Новосибирский государственный университет: история и современность

Public research university in Novosibirsk, Russia

Novosibirsk State University is a public research university located in Novosibirsk, Russia. The university was founded in 1958, on the principles of integration of education and science, early involvement of students with research activities and the engagement of leading scientists in its teaching programmes. As of 2022, Novosibirsk State University had 246th place in the rating of the QS World University Rankings, and in 2023 was ranked #579 in the world by U. S. News & World Report, and #801 in the world by World University Rankings by Times Higher Education.

From the perspective of natural resources, Siberia has always been, and remains, the essential region for all of Russia. In the late 1950s, Siberia provided the country with 75% of its coal and possessed 80% of the nation's hydroelectric resources. Siberia became industrialized, but science then was largely of the applied variety and did not satisfy its needs. The USSR Academy of Sciences came to understand that there was a need to develop fundamental science. In 1958, this concept was implemented with the establishment of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union at Akademgorodok, near the industrial city of Novosibirsk. From the beginning, the founders of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union were concerned about providing the future scientific center with highly trained personnel. In order to create a consistent source of personnel replenishment for Siberian scientific institutions, it was necessary to provide advanced training on the spot, thus the idea was born to establish a university in Novosibirsk. On 9 January 1958, the Novosibirsk State University was officially founded by the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union decree. First entry examinations were conducted in August 1959. Classes began on 28 September 1959. Following its establishment in 1958, Novosibirsk State University quickly grew. During the first nine years 1966 professionals were trained within its walls. It consisted of six faculties, was staffed with 270 teachers, and conducted research in 46 sections. Novosibirsk State University was from its inception existing in close collaborative association with Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences research and development institutions of which there are several dozen within an area of 1.5 square km. The project of an "akademgorodok," an academic town with a University as its core, was exhibited at the 1967 World Expo in Montreal, after which Novosibirsk's Akademgorodok became model for other academic towns throughout the Soviet Union.

On 17 April 2022, members of the community of Novosibirsk State University issued a joint statement strongly condemning the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling on the Russian state to immediately withdraw the Russian troops from Ukraine, and bring to justice those responsible for the war crimes during the invasion, and saying “There are no reasonable grounds for this war, thousands of Ukrainian and Russian military and civilians of Ukraine have already died in it, and every day of hostilities brings more and more victims.”
This statement includes a disclaimer stating that the page is not affiliated with the administration of NSU, nor with any "official" NSU alumni associations, and therefore cannot represent the university's stance on the conflict.

As of 2020, Novosibirsk State University conducted training on 43 four year bachelor's programmes, 7 five year specialist's programmes, 1 six year specialist's programmes, 93 two year master's programmes, 9 two year residency's programmes, 25 three year graduate school programmes, 32 four year graduate school programmes taught in Russian, and 5 two year master's programmes, 1 two year residency's programme taught in English.

As of 2022, Novosibirsk State University doesn't have a military training center. Earlier, the University had military department which conducted the training reserve commissioned officers from among students of the University, but this department was disbanded in 2008.

The University has language centres which offer courses in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese as a second language.

Every year, international students have an opportunity to apply for the Russian Government Scholarship which covers full tuition and provides a monthly living allowance. Travel costs, living expenses and a health insurance policy are not included. These Scholarships are granted on a competitive basis; the selection criteria and procedures as well as the number of scholarships available depend on the home country of applicant. Additionally, students from NSU's partner universities have the opportunity to apply to such programs as Erasmus+, DAAD, and the Fulbright Program.

In September 2015, NSU announced its first courses delivered on the Coursera platform. Since January 2016, 12 courses have been offered on Coursera, and on the Russian distributed learning platform, Lectorium.

The main feature such research internships are their interdisciplinary approach. Specialists in biology, physics, mathematics, geology, archaeology, and chemistry work with one another in the 35 research institutes of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Beginning in 2017, the Siberian Summer School held at NSU each July includes courses on the Chemistry of Future Materials, Big Data Analytics and the philosophical and historical aspects of East West relationships. All Summer School courses are taught in English.

Novosibirsk State University offers courses for students matriculating with various levels of Russian language competence.

Novosibirsk State University is one of Russian universities which has established an educational programmes for disabled students.

Novosibirsk State University is a scientific and educational centre. Situated in the research center of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk State University's principal areas of teaching and research include elementary particle physics, photonics and quantum optics, Arctic research, biomedicine and cancer therapy, chemical engineering, low dimensional hybrid materials, omic technologies, mathematics, archaeology and ethnography, and linguistics among other disciplines.

The Higher College of Computer Science is a vocational school focused on the training of programmers, which was integrated into the structure of the University in 1991.

The Chinese Russian Institute conducts educational bachelor's, master's, graduate school programmes in collaboration with Heilongjiang University.