The new faculty, created this year at South Ural State University, received a name historical for the university – "Mechanical Engineering and Technology". Its initiator and creator was the KONAR industrial group.
The students have already become acquainted with the enterprises of the leading Russian mechanical engineering holding, visited production sites and listened to an introductory lecture by the Dean, Executive Director of the company's Research and Technology Centre Dmitry Polukhin.
"I am happy to welcome the new generation at our outstanding enterprise. I hope that everyone made a conscious choice of profession and industry," he greeted the students. "Twenty years ago, when I was studying at the university, there was a course called "Introduction to the Specialty". Teachers told students what awaited them during their studies and what they could do in the future. We are reviving the best traditions of engineering education, so we will also conduct such a lesson and outline the places of application of the competencies that you will receive with your diploma. The KONAR Industrial Group includes enterprises that provide a full cycle of manufacturing mechanical engineering products: from steel casting, forgings, mechanical processing to the creation and implementation of the most modern innovative technologies. People are needed at all levels. Therefore, there is a place for each of you to apply your skills. If you strive for professional growth, you will become part of the KONAR team. I hope that our goals coincide, and in four years, at the diplomas awarding ceremony, there will be exactly the same number of you as now. And together we will lead the industry to success."
The faculty's activities are organized in a special way. For the first time in the history of SUSU, the leadership will be carried out by two deans: Pavel Gamov − on behalf of the university, and Dmitry Polukhin − on behalf of KONAR. Their task is to ensure an educational balance between fundamental science and practice.
Students will have classes under the guidance of experienced practitioners, paid internship, career tracks at KONAR from the first year of study, and serious language training − studying technical English and Chinese for better integration into international industrial relations. They will also receive social support, and most importantly − guaranteed employment after graduation.
More than one hundred students have enrolled in the first year. Among them are gold medallists, winners of Olympiads, and graduates of the Governor's engineering classes.
The faculty implements unique educational programmes: "System Engineering of Metallurgical Technologies", "Robotization and Engineering of Welding Production", "Automation and Engineering of Metal Forming", "Digital Mechanical Engineering Technologies", and "Metal Science, Heat Treatment and Physical Chemistry of Materials".
"The main goal of the faculty is to form the engineering personnel potential for the KONAR company and the Russian industry. The opening was attended by the Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region Alexey Texler, the CEO of the KONAR company Valery Bondarenko, the Rector of SUSU Alexander Wagner, what emphasizes the importance and status of the event," said Ivan Ilyin, Deputy Director of the Institute of Engineering and Technology for Extracurricular, Discipline and International Work. "In September, adaptation training was held for first-year students at the Nauka university camp on Lake Bolshoy Sunukul. An industrial quest was held for the guys (which introduced them to KONAR and their future profession), team building training, and a music quiz. Everything went very amicably, and, I am sure, it was useful for both students and teachers."