معرفی
Irina Abankina is a Tenured Professor (2011) and Distinguished Professor (2019) at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University), where she has been employed since 2001. She holds dual appointments as Professor at the Institute of Education's Department of Educational Programmes and as Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Education's Centre for Financial and Economic Decisions in Education. Her extensive career spans over two decades at HSE, where she has made significant contributions to educational economics and policy.
Abankina earned her Candidate of Sciences (PhD equivalent) in Mathematical and Instrumental Methods in Economics in 1985 and holds a degree in Economic Cybernetics from Lomonosov Moscow State University (1979). Her educational background in mathematical economics forms the foundation of her analytical approach to educational policy and finance.
Professor Abankina's research focuses on critical issues in educational economics and policy, including human capital development, educational standards implementation, financing mechanisms for various education levels, and systemic reforms in education. Her work particularly emphasizes preschool and higher education financing, with numerous publications examining international comparisons, budget allocation strategies, and policy effectiveness. She has pioneered research on personalized funding models, teacher compensation structures, and the economic aspects of educational quality assurance.
Her scholarly output demonstrates consistent focus on the economic dimensions of educational policy, with particular attention to how financial mechanisms impact educational accessibility, quality, and equity. Analysis of her recent publications reveals growing interest in regional educational disparities, university-city relationships, and innovative funding approaches that respond to changing demographic and economic conditions.
- Best Teacher Award (2023)
- Best Teacher Award (2021)
- Best Teacher Award (2015)
Professor Abankina actively supervises doctoral candidates, having guided O. Leshukov's 2020 dissertation on regional higher education networks and A. Melikyan's 2019 research on university export activities. Her mentorship extends to numerous master's students through courses in Economics, Public Economics, and Foundations of Higher Education. She serves on multiple editorial boards including Экономика образования (2011), Справочник руководителя дошкольного учреждения (2005), and Вопросы образования (2003), demonstrating her commitment to advancing educational scholarship.
As a leading researcher at HSE's Institute of Education, Abankina contributes to several major research initiatives examining educational finance, policy implementation, and institutional development. Her work with the Centre for Financial and Economic Decisions in Education focuses on practical applications of economic theory to educational management challenges, particularly in resource allocation and budget optimization across different educational sectors.