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The 8 th Congress of the Russian Association
for Engineering Education
(March 27-28, 2003)
ASSOCIATION OF LEADERS
There are people who wait for changes, and there are those who make them.
The fact that the 8th Congress
of the Russian Association for Engineering Education was held
in the building of the Russian Academy of Sciences, situated
on the bank of the Moscow River, can be regarded as a compelling
evidence of the RAEE ideas being approved by academic circles and
it looks as if they agreed to start their implementation.
Greeting the Congress participants, Vice-President of the Russian
Academy of Sciences Gennady Mesyats confirmed this idea and said,
"The Academy of Sciences is committed to improving the
professional level of those who are capable of organizing
business. Besides, the emerging generation gap seems to be
dangerous: the young people's involvement into research does
not seem impressive. It would be difficult for scientists to cope
with these problems without taking into account the issues of
active cooperation with the educational sphere. The idea of
entrepreneurial universities may turn out to be rather fruitful
in case it is implemented actively, consequently and persistently".
It is easy to call upon the crowd to act "actively, consequently
and persistently" but this can be the choice of those exceptional
individuals who take it as their personal responsibility. The
President of the Russian Association for Engineering Education
(further - the RAEE) Yuri Pokholkov began his summary report
with the statement that this public association is a voluntary
union of physical bodies, and this is not fortuitous. Juridical
entities may be part of the RAEE but only in the form of public
unions. Scientists and specialists of the RAEE, in contrast to
those from other associations, are extremely interested in the
development and improvement of engineering education in Russia
regardless of the departments and branches they are working for.
Realizing the importance of this goal, Aleksandr Shilov, the
Chairman of the State Duma Education and Science Committee sent
salutatory address to the VIII Congress the RAEE. Victor
Zorkaltsev, the Chairman of the State Duma Cooperation with
the Committee of Public Organizations, was the guest of the
Congress and the discussion participant.
Thus, the RAEE is the association of individuals according
to the regulation and per se. It is extremely crucial under
the condition of building a civil society in our country and
in international educational system it allows to solve such
problems that may be quite beyond the comprehension of other
associations. The question is about the creation of independent
structures of attestation and accreditation of educational
programs acknowledged abroad, certification of specialists
and university lecturers, subscription of international
educational documents.
Generally, it should be mentioned that the President of the
Association made the organization work rather seriously.
In the folder containing accounts I found the Plan of subjects
for the work of the RAEE during the period of 2001-2003.
You see, we still have not reached the deadline, 26 points
of planned tasks out of 51 were implemented fully, 11 - partially,
14 - were not fulfilled at all. It happened because of various
reasons, but, as the delegates who were present at more than
one Congress of AEE mentioned, starting with the bygone summer
the organization was working very actively. The number of its
members for the accounting period increased 1,5 times as much
and now comes to 526 members, united into 60 regional departments.
Mostly, Rectors of the state institutes of higher education,
which seems to be quite natural, head these regional departments,
since engineering education today represents the most scaled
system of the higher vocational school of the Russian Federation.
Students, mastering engineering specialties in the institutions
of higher education, come to more than 35% out of the general
number of the country's students. But the crucial problem of
engineering education is its improvement. Everyone understands
it very well. And the lines in the Memorandum of higher education
for the UN countries saying that "the products of educational
and training systems determine the industrial level of the
country and, consequently, its competitiveness" haven't been
written fortuitously.
Members of the 8th Congress of RAEE bitterly said that Russia,
according to the manufacture of national produce per head
occupies the 102nd place among 109 countries of the world; Panama,
Surinam, Ecuador, Botswana etc. are at the top of the list.
That is why they find the mission of the Association crucial
for improvement of engineering education and engineering in all
their manifestations, related to academic, scientific and
technological directions, in rendering of wide range of
educational services, providing public relations, guaranteeing
relations with manufacture and science, in the integration into
international scientific and educational system.
There is nothing to contradict - the aims are lofty. Especially
in case one remembers the numbers cited in the report by Yuri
Pokholkov: "Currently in the structure of the Russian import
machinery and equipment amount to 34,9%, foodstuffs - to 14,5%.
But energy supply prevails and comes to 48,1% in the structure
of our export, while machinery and equipment comes only to 9,7%".
