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Basic Research and Higher Education
The Basic Research and Higher Education Program (BRHE) transforms and reinvigorates the training of young Russian scientists by strengthening the basic research capabilities of Russian universities. BRHE was started in 1998 in response to a study of the most pressing needs for basic research in the former Soviet Union. Jointly administered by CRDF and the Russian Federation Ministry of Education and Science (MinES), BRHE has created an innovative but tested model, based on the research universities of North America and Europe, to strengthen research and education in the natural sciences (biology, chemistry, earth sciences, mathematics, and physics) in Russia.
BRHE's core strategy is to establish Research and Education Centers (RECs) within selected Russian universities. The RECs are charged with promoting high-quality scientific research and education programs and cooperating closely with other leading research, education, government, and community institutions. State-of-the-art equipment for high-level research and teaching, purchased with BRHE support, serves as a magnet to attract both established and young researchers. Young investigators are a priority; the RECs are required to spend a minimum of 10% of the award on support for students and junior researchers.
BRHE has established twenty RECs across Russia: two each in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and sixteen across the regions of Russia. BRHE is a fully cost-shared program, receiving approximately 50% of its grant support from the CRDF and 50% from Russian sources (the MinES and local university, government, and industry sources), which is strong testimony to the model's acceptability and sustainability in Russia. In addition to the 50% of core program expenses borne by the Russian side, RECs are increasingly successful at attracting external funding for related activities, both from Russian and international sources.
Targeted supplemental activities under BRHE encourage a sense of community among REC participants (especially students) and improve the RECs' scientific and managerial capabilities. Annual program conferences allow the RECs to learn from one other's experiences.
Eight competitive grants to establish Technology Transfer Offices in host universities have been awarded, and additional training in technology transfer has been made available to all RECs. A summer English language immersion camp for students, a postdoctoral research and teaching fellowship program, training in research management, mini-grants, and competitive equipment grants are also offered under BRHE.
The RECs are designed to assist and encourage the institutions that host them ultimately to become modern research universities. The network of collaborations and contacts that each REC is obliged to develop strengthens the host universities' capabilities and serves as a model to other institutions. In 2005, the MinES expanded the model via competitive selection of fifteen unilaterally funded centers, four of which have now joined the BRHE program.
The CRDF's support for the BRHE program is made possible by generous grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation of New York.