40 years anniversary of Smolensk State Agricultural Academy
Currently, SmolenskStateAgriculturalAcademy is the only public higher education institution of agriculture in the Smolensk region. This fact has enhanced the Academy’s operations and allowed it to achieve a new higher level in its educational, academic and scientific activities. Throughout the Academy’s existence, it has educated 8579 (eight thousand five hundred and seventy nine) specialists of both: bachelor and master levels. Nowadays, students are taught for 16 specialty fields. In the year of 2013 alone, 9 (nine) new curricula were added: veterinary-sanitary examination, business information systems, state and municipal management, land and cadastral management, merchandizing technique, economics (master’s program), agronomy (master’s program), gardening (master’s program), agro-engineering (master’s program). Also, the Academy offers postgraduate studies for 8 (eight) professional interests/fields. The Academy plays a significant role in a social and political as well as in scientific life of the region. Work-books, monographs and collections of the scientific works edited by the academic staff of the Academy are well known and in great demand at agrarian higher education institutions and research institutes of our country. Highly professional faculty of the Academy provides state of the art knowledge and education. In 2013 educational programs “Agronomy”, “Veterinary Science” and “Zootechnics” had been included in “The Best Educational Programs Of Innovative Russia”. In 2013 the Academy had been included in the register of “The Best 100 Socially Important Educational Institutions of the year 2013”. Even a more valuable thing for the Academy activity is a great demand for its graduates and their fast career growth. Eg. 82.4 - 92.4% of the graduates find employment in the region annually. The Academy graduates are presented at Regional Administration and Special-Purpose Departments and institutions. Two of them keep the positions of Deputy-Governors. The scientific work of the Academy is aimed to fundamental and applied researches performance, certain part of which is grant-supported. Business contract works are practiced. Special attention is paid to all-round personality formation. This requires goal-oriented activity on patriotic upbringing, aesthetic and physical education of the young people. In 2014 the Academy successfully passed activity effectiveness monitoring and earned the State accreditation until the year 2020.