In this case the RAEE has a lot of work to do. The thing is that
it is of vital importance to choose the right goals and to have
enough strength in order to achieve them. In the Main Guidelines
of the RAEE for the period of 2003 - 2005, which were expressed
during the Congress, there are several intriguing issues.
For example, assistance in creation and development of new
educational structures able to adequately meet the challenges
of the environment (scientific research, innovation, academic,
entrepreneurial and other universities), that is forthcoming
of innovative and elite engineering education in Russia: I
should add to that only 2 out of 7 residuary undisclosed goals:
"Collaboration in perfection of the normative-juridical and
legislative base of the engineering education" and "Rendering
the engineering universities assistance in accreditation of
educational structures and educational programs certification,
certification of specialists and University lecturers,
certification of the systems of quality management of engineers'
training and educational service".
Through the clerical style of the official speech it is difficult
for the reader to see the entire scope of tasks, supposed to
be solved by the RAEE, but it is enough look through the
statements of people, who have come to the Russian capital
from other cities (the representatives of 12 regional departments
took part in the discussion), to understand the following thing:
there is quite a number of professionals in Russia, who value
their title of a specialist in their qualification.
Valentin ZHURAVLYOV, Vice-Rector of Krasnoyarsk State Technical University:
- According to the experts'
estimation, the cost of the Russian intellectual resources 10
times as much exceeds the cost of its tangible assets. If they
are involved in economic use, the country economy could be given
the development impetus. According to the World Bank, Russia,
China, India, Brazil and Indonesia by 2010-2015 are likely
to become 5 new leading economic empires and the most powerful
plungers of the global economy. Is it possible to take these
intellectual resources and to make them be in use? I think, yes,
but implementing the transition from the raw economy to the
intellectual one it is vital to bring up a new engineering
generation. It differs from the one we know due to its ability
to be equally efficiently engaged in research, designing and
entrepreneurial activity. These people can adapt not only to
the constantly changing conditions of science and culture
but to the changes in the sense of life as well. In the
Association for Engineering Education we are trying to form the
idea of engineering education, and further - the idea of elite
education. Don't mix it up with the elitist one. Elite
education implies the piece training of the most gifted
individuals. Creating the conditions for their self-determination
and using them, we hope soon to master the intellectual
ownership, accumulated by nation for the prosperity of Russia.
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Vladimir
YEVSTIGNEEV, Rector of Altai State Technical University:
- Universities
shall be responsible for social and economic development of
the region. Unfortunately, this is true for a small number of
regions. In the majority of cases, the teachers' level of
innovation activity is rather low. Had you introduced the
post of the Vice-Rector for innovation activity, you could
draw more attention to the quality of training of specialists.
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Victor BAGIN, Chita Regional Department:
- Our crucial
concern is the quality, which implies the work on adaptation
of our educational standards to European ISO 9000 and ISO 9001
standards. It is necessary for us to prepare specialists ready
to meet the increasing demands of the society and capable not
only of primitive sustenance in productions that are likely
more dead than alive. The university graduate should predict
the forthcoming future.
Yuri Reutov, Vice- Rector of Yugorsk State University:
- The urge
towards the humanitarisation of education resulted in
the deformation of the engineering professional training.
It is also calamitous that now only 20 % of dissertations
are upheld on technical professions, and 80 - on humanitarian.
It always used to be the other way round.
Vyacheslav Kalinin, Vice-Rector of Tambov State Technical University:
- Thanks to the
Association for Engineering Education the group of vice-rectors
studied the interrelation between Technical University and the
largest regional auto enterprise in Nizhny Novgorod. After
this study we found interrelations between a mechanical
engineering enterprise of chemical engineering and chemical
productions in our city Tambov and then we came to an agreement
about the creation of Innovation and technological centers
for our mutual work. Manufacturers agreed to pay our teachers
in excess. Joint Stock Company "Biopolymer" agreed to entrust
the building to us under non-repayable conditions for 25 years.
The administration of the region established science and
innovation policy committee, which was headed by one of our
professors. People returned to life, because we conducted
three economical forums of the Central district. Michurinsk
used to be the center of plant cultivation science in the
USSR and we try to contribute to its reputation as the city
of science.
