Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –
Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –
The names of the winners of the grant competition for teachers of Russian universities participating in the Vladimir Potanin Scholarship Program in 2024/2025 were recently announced. In total, 1,290 teachers showed interest in the competition this season, 574 applications were received from 68 universities, and 526 applications were admitted to expert evaluation. Based on the results of the selection, 150 teachers will receive a grant for the redesign and transformation of educational products. The total amount of support is 73.8 million rubles.
The most popular areas for redesign and transformation of educational products: teacher education (11), management (10), computer science and engineering (7), economics (6), information systems and technologies (5), psychology (5), history (5).
Novosibirsk State University was among the leading universities in terms of the number of applications admitted to the examination; there were 15 of them. Following the results of the competition, three NSU teachers became winners:
Elina Arnoldovna Biberdorf, redesign of the course “Methods and Applications of Linear Algebra”. Alexander Vladimirovich Bobrovskikh, redesign of the course “Gene Networks: Advanced Approaches to Analysis and Reconstruction”. Ulyana Stanislavovna Zubairova, redesign of the course “Applications of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science in Biology Problems”.
We spoke to the winners and found out why they decided to apply, what their projects are about, and what emotions they feel when they win.
Alexander Bobrovskikh, Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Faculty of Natural Sciences of NSU, teacher Advanced Engineering School of NSU:
— I decided to participate in the competition quite spontaneously when I saw the announcement at NSU in December. I didn’t think long about the idea of the application, since I had recently completed the creation of the module “Reconstruction of Gene Networks” for the NSU Advanced Engineering School, which covers basic concepts in this area. I thought that it would be great to expand and deepen the content of this module, making it a full-fledged course with the support of the Vladimir Potanin Foundation. I wrote the application to the Foundation in a few days during the New Year holidays. I am grateful to the NSU Advanced Engineering School for supporting my idea and to the Foundation for the high assessment of my application. I am especially glad that I will be able to implement this within the walls of my native university and support the initiatives of our Advanced Engineering School.
Ulyana Zubairova, Senior Lecturer, Department of Informatics Systems Faculty of Information Technology NSU:
— I learned about the competition from the department’s newsletter and immediately realized that this was a great opportunity to update our course “Applications of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science in Biology Problems”. It is located at the intersection of two very rapidly developing fields — biology and artificial intelligence. We have long wanted to make the course more practice-oriented and interdisciplinary, with an emphasis on real-world problems. Nowadays, biologists increasingly work with large data sets, and AI specialists — with problems where it is important to take into account the biological context. Our course is an attempt to combine these two worlds. We want students to not only know how algorithms work, but also to be able to apply them in real biological research: from gene analysis to spatial transcriptomics and medical imaging.
AI in biology is developing at breakneck speed, and for the course to remain relevant and truly useful, it needs to be regularly revised. Thanks to the grant support, we will be able to seriously update the structure: add cases based on real biological data, develop interactive practical tasks, include blocks on visualizing results and integrate all this with laboratory practice. In addition, we plan to hold several intensive courses where students will be able to work on real scientific projects and apply the knowledge gained in the course in practice. This will help not only to better assimilate the material, but also to feel how modern bioinformatics works “live”.
I am very happy with the victory! This is not just good news, but an opportunity to take an important step forward. We believe in the power of interdisciplinary education and want the course to be more than just a set of lectures, but a real space where scientific and engineering ideas are born. Special thanks to the Department of Informatics Systems of the Faculty of Information Technology of NSU. The support when submitting the application and in general during the course discussion was both very valuable and humanly warm. When there is a team nearby that believes in the project, it becomes much easier to move forward. And this victory is also a great reason to rethink the very approach to teaching: listen to students, be flexible, adapt the format. And most importantly, do not be afraid to try something new. Participation in the competition itself was a step towards change, and we will definitely not stop there.
Elina Biberdorf, Associate Professor, Department of Differential Equations Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, NSU:
— I teach a course in the master’s program called “Methods and Applications of Linear Algebra”. I take the fate of this course to heart, because its content is close to the main direction of my scientific work. In addition, this course is the brainchild and legacy of my scientific supervisor, Academician Sergei Konstantinovich Godunov. In order for the material to be interesting and useful for master’s students, it must be regularly updated, improved, and include something new and modern.
In recent years, most of the course participants have been graduates of other universities and foreign students. This creates a big problem due to the difference in the level of preparation. The teacher needs to make additional methodological efforts to make it interesting and understandable for everyone. That is why I jumped at the chance to participate in the competition and get support to transform my course.
After this victory, first of all, I will revise the material of practical classes and synchronize the lecture presentations with it. These changes will affect the students of the next year. Later, a new teaching aid will be written, as well as a methodological manual for completing practical assignments.
Of course, I am glad that the foundation supported my project. But this feeling is mixed with a bit of anxiety, because now there is serious work ahead, which will require quite a lot of effort from me. You could say that I expected to win. It seems to me that my application was quite high-quality and convincing.
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