Students of Russian universities will be able to submit an appraisal commission for consideration their own startup instead of the thesis, Izvestia reports. The Startup as a Diploma program will be available to students of 40 universities in 2021.

      These changes were launched as part of the federal program "Digital Economy"; its goal is to engage talented students in the development of the ecosystem of technological entrepreneurship, as well as support business in the initial stages.

      The press service of the Ministry of Education and Science explained that students of any level of education and any direction of stufdies will be able to take part in the program. The only requirement is that the  role and functional responsibilities of the student in the startup team should correspond to the direction of the major.

Sources: http://mbgazeta.ru