Yuri
CHEBOTAREVSKY, Rector of Saratov State Technical University:
- You know that the
Article 25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides
for the payment of income tax of educational institutions from
the income of their off-budget expenditures. In accordance with
the Article 252 of the same Code, expenditures reducing the tax
base involve expenditures including costs on current and thorough
repair works of the property, involving buildings and
constructions that belong to Universities. And also, according to
the Article 260 of the Tax Code, these expenditures shall be used
for taxation aims without any restrictions. However,
representatives of rating authorities and individuals,
implementing tax and business accounting assert that off-budget
expenditures for current and thorough repair works of the property
reduce the tax base, when this property is purchased at the
expense of off-budget funds. If the property is purchased at the
expense of the budget and (or) is the state ownership, given
to the University for on-line inspection, off-budget expenditures
for its repair work do not reduce the tax base. This statement is
based on the paragraph 1 Article 321.1 of the Tax Code of the
Russian Federation, obligating budget institutions to carry out
the accounting of incomes and expenditures, obtained and made
within the framework of target financing separately from the
accounting of incomes and expenditures, obtained and made at the
expense of other sources, including off-budget funds.
The given attitude of rating
authorities, indicated in the Methodical guidelines of the Tax
and Charges Ministry contravenes the Article 260 of the Tax code
of the Russian Federation that has an advantage over the standard
act of the Ministry.
I would also use an opportunity
to suggest that the present heads of educational institutions
should, in accordance with dispositions of the law, attribute
the expenses on the current and thorough repair works of the
buildings, which belong to Universities to expenditures, which
reduce the tax base regardless of the funds the property was
purchased on.
Secondly, not long ago mass
media created the image of the educational system that was
totally venal, where money turned the earth round and thievish
people blossomed forth. While these subjects are spread by
yellow press, you can put up with it, but yesterday
"Rossiiskaya Gazeta" (Russian newspaper) published an article
about SIFO under the headline "Secret Agents No Longer
Remain a Mystery". This publication is not remarkable, but
it is underlined in bold face, that "according to the assessments
of the Center for sociological researches of the Ministry of
Education of the Russian Federation, annual illegal turnover
in Russian universities makes up almost one billion dollars.
Streaming from students and their parents' pockets to teachers',
deans', Rectors' wallets these zany "green" floods make the
system of education as one of the most powerful branches of
clandestine business".
I assume that we should
lodge an objection against a try to throw mud at the whole
educational system, furthermore at the suggestion of the Ministry,
which is aimed at our protection from cavils. Let alone negative
events, they existed for all times. But I am firmly convinced
that they are just isolated instances. I think such papers are
invited. Their distribution is intended for the vindication
of poorly valid suggestions on the change of the strong and
viable educational system of the country.
Igor
SUROVTSEV, the Rector of Voronezh Architectural and Building University:
- I go along with
the opinion of Yuri Chebotarevsky. Stop petrifying us with
unwarranted billions! Stuff and nonsense: we do not spend
off-budget money on eating and invest it in the construction
of private property and in the long run we are punished -
income tax is increased! Rubbish! It is a non-governmental approach.
In the whole world the reverse
is true - businessmen are highly supported for the tax payment.
Nevertheless education business abroad is quite another story.
Our Voronezh Architectural and Building University passed through
the international accreditation in London University for Engineers
and Builders. Colleagues from England, France highly appreciate
Russian students' training, but they admit that Russian students
are futile when communicating, they do not know how to communicate
with human beings. They do not know how to listen to. They do
not know how to climb the social ladder- how to communicate either
with heads or with inferiors. What is the difference between a
serious training of the foreign and Russian students? Currently
they do not have personal engineer diplomas at all. When almost
neophytes, they gather a team without fail and are given a serious
project and the result is at hand. Students on their own go to the
archive, to state services, gain materials in Internet. And they
find fresh solutions of existing problems. They do it in team!
I call upon the Association
for Engineering Education in the closest contact with the
Association for Building Universities, the Russian Academy
of Architecture and Building Sciences to meet more frequently
for the discussion of the improvement of engineering education.
Problems are countless.
We just gave you a hint.
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