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RIAS fellows’ comments on the project

• Tarkowski Mikolai, Ph.D, University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland

 First of all, I would like to thank everybody for being a participant of science program RIAS. While I was making my project, I met very broadbrow and worthy people. Many times they inspired me for new understanding of phenomena and objects. It seems to me that this place (Zavety Il`icha, Moscow region) has very high academic potential. It provides a nice working environment. Everyone can devote himself to his scientific work! That is because of the excellent creative atmosphere in RIAS, which is located in a still and green area. After a few working hours you can quickly restore your strength, walking in the forest and near the pond. For me, working here is a unique opportunity to work in an international team. From this point of view I got the opportunity to strengthen my knowledge in history, for example. It was a unique experience for me and I'm sure it will play a role in my academic and career future

• Izabela Morska (Filipiak), Ph.D, Instytut Anglistyki, Uniwersytet Gdański, Gdansk, Poland

 Participation in the program and stay in RIAS are different from all my other similar trips in the past. We were not only working intensively (it's everywhere), but also join other types of activity such as beautiful Russian nature study, communication with cats (I took to Poland a kitten), cooperation with English-speaking colleagues and experts, Moscow and region sightseeing.

Therefore, there is no feeling of fatigue, as usual in such cases, because there was the possibility of varied activities. Nevertheless I managed to do a lot: finished two articles in English, which were sent to the journals in August, 2013. What’s more, I was introduced to leading specialist in the field of my project - Lyme Disease - Professor EI Korenberg (Institute. Gamaleya RAMS. Moscow). Also RIAS invited him to my report presentation. Discussions with EI Korenberg helped me a lot in developing the theme of my project.

•  Ilona Kiss, Ph.D, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

RIAS as a platform for new academic approaches and scientific ideas.

The first six months I spent in the Russian Institute for Advanced Studies at Sholokhov Moscow State University for the Humanities proved to be one of my most productive period in my academic carrier. RIAS as a brand new institution, unique and first international academic structure in Russian and even in the whole post-Soviet region as such, became a very strong scientific platform for multidisciplinary research within a very short period of time. RIAS has all kind of advantages needed for the creative and dynamic research activity. First of all, it has a very diverse academic community with leading experts in different fields and from different counties and regions. The wide range of “community life” in RIAS “head quarter” (Zaveti Ilyicha) and university buildings (Taganka, Ryazanka, etc.) were elaborated for mutual beneficiary. The regular open seminars, lecture series, round table discussions, special courses for students, etc., converted into an exceptional and irreplaceable platform for elaboration of new approaches and ideas. The articles and other products, prepared (and to be prepared) here in this very inspiring intellectual atmosphere will be published in the most distinguished academic journals and presented on international conferences, indicating the high quality of RIAS undertakings.   I am really proud of being a part of this exclusive initiative. I am convinced that it would provide a really constructive contribution to the realization of the long term strategy of Sholokhov University.

• Vsevolod Andreev, Physical and Mathematical Sciences (Ph.D.),Chuvash State University, Cheboksary, Russia 

 This program enables participants to fully concentrate on the research and preparation of science articles, which requires a lot of effort. Usually, it is difficult to do in a real life. That is why my work here was so useful and effective.

Communication in interdisciplinary, scientific team provides a great opportunity to expanding the horizons of our scientific researches. I hope that in the future I will have an ability to come to RIAS again to work here and participate in scientific researches and programs.

• Marianna Sokolova, PhD, Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences (INION RAS),  Moscow, Russia

RIAS research program enables participants:

a)  to expand their professional horizons;

b) to learn up-to-date technologies of the preparation of publications in English;

c) an opportunity to get the skills to participate in long-term collective projects.

To achieve all these goals RIAS guidance have been able to manage an excellent working environment, perfect conditions for food and stay in a place with beautiful scenery.

I wish RIAS program to achieve more and more success and to be continued at such high level.

•   Alla Toropova, Doctor of Pedagogy, Ph.D, Рrofessor, Moscow State Pedagogical University, Moscow, Russia

Working on the project with the support of RIAS, even within such short period time (3 months), for me was a great and creative success. During these months I had the opportunity to focus on the difficult experimental research study to review the methodological part and prepare the data for analysis. All this would be impossible to do in conditions of simple everyday university life. I am very advanced in the research project. I with me co-workers prepared two great articles – thank RIAS for this great opportunity which was given to me!

Besides, through very interesting interdisciplinary communication with my colleagues at this University helped me a lot to expand horizons!

Here I was able to work without detriment to health because this place is perfect: beautiful nature, good managed mode of life and my exercises of Yoga outdoors. This kind of organization of creative scientific life must necessarily evolves! Good luck to you!

•   Liudmila Pravikova, Ph.D, Рrofessor, Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University, Pyatigorsk, Russia

I am deeply grateful to have held the Research Fellowship at the Russian Institute for Advanced Study (RIAS) for the academic year 2013-2014. My research project addresses a multifaceted problem of disappearing languages maintenance and support in the North Caucasus with digital means. The main goal is to challenge the idea that it is impossible to fight languages decay and attrition and to make visible technological aspects of survival process in the North Caucasus.

