SUSU Rector Aleksandr Shestakov met with the representatives of the Russian Electrotechnical Group Ruselprom, who addressed the leadership of South Ural State University with an offer of training specialists for their subsequent employment at the enterprise. This offer was highly appreciated by the university, and now it is planned to open a new Bachelor's degree programme in Electrical Engineering after bringing the curricula in line with the requirements of the industrial partner and the latest trends in the development of the industry.
Electromechanical engineers are among the most in-demand specialists in the field of power engineering. They must be highly qualified. Developer’s mistakes, made at the initial stage, go through the entire cycle of design modelling, technological preparation of production, manufacture of a product and are detected only at the stage of design tests. They can be corrected only by repeating the entire cycle, which is associated with high costs, especially when manufacturing large electrical machines. An electromechanical engineer is fully responsible for the end result of the work of designers, assemblers, technologists and workers. Therefore, South Ural State University focuses on practice-oriented learning with the implementation of real production assignments from an industrial partner. We talked with Natalya Chekhina, HR Director of OOO Ruselprom Engineering Center.
- South Ural State University has been training electrical engineers for many years now. They are all high-in-demand specialists. How, in your opinion, should the continuity between the university and the employer in this area be organized?
- We have been working with universities for several years now and my personal opinion as an HR director is that the main recipient of the restructuring of the specialist training system should be the employer. Unfortunately, it is shown in practice that some universities teach information that is no longer relevant. After five years of studying, some of the things become simply unnecessary. If the employer, at the time of the start of programme, could be involved in the training process and demanded the specific skills and competencies for potential employees, including for applied programmes, this would be perfect. So a potential employer is a recipient of specific specialists. This means establishing partnership among the government, university, employer, and student.
- What advantages do South Ural State University and specialists trained here have?
- Our Department of Theoretical Basics of Electrical Engineering functions here and provides training for engineers in the Technology of Design and Production of Electromechanical Energy Converters programme. And we have found a consensus where we train both Bachelor's and Master's degree students for our specific tasks. SUSU is one of the few universities where we managed to reach an agreement by almost 100%. According to our recommendations, the department introduced latest engineering technologies that our company needs into the educational process. Not all universities are so flexible about this issue, not all universities agree to do laboratory works on our products or with our assignments. Now the final stage of registration of employment contracts for students who plan to combine work in our company and study in the Master’s degree programme has begun. They will become full-fledged employees, will perform production tasks and will receive an entry in the employment record book as a Design Engineer.
- Some employers are not ready to hire students or people without working experience. What is the situation like at your company?
- Some employers are not ready to hire students at all. However, Saint Petersburg is progressive in this regard, we compete for students. Practice shows that even 3rd-year students can integrate into the workflow and perform the tasks we need. The pandemic opened up opportunities for distance learning and remote work, so now, being in Saint Petersburg, we can use staff members who are in Chelyabinsk. Regions should develop, and students should be able to work in their field in their specialty.
- On December 22, a professional holiday, Power Engineer’s Day, is celebrated in Russia. What would you like to wish to all specialists who study or work in this field?
- The most powerful source of energy is the desire of people. If a person’s eyes don't shine, nothing will work out. That is why, do what you love, develop. If you have chosen this direction, follow it. Today, being an engineer is prestigious and fashionable; this is a profession of the future.
The Department of Theoretical Basics of Electrical Engineering expresses gratitude to Rector of South Ural State University for supporting the development of electrical mechanical engineering and organizing collaboration with industrial partners.
Ruselprom is a leading Russian developer, manufacturer and supplier of electrical machines for all types of industries and agriculture, a leader in the export of electric motors. The enterprise produces more than 3,000 types of products, every third asynchronous electric motor in Russia is made at the factories of the company, and its products are in demand in 56 countries of the world.
South Ural State University (SUSU) is a university of digital transformations, where innovative research is conducted in most of the priority fields of science and technology development. In accordance with the strategy of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation, the university is focused on the development of big scientific interdisciplinary projects in the field of digital industry, materials science, and ecology. In the Year of Science and Technology, SUSU has become the winner in the competition under the Priority-2030 program. The university acts as a regional project office of the World-class Ural Interregional Research and Education Centre (UIREC).