The Higher Education Review

The cornerstone of creative education is a cross-disciplinary approach. Nowadays, people don’t choose a job for a lifetime, in creative industries it’s natural when one switches their professional path every five years or practices so-called ‘slash-carriers’. And it’s far more important to use four educational years to bring up individuals who are able to think, deal with complex multidimensional challenges, research, work on different types of projects, who are ready to deal with the turbulence of the life than to ensure that the graduates stick to the set of tools learned in the university.

Set up with 100 percent student-centric and practiceoriented approach is Universal University. For 20 years the institute has been accumulating the best educational expertise from around the globe and has integrated it into their programmes. Universal University managed to achieve a perfect mix of theory and practice in its higher education programmes which is a prerequisite for drafting and launching of educational products. “We believe that educational programmes need to be upgraded on a yearly basis. We adhere to high standards of academic quality.

We also implement principles of ‘group dynamics’ which means that we can adjust particular courses to the dynamics of the particular group of students. For example, the standard says that the course takes 40 hours to complete, but one group for some reason can’t complete the course within these 40 hours.

We don’t wait for the academic year to end so we could adjust the course for the next year, we adjust it immediately: add hours, amend curriculum, provide the students with the industrial-related projects so that they could complete the course here and now”, highlights Mikhail Levin, Dean for Higher Education Programmes in Universal University, Director of Moscow School of Contemporary Art.

Blending the Right Number of Theory with Practice
Today, the main pain point in the higher education system is a great amount of theory with the lack of practice. At Universal University, the goal is to provide students with the right theory/practice ratio. The institute is committed to working with the educators who are involved in industry, ensuring that students learn through working on real briefs provided by real industry members.

“Universal University is an industry hub. We are an organic part of the global ecosystem. For example, our Foundation Art & Design students had a collaborative project with Manchester School of Art students, the resulting works and a series of dialogues were presented at an exhibition in Shanghai”, adds Mikhail Levin. Universal University works with the industry on a daily basis to accumulate a common future. Bridging the gap between education and industry is their top priority. The university attracts industry practitioners to design study programmes depending on the current industry’s demand.

“We are open to the experiments since it’s vital for us as for a creative institution to be at the forefront. Since we are an educational institution we have a strong social mission and we find it absolutely essential to be involved in social and volunteer projects that can really make a difference. One of our greatest accomplishments is a joint project of British Higher School of Art and Design (BHSAD) and AliExpress. Our students designed clothes for people with Down syndrome and students from Moscow Film School (MFS) filmed a commercial for the collection”, says Mikhail.

Preparing for Future
As required by Russian higher education standards, every year the students have internships. Through these internships they strengthen networking, learn in practice and by the end of the programme they become grown professionals who see their strong features, who know how to ‘sell’ their work, who have very strong networking skills.

Every year the institute has a so-called ‘Career Summer’ for the last-year students with multiple workshops, meetings with industry members, HRs, who teach the students how to draft an outstanding CV, a cover letter, how to organise a portfolio, and more, so that they can find the best job offer possible. Universal University has formed small groups so that curators could support each and every student during the course. “We have a Student Experience Director who ensures our students have the best experience. We also have a Well-being Department that provides psychological support to our students”, adds Mikhail Levin.

The students have access to cutting-edge technology and infrastructure, and they work with the very same equipment that is used in the industry. Universal University has its own jewelry, fashion design, ceramics, printmaking & silkscreening workshops, digital photo and video, theater, animation, sound design and film studios, center of modelmaking and prototyping, cinema hall and rental shop. Also, the institute has dark rooms for film photography and a number of Apple Macintosh and PC suites.

Universal University has both Russian and international tutors from around the world. “We are especially proud that we have tutors who are actually working in the industry which makes transition to the real work environment for our students seamless. Annually, we have more than 1300 tutors involved in the continuing and higher education programmes and around 200 of them involved in the higher education programmes”, shares Mikhail Levin.

“Moreover, we are training our academic and administrative team with the best practices around the key values of the student scientific approach in education. At university, we have School of Education. It is a faculty that specializes in delivering cuttingedge courses and programmes in progressive methods in education”, adds Mikhail Levin. Higher education in Russia is relatively inexpensive compared to Europe or North America.

”Universal University managed to achieve A perfect mix of theory and practice In its higher education programmes Which is a prerequisite for drafting and Launching of educational Products”

Many Indian students learn Russian to go to Russia to study medicine since Russian medical education is relatively cheap. Universal University understands their great advantage from this perspective is that they have international expertise grounded to the Russian environment, but still the institute ensures that the students are involved in the global professional context as well. That is what makes it possible for Universal University to offer a unique combination of strong educational programmes and affordable tuition fees.

Universal University is situated in Moscow - one of the biggest and most dynamic cities in the world that has great history, architecture, museums, theatres, and more. Many students from Russia and other countries choose Moscow as their educational destination. Also, Russia is a half-European half-Asian country, so Universal University understand both cultural codes. And the university very well understands which tools to use to unlock their students’ creativity no matter the countries of their origin!

Mikhail Levin, Dean for Higher Education Programmes in Universal University

Mikhail is an artist, curator and Director of Moscow School of Contemporary Art (MSCA). He accumulated educational experience being a student of Slade School of Fine Art and Royal Drawing School. For the past 12 years has been teaching in the oldest UU School - British Higher School of Art and Design and in MSCA. Became a Dean for Higher Education Programmes at Universal University in 2022.