Meeting of the Federal Educational and Methodological Association took place as part of the Baltic Maritime Forum
A meeting of the Federal Educational and Methodological Association (FEMA) within the higher education system for the enlarged group of specialities and training directions (EGSTD) 19.00.00 Industrial Ecology and Biotechnology took place on 28 September 2026 in Kaliningrad and was dedicated to the transition to a new model of higher education for training programmes in the fields of food technology and biotechnology. Twenty-four members of the FEMA, who had arrived from various regions of Russia, actively participated in the event.
Following a welcome address, a presentation was given by Professor O. Ya. Mezenova, Head of the Food Technology and Biotechnology Division at the FEMA for the Food Ecology and Biotechnology programme and Head of the Food Biotechnology Department at KSTU. Olga Yakovlevna spoke about the regulatory framework for the new model of higher education in the food-related study programmes offered by the FEMA.
Next to speak was the Deputy Chair of the Academic Council for the 19.04.05 study programme and Dean of the Department of Agri-Food Biotechnology and Food Engineering at the Advanced Engineering School of the Institute of Biotechnology, Bioengineering and Food Systems at Far Eastern Federal University, V.A. Lyakh, who presented the university’s experience of adopting the new model, using the example of their own educational standard, Food Supply Technologies in the Bioeconomy.
Z.N. Khatko, Head of the Food Technology and Catering Department at Maikop State Technological University, delivered the third presentation; she outlined the university’s innovative technologies within the system for training competitive specialists for the region’s agro-industrial complex.
In her presentation, V.B. Chmykhalova, Head of the Food Production Technology Department at Kamchatka State Technical University, highlighted the distinctive features of dual education in the training of bachelor’s degree students in food technology.
The report by A.V. Chernova, Director of the Centre for Supporting the Activities of the Food Technology and Biotechnology Division of the FEMA Industrial Ecology and Biotechnology at FSBEI HE KSTU, focused on the results of the All-Russian competition for final qualification projects. Following the discussion of the presentation, it was decided to continue holding the final qualification project competition, with a possible postponement to late June–early July to allow for more convenient use of the certificates and diplomas obtained when applying for master’s and postgraduate programmes.
In conclusion of the meeting, O.Ya. Mezenova presented a report on the activities of the Food Technology and Biotechnology Division of the FEMA for EGSTD 19.00.00 Industrial Ecology and Biotechnology for the 2024–2025 academic year.
The final stage involved the consideration of the draft resolution of the FEMA meeting dated 28 September 2026.
Following the discussion, the participants confirmed the need for further coordination and the exchange of experience between FEMA universities to ensure the successful implementation of the new model.
The decisions taken at the meeting were aimed at standardising and modernising the educational environment within the framework of EGSTD 19.00.00. This requires concerted action among FEMA universities and innovative approaches to training specialists in the fields of food science and biotechnology, taking into account the results of final qualification projects and developing human resource potential in the region.
In the future, there are plans for active work on preparing documents and coordinating changes at the university level by the end of 2026, followed by further joint work in 2027, based at Kaliningrad State Technical University.
The FEMA meeting took place in a constructive atmosphere and reaffirmed the commitment to continuing the mutually beneficial exchange of experience between its participants.
