Andrei Fursenko on the development of science in the Caucasus

On the sidelines of today's press conference on the Russian President's Award in Science and Innovation for Young Scientists in 2013, the presidential aide, former head of the Ministry of Education Andrei Fursenko, spoke to VK about the direction of the development of science in the North Caucasus and joint projects in this area with the countries of the South Caucasus.

Primarily Fursenko emphasized that in the North Caucasus Federal District development of the humanities is particularly important, "because the Caucasus is a place where national culture and the interaction of different peoples always plays a very important role, and this is precisely the responsibility of the social sciences: how to make interactions to the benefit of each and every person and to the country as a whole."

According to him, in the areas of natural sciences in the Caucasus there are several "very interesting institutions," in particular, in Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia and Stavropol Territory. "The newly=created North Caucasus Federal University has been established precisely in order to coordinate and consolidate the scientific forces in the Caucasus. The North Caucasus is a very important region for the country, which means that it needs to develop comprehensively, including in the fields of education and science," says the ex-Minister of Education.

Fursenko notes that, in cooperation with the South Caucasus, it is possible to talk about the restoration of the potential that was lost with the collapse of the Soviet Union. "At the time we were working together on education, but also in science. Thus, not accidentally, Azerbaijan opened a branch of Moscow State University, because it was aimed not only at teaching the youth, but also at ensuring that there was fully-fledged joint research with our colleagues from Azerbaijani scientific institutes and universities," recalls the presidential aide.

Andrei Fursenko expresses regret that the scientific dialogue with Georgia has not adjusted yet. "Even in my time as a researcher, we worked closely with
Georgian mathematicians. Georgian science had potential, and I'm one hundred percent sure that it is preserved, therefore I hope very much that science  will be the direction from which, perhaps, we will start restoring relations with this country," he says.

Finally, according to the ex-Minister, successful cooperation with Armenia has developed in the field of information technology. Fursenko stresses that it is important to conduct scientific cooperation with any country on specific projects. "We need to do this not because "we have to spend that much," but in order to bring benefit, not only to the scientists from collaborating countries, but also to the economies of these countries. It seems that today such opportunities exist," sums up the Russian presidential aide.