- 28.01.2026 12:08
Discussing Serious Issues at the Festive Breakfast
On January 28, the traditional "Breakfast with the Rector" took place at the Kafedra Café at Tula State University.
The event, featuring Oleg Aleksandrovich Kravchenko and graduate students, was held by the Department for Highly Qualified Personnel Training for the fourth consecutive year. This time, it was dedicated to three significant dates: Graduate Student Day, Tatyana's Day, and the upcoming Russian Science Day.
Tula State University graduate students and their supervisors were invited to the meeting.
Oleg Alexandrovich warmly welcomed the participants. Gathered at the table today, he emphasized, were representatives of the new generation of teachers and those who contribute to the professional development of all these young people, support them, and inspire their creative pursuits.
Despite the celebratory atmosphere, the meeting participants discussed a wide range of serious issues.
Vladimir Mirovich Volgin, Doctor of Engineering Sciences and Professor in the Department of Electro- and Nanotechnology at the Polytechnic Institute, focused his colleagues' attention on the organization of work with graduate students, specifically on increasing publication activity and the need to obtain data using modern research methods.
The scientist proposed introducing a comprehensive publication activity score to assess the personal contribution of each young researcher.
Vyacheslav Alekseevich Arlyapov, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Director of the BioChemTech Research Center, shared his experience conducting specialized scientific seminars on equipment that can yield new, reliable results, and expressed his willingness to organize a joint event with Vladimir Mirovich Volgin's team.
Vadim Vadimovich Glagolev, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor, and Head of the Department of Computational Mechanics and Mathematics at the Institute of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, spoke about the development of the research field of "Solid Mechanics." He reported that, thanks to the university's leadership, a new dissertation council has been established in this field. This creates wide opportunities for dissertation defense.
Tula State University Rector Oleg Aleksandrovich Kravchenko supported his colleague. He emphasized the need to cultivate scientific talent at the university.
The university's rector touched on the topic of interdepartmental collaboration and the use of the university's experimental facilities to generate computational data.
One of the graduate students asked the rector what priority research areas he considered key for Tula State University in the next five years.
Oleg Alexandrovich responded that these areas include robotics, materials science, additive manufacturing, and artificial intelligence. However, this doesn't mean the latter will replace humans. It will merely speed up the process.
The graduate students inquired about whether they would be awarded additional salaries after graduation, what support measures are in place for young faculty who have completed their doctoral studies and found employment at the university, whether an increase in the salary for targeted graduate students is expected, what bonuses and benefits exist for Tula State University employees with PhD degrees, and whether there are plans to expand access to statistical data websites and provide access to updated econometric analysis software for further research into the region's socioeconomic development indicators.
Oleg Aleksandrovich promised to take all these issues into consideration. At Tula State University, he reported, a mechanism has already been developed to provide additional pay, up to the equivalent of an associate professor, to young researchers who successfully defend their dissertations in the year they complete their doctoral studies and are employed full-time.
The participants also discussed the major construction and modernization projects that will be implemented at Tula State University over the next five years.
Oleg Aleksandrovich spoke about the major roof repairs and reconstruction of protective structures.
In 2025, the renovation of Dormitory No. 6/2 was completed. The next task is to furnish it with new furniture by summer.
The plans include beginning renovations of Dormitory No. 7, then Dormitory No. 8 and Building No. 10, completing renovations in the basement of Academic Building No. 1 and providing a passage from it to Academic Building No. 13. The reconstruction of the 2nd Academic Competition and Block "A" is also coming up and, of course, there are major landscaping projects.
Regarding large-scale plans, the rector said, the university is preparing an application to participate in the federal competition for the creation of a university campus. The Governor of the Tula Region will submit it on behalf of the region.
Summing up, Oleg Aleksandrovich thanked the meeting participants for their work and wished them further success.
Tatyana Krikunkova
Photographs by Mikhail Gindin
