On May 19th, South Ural State University hosted a practical conference on the "Methods of Improving the Prestige and Quality of Engineering Education in the Fields of Mechanical Engineering and Metallurgy in the Chelyabinsk Region". Among the participants were representatives of 20 industrial enterprises of our region.
In the beginning of the academic year, SUSU jointly with AO KONAR opened a unique Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, which trains modern engineers for enterprises of our region and our country. This project has become an example of successful collaboration of education and the real economy sector.
"A certain amount of time has passed already, so we can analyse those approaches used and decisions made when we were creating this faculty. But also, the most important thing is that this conference is aimed at discussing the pressing issues of engineering education with industrial enterprises of the Chelyabinsk Region, so that they could assess the approach to formation of academic programmes, those competences that graduates will have, and the possibilities of project activity and internships," noted SUSU Rector Alexander Wagner.
At this conference, the key directions of development of engineering education were discussed, as well as joining of forces by the leading enterprises of our region in order to come up with strategic solutions for training the new generation of personnel. It was noted than modern engineers must not only have in-depth theoretical knowledge, but also use it in practice and adapt to technological changes.
Director General of AO KONAR Valery Bondarenko noted in his speech:
"Our faculty was created for training engineers who are in demand in Russian industry. We strive to train research engineers, design engineers, technologists and industrial engineers. During the period of two years students gain the basic competences, and then we guide them depending on their interests in the chosen field of engineering. We hope for the collaboration with industrial enterprises of our region since we can achieve more together."
As part of the conference a round table was also held with representatives of industrial enterprises of our region, where the academic programmes and employment of graduates were discussed.