On November 23, 2024, the final round of the Innovations in Education Contest took place, marking the 11th season of the initiative that unites innovators in education. The competition is organised by HSE University and Alfa-Bank. This year’s event was the largest in its history, with over 1,000 applications from more than 3,000 participants across all federal districts of Russia. The final showcased 12 innovative projects, with winners receiving awards, including the grand prize of 1 million roubles.

On the basis of scientific research expedition in Chelyabinsk region.
Our tasks were:
Developing a mental map of the educational initiatives support and development infrastructure (federal programs, grant and competitive tools)
Studying interactions, partnerships and horizontal ties with of educational organizations in the innovative activity
Exploring strategies for integrating educational initiatives into federal and regional development projects
Method was a semi-structured interview with three types of respondents:
1) representatives of Education Development Centers and Institutes;
2) representatives of regional platforms of expert, informational, technical and financial support of educational initiatives;
3) authors of educational initiatives and innovation projects.
The results of the study are summarized below.

New graduate courses will be introduced in 2022/23 Institute of Education  masters’ curricula. Those working in the education field or planning to do so in the future will have an opportunity to gain essential competencies. Financial backing for these plans is there: Vladimir Potanin Foundation held a grant competition, and two of our lab’s applications received funding while one was waitlisted.

Diana Koroleva, a chair of the Laboratory for Educational Innovation Research, and Laco Horvath, an associate researcher of the Higher Education and Innovation grou p, presented the results of their research regarding motivations and values of educational innovation ecosystem actors. Cases from Hungary and Russia were studied. Such a comparative approach allows deeper understanding of the innovative processes; it also will be of help for managerial decision-making regarding establishment and development of innovative education ecosystems (RFBR Grant No. 20-513-23002).