Training experience of engineers: comparative evaluations of the organization and learning outcomes of bachelors

Liudmila Boronina¹, Lyudmila Bannikova², Aleksandr Baliasov^3*

¹ Assoc. Prof., Ural Federal University, RUSSIAN FEDERATION, l.n.boronina@urfu.ru

² Prof. Dr., Ural Federal University, RUSSIAN FEDERATION, l.n.bannikova@urfu.ru

³ Ms., Ural Federal University, RUSSIAN FEDERATION, a.a.balyasov@urfu.ru

*Corresponding Author

Abstract

Sverdlovsk region belongs to the old industrial regions of Russia and is one of the pilot areas for the implementation of new standards of staffing for industrial growth. The Ural Federal University (UrFU), being the responsibility centre for the training of a new generation of engineering cadres, implements undergraduate educational programs based on various institutional mechanisms, including in cooperation with major industrial partners. Since 2017, the regional labor market has been actively replenished by graduates of technical baccalaureate who have been trained both within the university educational environment and in the format of social partnership between the UrFU and one of the largest enterprises in the Urals - the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC).

The article summarizes the results of a comparative study of the organization and results of training of engineering cadres in the traditional and network forms of practice-oriented learning. The research analysis was carried out using the methods of document analysis, case-method, data integration, student survey. The pilot status of the survey was interpreted by the authors as a research experiment, the results of which allowed to obtain the first assessment of the effectiveness of the introduction of new practices of training of engineers. The experiment involved 2 groups (traditional form – N = 28, network program - N = 32, both – class of 2017). The survey was conducted in the form of a questionnaire. The survey methodology was focused on a comparative analysis of graduates' assessments of the effectiveness of training on traditional baccalaureate (TB) and practical-technological baccalaureate (PTB), the compliance of educational programs with the requirements and demands of the labor market; identifying the specifics of professional plans and the degree of their readiness to work in the specialty. The comparative characteristic of the organization of professional training was correlated with the assessment of the importance and level of development of key competences of the modern engineer.

The results of the research experiment demonstrate the ambiguity of the identified trends. Graduates of the TB more highly evaluated the level of influence of the training program on the formation of competencies required in future professional activities, as well as the program's compliance with the requirements and demands of the market. Graduates of the PTB, adequately representing the real situation and requirements of modern production, note a higher level of satisfaction with key aspects of the organization of practice-oriented learning: the organization of work experience internship, the involvement of specialists of academic / sectoral science and production for counseling and joint management. In general, expressing overall satisfaction with the fundamentals of engineering training and the organization of work-study practicum, representatives of both groups found it difficult to estimate the role of the educational module on forming soft skills are poorly represented what was going on. A common feature in the assessments of the role of educational modules in the formation of engineering knowledge of graduates was the predominance of mediocre grades.

The data obtained allow us to sum up the preliminary results and clarify the further program for analyzing the effectiveness of new models and professional training practices for technical specialists.

Keywords: professional training, engineers, practice-oriented learning, University-Industry collaboration, empiricism.