12 August 2009 Moscow College wins first public tender for training The Moscow ORT Technology College has beaten one of Russias leading education institutions to win its first government tender to supply design training courses for small and medium businesses. In its first participation in an open public tender, the College applied to run two courses one on application programmes of industrial design, the other on application programmes on design development, computer, interior and landscape design and won the rights for both. Its bids easily undercut those by its competitors, including the renowned 18,000-student Bauman Moscow State Technical University which was founded in 1830, and confirms the Colleges reputation as one of Russias leading centres for vocational training in design, advertising, economy and technology. Adult students at the Moscow ORT Technology College We were surprised that we won both tenders, said the Colleges Deputy Director, Igor Pavlov, who prepared the winning bids. So were very happy with the result. The Colleges success rested significantly on its recent certification by the Commercial and Industrial Chamber of Commerce of the Russian Federation. Until now, such certification has only been granted to Russias leading universities and is seen as the first step on the Colleges journey to be recognised officially as a university. The fact that our college is the first post-secondary vocational education institution to enjoy such recognition enabled our tenders to be considered by the authorities on a par with those submitted by officially recognised universities, said College Director Dr Yuriy Mironenko. The decision by the Moscow Governments Department of Small Business Support and Development means that the College will be providing night classes for more than 200 heads and employees of local enterprises from next month. We have provided training for government programmes before but on those occasions public bodies did the enrolment, Mr Pavlov said. But this is the first time we have worked directly for the government which means we have the challenge of preparing a marketing campaign to attract the students. The ORT Colleges ability to provide quality training inexpensively is expected to prove popular with increasingly budget conscious bureaucrats. This has been a very good experience because all colleges know that we cant receive much government financing during the economic crisis. So theres greater pressure now to compete in tenders for the money to provide course, Mr Pavlov said. The courses fall under the aegis of the Moscow Training Foundations City Programme for Small Business Development and Support, which has seen more than 30,000 specialists raise their professional skills over the past two years. The 1,500-student Moscow ORT Technology Colleges main aim is to provide young people with high quality further education resulting in qualifications which secure graduates with a real competitive advantage when seeking jobs in the fields of finance, media, advertising, publishing and fashion. Recognised by the Moscow Government as a highly innovative education institution, the College hosts the ORT Vocational Training Centre, which provides a wide range of programmes which reflect the demands of the labour market. The Centres distance learning system means that it can offer training to people across Russia, including disabled students. It also hosts a Hewlett-Packard-ORT GET-IT Centre, which provides information technology training for unemployed people or graduates aged between 16 and 25. The expertise it has accumulated over the years thanks to World ORTs investments enabled the College to provide the cost-effective package which won it the tender. We lead the way in the provision of computer design courses and our experts train some 500 vocational training teachers every year, Mr Pavlov said. Our commitment to our students means we provide real value for money.