for such employees, and the amount of grants is insufficient to enable them to rent commercial housing. All this leads to an almost complete absence of horizontal mobility, which is especially important for young people. However, this is a general problem affecting all universities in the country, and not just St. Petersburg State University.
Event 5- this is “Support for the participation of employees, students and graduate students of St. Petersburg State University in international and all-Russian conferences with reports on the results of research work.” The application submission system is similar to that used in the no longer existing competition “z” of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. Applications for the competition are submitted through the UNI website, and applications can be submitted every quarter. That is, formally you can attend 4 conferences a year. However, in reality this is one, maximum two conferences per year. There are maximum funding amounts: 40 thousand rubles. — Europe, 60 thousand rubles. — Asia and North America, 80 thousand rubles. — South America and Australia. You can pay for travel, accommodation and receive a daily allowance (about $60 per day). The registration fee is not paid to those who win the competition.
Personally, I like this competition the most. The best part is that it allows not only researchers and teachers, but also graduate students and students to participate in conferences.
I will note, however, that among the competitions/events of St. Petersburg State University there is one thing missing, but a very important one, namely support for publication in high-ranking journals. For astronomers this is first and foremost Astronomy and Astrophysics and Astrophysical Journal.
In conclusion, a few words about the grant system for supporting science itself. More than twenty years of existence of the competitive system for supporting science in Russia has shown its benefits. To maintain the effectiveness of the grant system, in my opinion, only three conditions are needed. Firstly, the more different funds supporting science, including highly specialized ones, the better. Secondly, the stability of the rules for operating such funds is extremely important. And, finally, there is a need for transparency in the procedure for considering applications (projects), and in particular the opportunity for applicants to become familiar with the system of ranking applications and with reviews of their projects.
A good example of an open approach is the organization of additional payments to employees for publication activity at St. Petersburg State University. At the same time, the technical details of the functioning of the grant system itself, despite the abundance of disputes and different opinions regarding these details, seem to be of little importance.
To summarize, I think the emergence of intra-university competitions is very useful. It would be very cool if similar competitive systems appeared in other Russian universities, and above all at Moscow State University.
St. Petersburg State University is the oldest university in Russia. During its existence, St. Petersburg State University has secured the right to be called one of the best universities in Russia: a rich historical past, modern broad research activities, active development and innovation allow St. Petersburg State University to be at the forefront of Russian science.
St. Petersburg State University is the first university in Russia, founded by decree of Emperor Peter I in 1724.
St. Petersburg State University has been awarded the status of a unique scientific and educational complex, the oldest university in the country, which is of great importance for the development of Russian society. The special status of the University implies:
- a separate line in the budget of the Russian Federation,
- the right to conduct additional tests for all basic educational programs,
- the right to set one’s own educational standards,
- the right to confer one's own academic degrees,
- the right to determine their own rules for holding competitions for positions of scientific and pedagogical workers,
- the right to issue diplomas of our own sample,
- appointment of the rector of St. Petersburg State University by the President of the Russian Federation.
Students are trained in 398 educational programs.
University students can study for one or two semesters at a partner university as a student or trainee, without interrupting their studies at St. Petersburg State University (academic mobility programs).
The University pursues a policy of responsible attitude towards health and conducts mandatory classes in the disciplines “Life Safety” and “Physical Culture and Sports”. To conduct classes, the university has a swimming pool, gyms for rock climbing, boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, aerobics, outdoor volleyball and basketball courts, a football field, etc.
St. Petersburg State University provides students with the opportunity to relax at recreation centers and health centers:
- at the educational and recreational base "Horizon" on the Black Sea coast,
- in the health complex "University" in the Leningrad region,
- in the sanatorium-preventorium of St. Petersburg State University.
St Petersburg State University is a scientific and educational center of global importance.
The university has 47 scientific centers, institutes and laboratories; a unique Science Park has been created with 26 resource centers, the cost of equipment of which is more than 7 billion rubles. Not only scientists and students of St. Petersburg State University, but also colleagues from all over the world can use the capabilities of resource centers: the university is open to cooperation and is actively integrated into the global scientific and educational space.
St. Petersburg State University employs 1,400 doctors of science, 19 academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy of Education, 26 corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy of Education.
St Petersburg State University adheres to a policy of openness in all areas of its activities. All information - about competitions, grants, entrance exams, decisions and documents - is published on the St. Petersburg State University portal, and any interested person can familiarize themselves with it.
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