Strategical Academic Units

In June 2016 new interdisciplinary research and education subdivisions - Strategical Academic Units (StrAU) - were formed on the basis of the leading research teams of Samara University actively participating in educational activity.

StrAU of Samara National Research University

1. "Space Engineering and Technology" (StrAU-1)
2. "Gas Turbine Engines Design and Manufacturing" (StrAU-2)
3. "Nanophotonics, Perspective Technologies of Earth Remote Probing and Intellectual Geoinformation Systems" (StrAU-3)

The chosen directions have potential and resources to become research and education centres of world level, get perspective scientific and technical results and improve international competitiveness of Samara University.

StrAU: What is it? Why does university need it?

1. StrAU is an administrative and organizational structure that permits to concentrate resources in competitive (including the world markets of Research and Technological Development) directions.
2. StrAU is a mechanism of integration of university education and innovative research; its main objective is establishment and implementation of research and educational programmes of international level (including the ones created in cooperation with the leading foreign Research and Education Centres).
3. StrAU is an innovative approach to the management of interdisciplinary projects, which permits establishment of:
   • Unique programmes for master’s and postgraduate degrees;
   • Consortia for the implementation of interdisciplinary Research and Technological Development;
   • Supra-structural creative teams consisting of university departmental and laboratory staff, experts from other organizations, including talented undergraduate and postgraduate students.
4. StrAU is a driver of university priority development: innovative nature and equipment with resources makes StrAU attractive for university staff and students, in StrAU synergy of international level research and high-quality education is achieved.
5. StrAU is an effective mechanism of financial support of leading research and education directions; in doing so the following criteria of their selection are set:
   • The conformity with the priority directions of the world of science and technology development;
   • The presence of resource supplied development program, which provides a perspective building of the university competitive advantages at national and international levels;
   • The presence of financial and economic model that makes possible to reach self-repayment by outsourcing.
6. StrAU is a tool of strategic marketing, the purpose of which is to establish within university staff:
   • Motivation for the promotion of their products;
   • New competences in their chosen type of activity (particularly forming of partnerships of various types, including the ones on international level).

How did the idea of StrAU establishment appear?

The notion of Strategic Academic Unit (StrAU) is introduced by the project office of the improvement of competitiveness of the leading Russian universities among the world leading Research and Education Centres “Project 5-100” for indication of supra-structural university subdivisions (schools, meta-faculties, institutes, centres of excellence, Research and Education Centres, etc.) as well as their associations (consortia). At the same time only StrAU standard description is regulated, but its composition and form of realisation are chosen by each of 21 participants of “Project 5-100” independently.