MOSCOW, June 4. /TASS/. Moscow State University has once again topped the list of Russia’s 100 best educational institutions, according to the RAEX rating agency.

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, MIPT, and National Research Nuclear University, MEPhI, are ranked second and third, respectively.

St. Petersburg State University is ranked fourth, followed by the Higher School of Economics and MGIMO University in the fifth and sixth spots. Lastly, Tomsk Polytechnic University is seventh on the list of Russia’s top 100 educational institutions. All seven universities have confirmed their ratings and their rankings have not changed since 2018.

According to Moscow State University Rector Victor Sadovnichy, these results have become possible due to the harmonious development of the university's different sectors and its commitment to all its missions.

"Our success comes due to the harmonious development in many sectors. In the coming academic year, we will have four new directions of training and more than ten educational programs, we are opening new labs, research centers and creating conditions for initiating and developing new scientific schools," the rector said.

"Moscow State pays specific attention to a third, social mission of the university. Experts from Moscow State University cooperate on a regular basis with the media, participate in educational events, initiate and develop their own promotional projects," the press service quoted the rector as saying.

Bauman Moscow State Technical University and Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University climbed one position higher than in 2018, ranking eighth and ninth this year.

Novosibirsk State University (National Research University) dropped two notches to tenth place. On the whole, the list of the top 20 educational institutions has not changed significantly since 2018.

The top 30 list includes 17 higher educational establishments from Moscow and the Moscow Region, four universities from St. Petersburg, two universities from the Siberian city of Tomsk, Novosibirsk State University and Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod. Also included on the list are five federal universities: Ural Federal University, Siberian Federal University, Kazan Federal University, Far Eastern Federal University and Southern Federal University, the research report stated.

Strong and weak points of Russian universities

According to the survey, students see the fundamental component of education and involvement in scientific research as the strong points of their alma maters, while universities’ poor contacts with employers is a minus.

A total of 35% of the students that were polled regretted their insufficient involvement in scientific activity. "This is an alarming signal for Russia's system of higher education in general. The guidelines set by the state (advancing research on the global arena) are less important for students than their job placement opportunities after graduation," the document said.