There is just a little more than two months left until the SUSU Institute of Architecture and Construction begins accepting documents. Director of the IAC Dmitrii Ulrikh spoke to us about how to enrol in the university, earn an increased scholarship, and how graduates can find job.
Build Your Career
Graduates of the Institute of Architecture and Construction are competitive and feel confident in the labour market.
“The demand for our graduates has always exceeded our supply,” says Director of the Institute of Architecture and Construction, Dmitrii Ulrikh. “From their third year of studies, students are very well-versed in their profession and have a good understanding of where they will work. The leadership of our university keeps a close eye on the fate of our graduates. Our partnerships with big and well-known companies helps students build their careers. Potential employers for IAC students include Chelyabinsk Plant of Metal Structures, UralAZproekt, Chelyabdorproekt, Betotek, ChelZhBI-1, Uralproekt, Chelyabinsk NIKTISK, BASF (Germany, Russian Branch), Normet (Finland, Russian Branch), Gruppa Magnezit, and more. Graduates of the institute are offered positions at Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant (Mechel), Uralmarksheideriya, Unified Geodetic and Cartographic Service, Chelyabgipromez, and more. Architects and designers are hired in design firms and institutes (Chelyabinskgrazhdanproekt, Promstroyproekt) and in municipal organizations (Architectural Planning Centre, Chelyabinsk Committee on Architecture and Urban Planning, and more.”
International Internships and the English Language
The institute maintains long-term business relationships with leading universities in the USA, Germany, the Czech Republic, and China. And students of the IAC do not have to wait until they are done with their education to test themselves in group work with international colleagues.
“Our students complete internships in Chinese universities,” comments the Institute’s Director. “In the spring semester, future builders will attend training at Zhejiang Ocean University, and potential architects – at Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Their program lasts around three months and is taught exclusively in English. After graduating from SUSU, many students enrol in Masters’ programs in Chinese universities.”
Learning English, which will come in handy during internships abroad, is possible in the Zone of Elite Training, which accepts students with high EGE (Unified State Examination) scores.
“This is a space in which they more thoroughly study their professional courses and language skills for business,” explains the Director. “Studying in the Zone of Elite Training involves more class hours, attending certain lectures held in English, and working with lecturers from European universities. Right now, for example, the students are attending lectures by a professor from Serbia.”
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Per tradition, first-year students in the Zone of Elite Training will spend two weeks at the Olimp sport camp in the summer. There, with the fresh air, in “on-site”, the students will complete a practical geodetic session in English.
“More Research and Practical Work – Better Scholarship”
The Institute has placed a stake on practical training. The senior-year students participate in very difficult projects at the city and federal level. This gives them not only practical skills, but also their first professional experience.
Students of the SUSU Institute of Architecture and Construction participated in the design and construction of new buildings (the Chelyabinsk-SITI business centre, the Fenix de Lux residential complex, Manhattan, Yaroslavskiy, Svyatogor, and the hotel Park-City) and in the reconstruction of existing buildings – for example, the SUSU main building. Projects involving the Institute’s students include inspection of the technical conditions of the load-bearing structures at the Kinomax-Ural movie theatre, the Kuba shopping mall, and the Sinegorye, Nikitinskiy, and Kurchatov shopping centres. The students also took part in the development of technologies for producing and assembling the metallic structures of the dome for the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the roof for the Luzhniki stadium (Moscow), and the roof of the Uralskaya Molniya ice rink.
“The Institute has more than thirty different laboratories,” adds the IAC Director. “Those are all fitted with modern equipment which helps students with their practical lessons.”
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Staff of the institute motivate their students to develop their scientific potential, so students spend more time in the laboratories and on working on projects. IAC adheres to the principle of “More research and practical work – bigger scholarship”. Students who are involved in research and practical work (give presentations, prepare publications, participate in Olympiads) earn the right to a higher scholarship.
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Students of the Department of Architecture and the Department of Design and Visual Arts complete professional practical training in architectural and design firms. The future architects and designers complete plain air training in the summer in the most beautiful cities in Russia: Rostov, Kazan, and Saint Petersburg.
Traditionally, the academic programme at our university ends with the completion and defence of a final paper. Students who are members of the Nasledie Project Centre complete their final projects by restoring buildings which are important for the cultural heritage of the Chelyabinsk Region.
“Our centre is a unique place where students study and certify architectural monuments, and develop projects for restoring and reconstructing churches under the guidance of an experienced lecturer within a partnership between SUSU and the Chelyabinsk Metropolia of the Russian Orthodox Church,” says Dmitrii Ulrikh.
The Institute of Architecture and Construction is active in the preparations for the upcoming SCO and BRICS summits in Chelyabinsk. Students from the Department of Architecture are completing their final projects on the improvement and reconstruction of buildings along the city’s guest routes, and on projects related to the environmental agenda of the future summits.
Keeping up with the Times and International Trends
Improving the construction industry is a key development strategy for a number of states. Changes to the global construction industry occur rapidly: new construction materials designed to support increased comfort, buildings are becoming more environmentally friendly and their operation – more economical; in the near future, homes are going to be built like a Lego set, creating “parts” in the factories, and buildings will be equipped with “Smart House” systems. One of the most relevant global trends in construction and architecture at this time is green construction (ecological construction).
In this way, the demand for qualified construction professionals will only grow. Graduates must master digital technologies – this knowledge is necessary for the design and preparation of production with the help of modern software, they must understand the latest building materials, be active and resourceful, and be focused on the rapidly-changing environmental conditions.
The Institute of Architecture and Construction is trying to keep up with the times and modern trends. At this time, university staff are working with researchers abroad to complete the project on Development of an Automated Eco-dome within the International Standards of Ecological Architecture, Taking into Account Resource- and Energy-saving Materials, Technologies, and Automated Smart House Devices.
The future construction specialists can gain all of the knowledge they need to build a successful career without leaving Chelyabinsk, in the walls of the IAC, under the guidance of experienced mentors and lecturers.
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How Do I Enrol?
In June, the SUSU Institute of Architecture and Construction will being accepting documents. Classes on drawing and drafting have been organized to help applicants, as well as the Young Builder School. Those who are planning on applying in 2019 will find the short-term courses useful – they last for two weeks or longer. Upperclassmen who have more time to prepare can complete the full lesson cycle. This kind of preparatory training will make it possible to obtain basic knowledge and practical skills and make future education significantly easier. In the Young Builder School, applicants will attend construction site excursions, where they will personally be introduced to the manufacturing process. And in the future, under the guidance of experienced lecturers, they will complete their academic projects in the Institute’s laboratories. This “immersion” into the academic process will help students understand the finer details of the profession.
As a note, when applying at SUSU, future architects and designers must take the Russian EGE test, as well as mathematics or literature (depending on their chosen field). Applicants can also expect additional exams in drawing and drafting.
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Information:
The Institute of Architecture and Design is a division of SUSU. It was founded in 2016 through the reorganization of the Faculty of Architecture and Faculty of Construction. Around 150 lecturers work in the Institute’s seven departments, more than 90 of whom are Doctors and Candidates of Sciences.