This week, a strategic session dedicated to the discussion of the International Interuniversity Campus’ future content in terms of educational programs and research laboratories has taken place in the Samara University. 

The campus will be built in the northern part of the regional center adjacent to the Solidarity Samara Arena stadium. Modern apartment blocks, office, commercial, exhibit and hotel premises will appear next to it. New school and two nursery schools also will be erected here. Development of the transport system for university students and employees to move comfortable from the historical part of the city to the campus is also provided for.

As Rector Vladimir Bogatyrev has noted, construction of the campus is expected to be finished in 2027, and on September 1, 2027, its doors will already open for the students and employees of the largest higher educational establishments in the region — the Samara University, the Samara State Medical University, the Samara State Technical University, the Povolzhskiy State University of Telecommunications and Informatics and the Samara State Transport University.

During the strategic session, representatives of institutes and the student body of  Samara University have discussed their view of life, specifically, in terms of the educational process and research and development work on the territory of the future campus.

Andrei Antonevich, Vice Rector for Campus Development of Samara University, has given a presentation. He has noted that the outlook of the campus had been defined almost fully, and now the project is at the stage of infrastructural content’s discussion. 6,000 students are expected to study here in two shifts by 2030. Supposedly, 50 % of them will be from other regions, and 50 % will be locals. The educational spaces are designed so that 6,000 students could be taught in two shifts using 80–90 % capacity of lecture halls.

The academic blocks of the campus are distributed upon the requests of the universities that are to work in the new space. For example, the research unit of Samara University will take the area of 5,700 sq.m. The future spaces provide for both R&D laboratories and manufacturing and testing complexes, including: 

• a Laboratory of Space Instrumentation Engineering,
• a Laboratory of Radio-electronic Equipment for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles,
• a Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence for Earth Monitoring,
• a Laboratory of Microsystems Engineering and Quantum Technologies,
• a Laboratory of Fuel Systems,
• a Laboratory of Intelligent Design Systems,
• a Laboratory of Digital Twins for Materials and Technological Processes,
• a Laboratory of Demanding System Modelling,
• a Laboratory of New Technologies in Natural Sciences,
• a Manufacturing and Testing Complex for Unmanned Aviation Systems,
• a Manufacturing and Testing Complex for Small Spacecrafts.

Most laboratories and complexes will be located on the 1st floor. The second floor will house lecture halls, student laboratories and exhibition spaces.

To accommodate students and employees from other cities, modern hotels with gyms, swimming pools and cafes will appear in the campus. The rooms are supposed to be for two with shared facilities and kitchens for every floor. Apartment hotels will be built for employees and visiting specialists.

The educational cycle will be full for most students, i.e. the students of Samara University will not have to move from one campus to another or leave their place of residence — they will study in the same space. It is preplanned that students of four University’s institutes will study at the venue of the International Interuniversity Campus: Institute of Aerospace Engineering, Institute of Engine and Power Plant Engineering, Institute of IT and Cybernetics and Institute of Natural Sciences. Participants of the strategic session have defined a list of educational programs to be implemented in the new campus.

For reference:

The concept of the International Interuniversity Campus to be built in the Samara Region was developed under the direction of Governor Dmitry Azarov. In 2022, a Head of the region presented the project to Vladimir Putin and gained his support.

Due to the methodical work of the regional team the project was turned into one of 9 winners of the second competitive selection of the projects for establishment of modern campuses held by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science and featuring 39 participants. The campus in Samara will be built in the framework of the Federal Project on Creating a Network of Modern Campuses, a part of the Science and Universities National Project, with the use of such a tool as concessionary agreements.