press release
November 27, 2006 IBS, the leading IT and consulting company in the market, and Moscow Medical Academy named after I. M. Sechenov (MMA) have joined their resources to implement the innovative program for the higher school development. IBS has successfully passed the phase of open tenders and is starting to carry out two major projects for the Academy: building an information system to manage the higher school, and developing/deploying a distance education system. The aggregate budget of the two projects exceeds 140 mln rubles.
Through this innovative development program MMA hitches its wagon to stars, its major goals being:
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having systems of medical and pharmaceutical higher vocational education comply with modern demands of the dynamically developing labor market;
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facilitating sustainable improvement of education's effectiveness;
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integration in the European educational environment.
To achieve those goals MMA is planning to solve a number of tasks including such vital ones as creation of an effective management system based on state-of-the-art information technologies, and introduction of modern education technologies into the Academy's practices.
The project of building an integrated information management system for higher school aims to improve the MMA management practices. The system is going to impact the following areas:
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Management of the educational process (e-deanery and e-rectorate: planning, arrangement, monitoring of education, support of the educational process by means of IT).
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Management of innovative, educational, production research and scientific research projects.
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Human resources management (manning table planning and maintenance, personnel accounting, personnel recruitment, training and development, personnel incentives, promotions management, etc.).
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Economics and finance management (budgeting, plan vs. actual analysis, off-budget accounting, management accounting, cash flow accounting, etc.).
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Auxiliary functions management (reporting, electronic document flow, information resources management, etc.).
The main points the soon-to-be information system should meet have been determined already. It should be comprehensive, i.e. cover the entire scope of MMA's activities and accumulate all data flows in a unified data base, as well as allow for gradual compliance of the management architecture, accounting systems, data storage and exchange methods with international standards. Moreover, the system's functions should be flexible and scalable.
"The basic points we had in mind when looking for a service provider were the ability of a contractor to carry out the entire scope of work set up by the project assignment, to build a uniform information environment for a higher school, to ensure integration with current and emerging information systems designed to manage the process of education, to provide an exhaustive range of services. IBS is a company profoundly experienced in carrying out complex projects, which, hopefully, will help them effectively implement the innovative educational program of MMA," – explains Mr. Gennady Kavalersky, First Pro-rector for Education, MMA.
The second project – Development and deployment of distance education system (DES) – aims to provide health workers not just in Moscow but elsewhere in the Russian Federation with opportunities for obtaining high-quality higher education, retraining and advanced training. Distance education mode should provide minimum-expense high-quality instruction for individuals at any locality.
The DES project implies deployment of complex soft hardware, educational materials and teaching methods, which enable individuals to learn at a distance, to improve their training, to shape and test their knowledge and form skills.
"We believe that our competence in remodeling higher schools management systems and introduction of new technologies of education, distance education inclusive, will prove valuable for many medical schools in Russia. The Academy, upon introducing the new technologies into its own practices, intends to share and spread the outcomes of the innovative educational program among other medical schools by means of seminars, conferences and symposia, as well as through channels of distance interaction with those schools," – notes Mr. Mikhail Paltsev, Rector, MMA.
During the first phase of the project in 2006 the partners are going to build the first stage of the Distance Education System, and to develop the project assignment along with the concept of the Integrated Information System for Managing MMA. Before the year 2007 expires they are planning to expand functionality of the systems, to train the staff for their operation and maintenance, to instruct users and to set both systems in operation.
Partners' Profiles:
I. M. Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy is the largest educational and scientific center for training, certification and further training of health and pharmaceutical professionals in Russia. The Academy is the flagship school within the Association of medical and pharmaceutical higher schools of Russia.
The Academy comprises a scientific research center with 61 laboratories; 5 think tanks; a botanical garden; Burevestnik Stadium, Sechenovets Health and Recreation Camp for students; 3 dormitories for students. Sechenov MMA operates 139 buildings with the total floor area of over 360,000 sq.m. The Academy campus has 20 educational-and-therapeutic blocks. The Academy gives training to nearly 9,000 Russian and foreign students.
IBS is the leader in the Russian IT and consulting market. It is part of IBS Group. For more information on the company please visit Web-site: http://www.ibs.ru/
For any further information on IBS, please contact Lada Scherbakova, IBS Public Relations Director. Tel.: (495) 967-80-80, e-mail: lada@ibs.ru .
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