The consolidated budget of KBSU amounted to 3.01 billion rubles in 2023

— On June 19, 2024, the XII annual forum of universities “The Future of Higher Education” will be held in Moscow. Representatives of the university community will discuss current issues related to the field of higher education in the country, including existing university support programs and new instruments for financing higher education, and diversification of income sources.

In this regard, please tell us what is the income structure of your university? How has it changed in the last 10 years? In your opinion, what opportunities do universities have today to effectively diversify their sources of funding?

Yuri Altudov, rector of KBSU named after Kh.M. Berbekov:

— Regarding the structure of the university’s income, I can report that at KBSU it has the following main components: subsidies from the federal budget for the implementation of state assignments, funds from the provision of paid educational and other services, income from research activities, as well as funds received in the form of grants .
Over the past 10 years, the consolidated budget of KBSU has increased by 105% and in 2023 amounted to 3.01 billion rubles, with about 70% of the growth occurring in the period starting from 2021. In 2024, it is also planned to increase revenue by at least 15%.

The share of funds from income-generating activities during this period more than doubled and at the end of 2023 amounted to 68.4%.

The achievement of these indicators was the result of active work to increase the competitiveness and diversity of educational and scientific programs, to attract students from foreign countries to study, as well as to attract targeted funds for grants and projects.

In particular, in recent years, the following major projects at the federal level have been implemented at KBSU:

• strategic academic leadership program “Priority 2030”;
• complex scientific and technical project “Creation of environmentally friendly industrial production of basic high-tech chemical products for the automotive, construction, medical and food industries from hydrocarbon raw materials based on innovative domestic scientific developments”;
• “Development of human resources potential in the IT industry” of the national program “Digital Economy of the Russian Federation.”

Also today, KBSU has established partnerships with such large enterprises and scientific centers as Gazpromneft JSC, Composite JSC, Radiy JSC, and the Institute of Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Today, educational organizations are faced with the challenges of a rapidly changing external environment and an unstable financial base. To increase financial sustainability, universities need to diversify sources of funding using the following methods:

— development of partnerships with enterprises and organizations of the region and country for the joint implementation of educational and research projects;
— active participation in projects and competitions for the provision of grants, including those aimed at financing research work;
— creation of innovative educational products and services that contribute to increasing the competitiveness of the university;
— attracting investments in the development of university infrastructure projects and technological innovations;
— development of partnerships with representatives of foreign countries to attract foreign students to study.