The expert seminar "Belarus of the Future: the Potential of Universities and Youth", organized by the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research, was held at the Belarusian State University of Transport (BelGUT).
The meeting with representatives of the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies, Director Oleg Makarov and Deputy Director Pavel Legky, was dedicated to a new, global project of BISR aimed at organizing, and first of all forming, a republican network of analytical youth clubs.
That is why the audience of the expert dialogue meeting contained students, undergraduates, young scientists and university teachers of the Gomel region.
BelGUT Rector Yuri Kulazhenko welcomed the participants of the seminar and wished them fruitful work.
He spoke about the activities of BISR as the largest in Belarus, a classical think tank, about programs and their implementations, about analytics being one of the main supports in making government decisions. Today, BISR gathered young people to encourage them to try their hand. Gomel is the last regional center visited by BISR experts in recent months in search of future analysts who can truthfully and critically collect information about external and internal social and political situations of the country.
The experts of the meeting were:
- Olga Bogomaz, BISR analyst;
- Ekaterina Rezanova, BISR analyst (Minsk Branch);
- Arnold Ryzhankov, Chairman of the Council of Young Scientists of the Faculty of Economics and Law of A. A. Kuleshov Mogilev State University.
Olga Bogomaz spoke about the methodology of expert and sociological support of the managerial decision-making process. She explained in detail the stages of supporting the managerial decision-making process, inviting young people to start participating in those that are available to them - innovative (offering ideas) and sociological (social surveys). She shared the results of recent sociological surveys of universities in the Gomel region.
Ekaterina Rezanova explained the tasks of the BISR Youth Analytical Club as a permanent regional analytical platform that unites students and young teachers of regional universities interested in developing their competencies and solving significant tasks for the country.
The work of the Gomel Club will be organized by the head of the Gomel branch of the BISR Valery Buslov, who also attended the expert meeting.
Arnold Ryzhankov, as coordinator of the Student League of Young Analysts at Mogilev University, shared the results of the first steps of the project, which started in Mogilev not so long ago, but is already actively developing. The Mogilev Club has opened its own analytical project "The Image of the Future in Belarusian Education".
Experts were expecting questions from young people, and, of course, there were a lot of questions. There are some of them:
- How are those opinion polls assessed if it's obvious that answers are not sincere, improbable?" - "Every opinion is valuable. Of course, such moments are visible. And if there is doubt, then the nature of the questionable comment is processed by a regional expert, and the reporting is clarified.
- Were there any differences in the analytical study of Gomel universities from other regions?" - "Yes, there were some. You are 70% more satisfied with education services.
When asked by a representative of the Gomel State Medical University how to apply analytics in medicine, the BISR Director assured that it is with the health care system that BISR interacts very closely, especially in the beginning, and then after epidemic problems.
But to a similar question from a student of a customs faculty of BelGUT, the answer was, "There is not such close cooperation with the customs authorities, but we have considered some logistical tasks related to customs."
Interesting questions were asked not only about the BISR activities but also in order to get an expert question from people who had collected a lot of information on various social and political issues.
For example, when asked whether the period of mandatory work of a young specialist will be extended after graduation, students heard a detailed explanation of how a balance of domestic and international professions is needed, and what is the role of a graduate in this. But when asked whether the term of military service will be extended, Oleg Makarov replied there is no such information, these are rumors, and the quality of service at the moment is more important than the number of years, in addition, the possibilities of obtaining a profession during military service are being considered so that the number of years is even more complete for a young person.
Experts already offered to those young people who want to try themselves in analytics, to demonstrate their intentions. Several people did so.
And the question "What criteria should a candidate for the young analyst club have?" was answered:
1. Broad outlook; 2. Critical thinking; 3. Patriotism.
At the same time, these are criteria that will definitely be laid down and developed in you by us, competent specialists in the training of analysts, and you must be ready to develop.
The BelGUT Rector thanked the experts for the dialogue, noted the country's urgent need for modern analysts and invited each of the young people to try to become an analyst in their field of activity.