In 2020 Universities faced the biggest crisis in the education system in decades. Covid brought with it the phenomenon of Lockdown and face-to-face education became impossible. However the crisis brought with it new opportunity, one which Free University has sought to capitalise on. On-line education allowed us to circumvent the bureaucracy which plagues so much of the educational establishment and to deliver a full and vibrant syllabus unhampered by the issues of physical presence.
Online education has levelled the playing field for smaller, niche organisations and has allowed them to outshine the larger, more cumbersome institutions. In a very short time period real academic freedom has become a reality and is now apparent not only to us but for students from various Universities in Russia and elsewhere. Lockdown has greatly affected those institutions where bureaucracy and tight control are dominant. In Russia this has been compounded by the Universities there attempting to retain political, moral and religious control. The result has been increased censorship to the detriment of the educational experience.
Our task has been to build a world leading University from scratch, freeing the professors from administrative burden and simply creating an environment for expressive thought and cultivated learning.
If the university can no longer be free, then a new free university is needed. Here the paths of the university and the state diverge. We are not a state educational institution; we do not compete with state universities; we don't have a campus. We will be teaching from home, from libraries, at summer schools. We will not stop defending freedom of knowledge and will not abandon our students. We cannot be expelled from the university, because the university is us.
The Free University was created to support and disseminate the basic values of academic life, the main of which are the pursuit of truth, academic freedom, academic autonomy, social responsibility, non-discrimination and equal access to education, transparency and accountability to society.
By pursuit of truth we mean the unselfish, methodical work of obtaining, testing and transmitting reliable scientific knowledge, excluding any imitation, hack-work, spread of biased and irresponsible fictions under the guise of science. The Free University sets exacting standards in its courses and expects the students to apply the same dedication and academic rigour to their studies.
By academic freedom the Free University stands primarily for freedom to teach, research and publish research results; the freedom to speak critically about the problems of academic life and associated issues, freedom from institutional censorship, and the freedom to participate in academic life, indeed in life in general. The Free University does not restrict professors and staff in expressing any opinions.
We understand academic autonomy as self-government necessary for organizing academic life in accordance with the principles of academic freedom, transparency and accountability to the professional community and society. This includes social responsibility and equal access to high-quality education. The Free University is an autonomous, self-governing team of professors, staff and students.
Social responsibility in higher education is to look for opportunities to disseminate scientific breakthroughs in accordance with ethical and professional standards, to respond to modern day problems and the needs of all society members. Scientists, researchers and professors take on this responsibility, hoping that the state and society will respect academic rights and freedoms, the institutional autonomy of universities.
Equal access to education expects no discriminatory restrictions on access to education, research and training. The Free University is open to all students, regardless of their financial situation. We strive to ensure that education in the Free University remains free. Free University is a place free from any discrimination, including gender, racial, ethnic, class, age, religious, political and other. It is a place of equal opportunities for representatives of any ideological movements, excluding those that call for violence and discrimination. Moreover, we try to do our best to help provide education to discriminated and vulnerable segments of society, including members of cultural minorities, people with low incomes, people with special needs and people in remote areas. The Free University is confident that the cultural and social diversity of the university is the key to its successful development.
The Free University works in an atmosphere of transparency and accountability to the professional community and society. We are trying to create clear and transparent mechanisms through which higher education professionals, staff, professors, students and society in general can assess the quality and effectiveness of education at the Free University, but we act in accordance with our own criteria and values.
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The Free University does not accept in any form:
- plagiarism,
- violence or the threat of violence in the university environment and beyond,
- discrimination based on origin, religious affiliation or lack thereof, other features of the personal status or profile of their employees and students,
- verbal or other forms of harassment and humiliation of colleagues - professors or students, abuse of their authority or quality,
- creating an atmosphere of hatred in and beyond the university under any pretext.
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In the Free University there should not occur:
- authoritarianism (when one person makes decisions and others have to carry them out),
- dogmatism,
- subordination of science and education to the administrative apparatus,
- "educational conveyor-belt production",
- imposition of some people’s views on others.
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We would like the Free University to be like this:
- All students and graduates participate in the university life;
- The scientific approach prevails over the situational and political approach. Due to the independence and academic character of the university, the subjects of science are studied from a scientific point of view, regardless of the political situation;
- Based on a scientific understanding of the phenomena, university professors respond to the challenges of today;
- Visiting professors from various universities work in the Free University. We are integrated into a global scientific and educational community. An integral part of science is openness, communication, connections, exchange of knowledge, conferences and meetings;
- Each student and each professor is an individual who requires an individual approach and respect;
- The Free University is a rounded education, not a standard production of specialists;
- One of the University’s main tasks is to teach the students to formulate questions correctly, work with information, draw independent conclusions and study independently. It should give the student a tool that will allow him or her to continue to self-educate.
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The Free University professors agreed on the following: we will never rely on the government but rather manage ourselves. Our goals are idealistic and material success is only a derivative of them. We will protect academic freedom from any attack - by our charter and the transparency of our decisions. The Free University was created for education and scientific research; it is not subject to any ideology.
It is for the sake of the purity of science that we have to agree from the start on fundamental freedoms - civil, political and academic. Indeed, the university needs not only academic but also civil and political freedoms.
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The Free University shares the values set forth in the Magna Charta Universitatum, which was signed by the Rectors of European universities in 2018.
We share the values of protecting human rights as laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948.
The Free University participates in a global dialogue on academic freedoms and in a dialogue on the development of Russian society and the state.
The Free University values international cooperation with the aim of internationalising Russian higher education, including with the aim of reliable and independent quality control of scientific research and teaching.
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The self-government structure, work and documents of all future departments of the Free University must comply with this University Value Statement.