Novosibirsk State Technical University (NETI) has received high recognition at the federal level. On June 2, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin held a meeting The Council for the Implementation of state policy in the field of support of the Russian language and the Languages of the Peoples of the Russian Federation. In his report, the Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov noted NSTU as one of the leaders in the field of training specialists and the development of the Russian sign language.
During the meeting, Maria Priemysheva (Institute of Linguistic Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences) took the initiative to systematically support the Russian language, noting that today there are more than 230 thousand citizens using sign language in the country. However, so far only three universities in Russia are implementing specialized programs for its development. Valery Falkov agreed with the need for systemic changes: "To support the Russian sign language... Of course, we will support you. We have three main organizations and two universities here: Moscow State Linguistic University, which implements specialized programs, Novosibirsk State Technical University, and the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences."
Vladimir Putin, in turn, instructed to strengthen the scientific and educational component in this area. "Of course, everything will have to be done to support the Russian sign language," the head of state stressed. "I completely agree: hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens use it, and everything must be done to make them feel like full—fledged members of our society." Thus, the Russian sign language will receive additional systemic attention from the state.
As part of the state support, it is planned to develop unified curricula and manuals on Russian language for higher and secondary schools, intensify scientific research in the field of vocabulary and grammar of sign language, create a unified scientific dictionary and mobile applications, as well as form a common information platform for native speakers and teachers.
"The recognition of the university at the level of the head of state is a high appreciation of the systematic work of a large team. NSTU-NETI has built a full-fledged ecosystem of inclusive education: we create conditions for the education of students with hearing impairments and at the same time train professional translators of Russian sign language. Training is conducted at two levels — secondary vocational and higher education. The RSL laboratory has been operating at the university for more than 30 years, and the accumulated experience allows us to be a reliable partner of the state. And now that the development of sign language is receiving state support, NSTU-NETI is ready to offer its expertise and infrastructure for the implementation of government tasks in this area," said Igor Marchuk, Acting Rector of the university.
Let us remind you that since 1995, the Russian Sign Language Laboratory has been operating at NSTU-NETI. Since 2024, the NSTU-NETI Resource Training and Methodological Center for the Education of the Disabled and People with disabilities has been fulfilling the state task of developing the scientific and methodological base of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and teaching methods. The center is currently testing an educational and methodological complex for teachers and translators of the Russian sign language, as well as for specialists who interact with deaf and hard of hearing citizens by profession.