In 2016, the School of Medical Biology was created at SUSU. It is a unique university division, which combines the best achievements by scientists in the field of fundamental medicine and biomedicine, food technology and biotechnology, as well as clinical psychology. Over the years, it has continued to develop in the fields of education and science. Today, the School of Medical Biology provides training of specialists acquiring medical and psychological, biotechnological, nutraceutical competencies, as well as competencies in the field of pharmaceutical products creation.
Irina Potoroko, Director of the School of Medical Biology, spoke on how the training is organized, which projects university staff members and students of the School are working on and, most importantly, where the graduates work.
– Why do applicants should choose studying biotechnology and psychology?
– Because people always need our help. And not only people, enterprises do, as well. Now, people are more competent: they understand how important it is to have specialists in the field of psychology and biotechnology since it is namely them who are able to organize health protection at their level of expertise. Modern approaches to forming the quality of food products are built in the way of ensuring their usefulness, which is always relevant for people.
– Where do our graduates work?
– All of our graduates are highly in demand! Whichever food industry enterprises we go to, we always meet our graduates there. For example, at such enterprises as Makfa, Niagara, SoyuzPishcheprom, Chebarkulskaya Ptitsa, Triumph Confectionary Association. In fact, there are no enterprises where our graduates do not work. Graduates of psychological specialities have unique competencies allowing them to conduct professional activities in business, in the system of education and healthcare, law enforcement agencies, and in private practice.
– What tasks do our specialists solve at productions?
– Graduates of the School of Medical Biology are able to fully participate in the activities of enterprises and contribute to their development. Biotechnologies are irreplaceable in the development of technological solutions: to make a product useful and preserve its properties for a long time, facilitate consumer demand and, as a result, the profitability of an enterprise. At enterprises of various levels, psychologists provide invaluable assistance in recruiting personnel, teach useful communication skills, including ways to resolve conflict situations, and also assist in maintaining the psychological well-being of employees. Individual psychological assistance is provided by psychologists both in polyclinics and in private practice.
– What projects are being implemented by biotechnology scientists and psychologists in our laboratories? Please, tell us more about them.
– Research teams of the School of Medical Biology, which have been intensively developing since the creation of the School, are now highly efficient and are built on the principle of interdisciplinarity. Financial support of research works through the obtained grants by the Russian Science Foundation allows to equip laboratories with everything students would need when conducting research works for their projects. All project works are relevant and are aimed at solving strategic problems, such as import substitution and technological sovereignty, as well as maintaining the psychological well-being of the population. We can also speak about joint projects, which combine the efforts of both technologists and psychologists (our most well-known project is the Antistress bread). The project by scientific team of psychologists is focused on system research of universal factors of creativity based on interdisciplinary interaction of psychology, mathematical modelling and artificial intelligence. The projects in the field of biotechnology are designed to develop biodegradable materials and ensure the usefulness and safety of food raw materials and food products.
– What support does the School provide to students?
– We offer different academic programmes for solving problems of real economics. And we always say: “We are open to the wishes of our students”. If a student is interested in some topic or s/he has chosen an enterprise for a future employment, then we will be providing research works that are included in the curriculum, taking into account the request of an enterprise, and solving certain problems. Besides, we provide consulting services and conduct an expert assessment of products for enterprises. We entrust this work to graduate students. Our students often become winners of various competitive programs, including funded ones (UMNIK, Startup and others). Such programs form initiative and entrepreneurial skills that are valuable for a future specialist.
– How are the psychological and biotechnical directions of SUSU developing?
– The School of Medical Biology is a serious team that can solve the problems of teaching students and involving them in scientific activities. Interdisciplinarity is our forte, a working format. Every year we update our academic programmes, taking into account the requests of industrial partners and the labour market; we include students in the system of project-based learning starting from their freshmen years, which allows them to form unique practical skills, participate in interdisciplinary scientific developments in teams of young scientists of departments using cutting-edge laboratory facilities of the university and production sites of potential employers. Psychologists organize elective-discipline courses for students of non-psychological programmes in order to expand their competencies by learning about psychology.
South Ural State University is a university of digital transformations, where innovative research is conducted in most of the priority fields of science and technology development. In accordance with the strategy of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation, the university is focused on the development of big scientific interdisciplinary projects in the field of digital industry, materials science, and ecology. In 2021 SUSU became the winner in the competition under the Priority 2030 program. The university acts as a regional project office of the World-class Ural Interregional Research and Education Centre (UIREC).