In early November a national student forum was held in Barnaul, bringing together over 4,000 students from across Russia to discuss educational issues - from the way the education process is organized, to jobs for graduates and innovation in the future of Russian science. Incidentally, the forum was not simply for anyone who was interested, but for the most active students who had submitted projects and ideas as part of a competition aimed at addressing social problems in their institutions and regions.

All sorts of events were held during the forum, from plenary meetings and presentations, to master classes and panel discussions. There was also an informal meeting between the students and education minster Aleksey Fursenko. Quite unexpectedly, I received an invitation not only to take part in that meeting, but to moderate it. I sit on the Youth Affairs Committee and until recently was a student myself, so naturally I have first-hand experience of many of the problems faced by people in education, and by students in particular. And I myself run a number of educational projects for our young people (including the Unified State Examination hotline). So of course I was happy to accept the invitation to take part in the meeting, to hear young people’s views on how Russia’s education modernization programme is progressing and to try and act as a connecting link between the young participants in the forum and the education minister.

Actually it’s great that platforms like this forum exist. I talk a lot to young people and they often tell me that they’re not given enough attention, that nobody listens to them or helps them...But here you are – such opportunities do exist, and this proves once again that people want to hear what youth has to say, that our government is open for a conversation with young people and, most importantly, interested in getting them involved in tackling the issues that face our country. And this forum was further proof that the government is open for dialogue and interesting suggestions.

The forum brought together the most enterprising and creative students, post-graduates, young teachers and student self-administration activists who really care about what goes on in their hostel, institution, village, city or country…So I suggested to the guys that they use their meeting with the education minister they not only to ask questions, but also to give him their views on the modernization of the education system and some suggestions on educational reform, on the development of student self-administration and so on. Actually, I really think these sorts of meetings are very important – not only for the participants in the forum, but also for our government leaders, especially the education minister, because it’s a real opportunity to hear and see what makes our students today tick, what they find interesting and exciting, and also possibly to hear some interesting ideas on how to address specific issues.

The meeting was definitely productive. Naturally, the minister was asked masses of questions about education reform and the switch to the BA–Ma system, on the USE and the use of tests for assessment, student stipends and grants, jobs and accommodation, free Wi-Fi in hostels and lots of other things. Some interesting suggestions were put forward, and I’m sure the minister took note of them. So it was a very lively and interesting discussion, and judging by the number of hands raised in the hall the two hours set aside for that meeting with the minister were clearly not enough.