For me it is really a unique opportunity to pursue my curiosity-driven research  at RIAS, which is an international crossing point and scientific enquiry resource for intellectuals the world over. The Institute breeds a creative atmosphere for scholars in both humanities and natural science. The fellowship scheme provides scientists with intellectual and spiritual freedom, the possibility of a comfortable stay in a setting that differs from the home, exemption from teaching load and institutional commitments, and lots of formal and informal discussions of the research in a diverse team of scholars of international distinction representing different branches of knowledge.

During my tenure, I have enjoyed invaluable opportunities to advance research on my current project «The impact of informational technologies on the construction of language identities in the North Caucasus», to participate as much as possible in the intellectual life of the Institute, to engage in round-table conversations of the university, to lecture at some departments for students and professorship on my research issues, and to discuss papers on work in progress in regular research seminars.

RIAS is a very young project but it is already developing a progressive model for reconciling the humanities and natural sciences, and it encourages and supports interdisciplinary projects of the value unlike anything seen in Russia. It has the potential to secure far greater scientific outcomes than any other programs of the past in Russia ever did. Updates can occur only in conditions of competition. The setting up of institutions like RIAS opens up new prospects for the development of Russian science and creates rich research resources and benefits for international scholarly community.

• Dmitry Davydov,  MD, Ph.D, Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology, Moscow, Russia

 I felt very excited when learned that my project won the Research Fellowship at the Russian Institute for Advanced Study. I’ve developed unbiased objective metrics of resilience, general health, well-being, and quality of life for estimating relevance and effects of health-care programs and this my project attracted attention of the experts of the Institute.

 By measuring and regulating health capacity for patient resilience in the face of everyday and occasional adversities the developed metrics will be a substantial supplement to the traditional subjective measures of health or well-being like QualityMetric SF-36, WHODAS or other patient-reported outcomes. These metrics can be implemented as cheap healthcare solutions among different populations (e.g., care assistance for older people; health rehabilitation, sport and fitness centers; for people in emergency and rescue services; to control diet, decrease fat body mass, or increase lean body mass; workers' compensation business; pre-existing condition and proactive tracking of employees).

 There is an obvious and growing need for researchers in Russia to have a comfortable place for informal and peaceful exchange of their ideas with peers from other Russian regions and countries, a place, where curiosity is respected and given the condition to its flourishing. I found conferences too short and too scurrying for that. This Institute and its fellowship scheme provides an exceptional opportunity for intellectuals to enrich their research and papers in progress during informal and homelike discussions and during regular formal round-tables with scholars who work in other areas of life and natural sciences.

I sure, that in future this Russian Institute for Advanced Study is destined to play a more important role in the Russian and international scholarly landscape. It is uniquely well placed in a very green and attractive area not far from Moscow to provide both an encouraging environment for rest and living and a supportive environment for research.

• Dr. Szirmai Éva, Ph.D, University of Szeged, Budapest, Hungary

As a participant of the RIAS (Russian Institute for Advanced Study, RIAS) fellowship program, I am grateful for the opportunity of being able to handle my theme of research on the effect of the mass media to forms and genres of mass culture 21 century under ideal conditions. The program’s participants represent a wide range of disciplines, thus resulting in a fertile environment for interdisciplinary discussions and mini-symposia. The Sholokhov Moscow State University for the Humanities and the Russian Institute for Advanced Study in Humanities and Technology do their best to make a wonderful environment and accommodations, ideal to concentrate on our work.  The relationship with the other faculties of the University, research workshops and the possibility of encountering students offer new experiences of getting to know Russian higher education and scientific research. I am sure that thanks to this program the names of the Sholokhov University and RIAS will shortly be well-known throughout Europe. I wish continued success to the institution, and successful research to those awarded with the scholarship.

• Giovanni Savino, Ph.D, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy

Let me tell you about a new, perspective, nice Research Institute. Let me tell you about the Russian Institute for Advanced Study of MSUH Sholokhov, a very good ambient for scholars, where you can meet other colleagues, and you have all kind of possibilities and choices to develop your research.

My experience here is so good that I'd like to stay again and again, with a very professional staff, headed by a very kind and good director Rustem Gibadulin, who is ready, together with his vice Andrey Ivanov, to hear and help at every time; the scientific work is under the direction of one of the most well-known scientists of Russian Federation, the professor of Chemistry Dr. Renad Zhdanov.  The team here is always ready to help and accommodate you: Zavety Ilicha, where is the RIAS headquarter, is an ideal place for work and relax, with all the facilities and a wood and a river not far.

Here I feel that my research is growing on, and that my experience as young scholar is going on, reaching new levels of understandings and openings. With RIAS I had the opportunity to attend the ASEEES Convention in Boston, two conferences at Shaninka in Moscow, and another one in Bristol: the attention of the Institute for opening the limits of science is literally, and promotes the publishing activities and the participation of scholars at different events.

There is only one minus at RIAS: that here all is so good, that you never want to go away!

• Shaulov Sergey, Ph.D, Bashkir state university, Voronezh,Russia

 I think, that RIAS is one of the most effective tools for developing of Russian humanitarian science. RIAS fulfills two important conditions of successful intellectual work. First, it gives us time to think and discuss actual science problems. Moreover we can explore the unique atmosphere of interdisciplinary dialog. It must be emphasized that RIAS became a pioneer of such organization of scientific work. Till the recent times Russian humanitarian scientist do not have opportunities for real postdoctoral research programmes. We only can wish to RIAS further developing and strengthening.