The Institute of Food Production and Biotechnology professors took part in the All-Russian conference "Beyond the horizon of standards. What and how to teach when the future is already here", held at the Higher School of Management of St. Petersburg State University with the support of the Vladimir Potanin Charitable Foundation.

The discussion within the framework of the conference took place in five tracks, united by the common theme "competencies of the graduate of the future": metacognitive and cognitive, socio-emotional, digital and technological, value and managerial competencies.

The event was attended by 170 higher education professors from 41 regions of Russia, Belarus, and Transnistria. They participated in the conference. Elena Perushkina, Associate Professor of the Department of Industrial Biotechnology, and Anna Volostnova, Associate Professor of the Department of Food Production Technology, were invited as group leaders to develop methodological approaches for modern higher education. Elena Balyimova, Associate Professor of the Department of Industrial Biotechnology, and Elizaveta Balyimova, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Food Production Technology, also participated in the conference activities.

— Teachers from leading educational centers worked in small groups for open discussions. The participants got involved in the work and talked about their experience of using business games in teaching students of various fields of study. Each participant presented their experience in implementing methodological developments for the formation of the competence "Strategic thinking". An important stage was the creation of a methodology for assessing competence development. I shared with the participants my own experience of conducting a business game with students of the Master's degree in Biotechnology on 04/19/2011, which was developed as part of a grant from the Potanin Foundation," said Elena Perushkina.

The conference participants worked together to find answers to the following pressing questions: Why do we teach students at the university — to achieve educational results or to prepare them for the job market? What kind of future will a graduate face in 4-5 years, and what competencies will they need to succeed in their professional lives? How can we teach students to think critically, make sense of their activities, and maintain their values?

In addition to participating in open discussions and roundtables, the faculty members also took part in special activities organized by the Higher School of Management at St. Petersburg State University and its partners, which focused on the use of case studies, VR simulations, AI assistants, and the development of cultural competencies and hybrid learning methods.

During the open discussions and roundtables, the conference participants created a description of future competency development methods based on their real-life experiences. As a result of the five conference tracks, a practical guidebook was published that provides a comprehensive overview of the methods and techniques used to develop competencies in higher education. The collection is scheduled for release in the autumn of 2026.