In 2016, the School of Economics and Management was created on the basis of 26 departments and 4 faculties. Ten years have passed since opening of a new division in the university structure, so it is possible to sum up the intermediate results of the path travelled. At technical universities, economists have always been actively engaged in practical research: for almost 70 years, scientists have focused on issues of economics and management in manufacturing. With the formation of the School of Economics and Management the tasks have expanded: in addition to preserving scientific traditions, it has become necessary to participate in achieving new ambitious goals that the university sets for itself.
The “Science for the Region” university strategy gave impetus to fundamental research at the School of Economics and Management in two directions. The first is represented by applied scientific research in the field of industrial economics and innovation, which is confirmed by publications, grants and successful defences of postgraduate students: 23 dissertations for the period since 2020 with the subsequent implementation of the results in the management processes of enterprises and organizations of our region and our country. Professors Elena Vaisman, Irina Solovyova, Tatyana Khudyakova, Mikhail Kuvshinov and Maria Podshivalova work here. They develop business processes at industrial enterprises in the conditions of instability and the search for innovations in order to achieve technological sovereignty.
The second direction implies research studies of regional and spatial economics. South Ural University has always been a leader in economic science of our region. Its scientists participated in creating of development strategies for the Chelyabinsk Region, municipalities (for example, Miass, Korkino, Kartaly) and federal projects for single-industry towns (Tryokhgorny, Snezhinsk, Asha). An important stage was the work of 2017, “Comprehensive Analysis and Diagnostics of the Socio-economic Development of the Chelyabinsk Region” within the framework of the development of the Strategy for the Socio-economic Development of the Chelyabinsk Region for the period up to 2035, according to which our region lives and works at the present time. This study formed a research team and activated the defence of dissertations on regional economics. Many professors of the School of Economics and Management are members of the dissertation council in the Regional and Sectors-specific Economics (Regional Economics, Population Economics and Labour Economics) specialty.
In connection with the change in the situation in Russia due to the global instability of international relations, scientific and technological shifts, and new tasks for universities under the Priority 2030 program, the research interests of the School of Economics and Management focused on the relevant direction: Adaptive Potential of the Regional Economy in the Context of Global Transformations. The professors’ research corresponds to current issues: industrial sovereignty and economic sustainability (Prof. Irina Danilova), regulation of labour markets (Prof. Anzhelika Karpushkina), development of urban agglomerations (Prof. Valentina Antonyuk), regions in the context of the new climate agenda (Prof. Irina Dovbiy). It is worth to specifically note the work on marketing analysis of regional markets by the Head of the Department of Management Tatyana Maksimova and the research on foreign trade under the leadership of Evgeniy Stepanov of the Department of Customs Affairs.
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The School of Economics and Management actively participates in grant activities. In 2020, three grants from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research were won, and in 2023 and 2025, grants from the Russian Science Foundation were won to study the adaptability of industry and industrial sovereignty of regions: “Formation of Industrial Sovereignty of Regions in the Context of the “Resistance Economy”: Models of Industry Development and Conversion of Promising Economic Specializations Considering the Industrial Competencies of Territories”, “Research on Innovative Landscape of the Chelyabinsk Region and Development of a Value-based Approach to the Formation of the Regional Innovation Policy”.
Scientists of the School of Economics and Management are not only engaged in applied and fundamental economic research, but also participate in expert work: they cooperate with the Legislative Assembly of the Chelyabinsk Region, the Ministry of Economic Development and Finance of the Chelyabinsk Region, as well as with the South Ural Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Over 10 years, the School of Economics and Management has formed a strong research team with diverse interests in the regional economy. Confidence in further development and high professional potential are what distinguishes the School of Economics and Management today.