Opening the meeting, the President stated that, for the development of basic and applied research focused on the future needs of the Russian economy, it is necessary to create an innovative infrastructure which should be founded on a network of scientific and educational centres.
Dmitry Medvedev stressed the need to fully promote the development of Russian schools of fundamental research, whose international authority remains high. He said that to do this a basic state research programme for all scientific organisations, including academic institutions and universities, must be established.
The head of state pointed out that one of the gravest problems remains the preparation of scientific personnel. To reverse this situation, he has already proposed measures, including in the federal programme Academics for an Innovative Russia for the years 2009–2013.
The President also dwelt on issues of integrating the activities of research and educational institutions, as well as a system of measures to attract scientists to Russia from leading scientific and educational centres.
In the President’s words, the network of new scientific and educational centres will once again include state universities, traditional national universities, leading Russian universities such as Moscow and St Petersburg State University and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.
The President also stressed the need to develop proposals for the establishment of several world-class research centres, drawing on the experience of the Kurchatov Institute, a Russian research centre.
The meeting was attended by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, Presidential Aide Arkady Dvorkovich, head of Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom) Sergei Kiriyenko, Minister of Education and Science Andrei Fursenko, and also heads of Moscow State University, the New Economic School, Far Eastern State University, Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys and the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute.
The meeting was held in the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute. Before the meeting, the President toured an exhibition of scientific development featuring the work of various universities.