MINAYEV, Alexander
58 Artema, Donetsk 340000, Ukraine, Donetsk State Technical University, ovs@info.dgtu.donetsk.ua, www.dgtu.donetsk.ua
Abstract: The modern technical education globalisation is one of the most important tendencies in its development. The higher engineering school of the leading European countries is very active as to development of the perspective equipment and devices models which guarantee the progressive level and entry to the world market. Today to create competitive equipment a new generation of specialists having wide interdisciplinary knowledge and ability to work in the team including the international level is needed. The higher school is to direct its potential to the fundamental research, which will allow to occupy a deserving place in the international labour division. This process is particularly strengthened by the usage of the information processing computer technologies and Internet. The technical education and activity globalisation makes the leading countries pay much more attention to the communication skills and foreign language learning. Thus by having responsibility for constant science and engineering accompanying of its graduates Donetsk State Technical University lays the foundation of its development and integration into the international education, science and manufacturing system.
Keywords: technical education, integration, interdisciplinary knowledge, innovation
On the eve of the XXIst century there are many similar problems disturbing higher educational establishments in the world. The European Committee in its basic document "Agenda-2000" announced innovations, research, education and training as the priorities of the European countries internal policy.
Integration of independent Ukraine into the European Community opens new perspectives for cooperation in the sphere of engineering education. In this case at the point of forming the state we should take into account two important directions of this process: cooperation of Ukrainian higher educational establishments with the foreign ones in the sphere of international education and joint work of Ukrainian technical institutions with Ukrainian and foreign enterprises. This requires, in the first case, training and re-training of the new experts generation who are oriented on modern tendencies of science and technics development, who are familiar with a technical level of the leading firms and have a good command of foreign languages.
Now the Ukrainian higher school is rapidly involving into the international competition of highly qualified labour force markets, it becomes a significant factor of the country development. Speed of innovations introduction will be the determinant of the world's competition.
Our only best trump in the international competition is the lead in knowledge level. The export production of future is creativity, ideas and energy.
Integration of Ukrainian higher educational establishments into the European system of engineering education is viewed as one of the necessary conditions of technical universities development in the new economic and political environment.
Solution of this task in Donetsk State Technical University is done on the basis of the program worked out in 1995 which presupposes:
We have achieved some success in our plans' realisation. For 6 years 676 teachers, staff and students have been sent into 30 countries of the world in the following directions: scientific work, traineeship, participation in different conferences and congresses, practice, including language practice, part-time and full-time education, etc. During this period of time 230 foreign professors and experts from 15 countries of the world in different fields of the University's activity are accepted.
The University takes part in international programs financed by educational institutions and funds which provided 44 individual scholarships and grants. There are concluded contracts on cooperation with 16 foreign higher educational establishments.
We should admit that the development of cooperation between Donetsk State Technical University, educational establishments and scientific organisation of the CIS and foreign countries have actually never been stopped. The first agreement on cooperation was concluded with Taganrog State Radiotechnical University (Russia). The second agreement was with Bryansk State Technical University (Russia). At present moment there are 4 agreements signed with the Russian Federation Universities, 2 agreements with Belarus universities. Contracts with Azerbaijan and Tajikistan are now at work. The main aim of these agreements is to hold international scientific-practical conferences, inclusive training for students, carrying out joint scientific works. As an example we can point out a joint project together with Bryansk State Technical University on increasing railway rail quality with technologic methods for transcontinental railways from Europe to Asia.
For further spreading of our country's market space there is a need to create a new generation of talented entrepreneurs, businessmen and managers who are highly qualified and orient freely in internal as well as in external markets. But we should elaborate a special approach for forming the economists of new type. Solution of this problem is carried out in terms of agreement between our University and Utrecht University (The Netherlands). With this purpose the Dutch Department was opened at the Economics and Management Faculty where teaching is done in English by teachers from the Netherlands and the USA. Training of experts is done according to the program "double degree" when experts obtain two diplomas. After finishing their third year of studies the students undergo uncluded education in the Netherlands for a year. After successful defending of diploma in Donetsk State Technical University students obtain a Bachelor diploma of business administration of Utrecht University as well as Ukrainian diploma.
I'd like to pay a special attention to cooperation of Donetsk State Technical University with German Universities. It concerns, first of all, Magdeburg and Stuttgart Universities. These universities have a didactic history of development of state economic processes renaissance as well as of purely university problems. They are: appearance of new specialities and professional directions in technical and technological education resulting in new departments, faculties and institutes; transformation of higher technical schools into technical universities, integration of scientific projects and learning process as a basic factor of engineering and scientific staff training for dynamic economics compatible in the world market; cooperation with firms and governmental institutions, construction investment; solving social problems of students, teachers and staff, etc.
Keeping in mind the responsibility for professional support of reforms Donetsk State Technical University was first in Ukraine to establish technical faculties teaching special subjects in foreign language. Today there exist German Engineering Faculty (electric and mechanic profile), English Engineering Faculty (computer engineering profile) and French Engineering Faculty (mechanics profile) which are working successfully. The most difficult steps of making these faculties are overcome: scientific and language re-training of teachers is carried out; business contacts with foreign universities are established; invitation of leading European and American scientists for delivering lectures has become a good practice; the University's library significantly replenished books in foreign languages; the work on inclusive education and diploma projects of Ukrainian students in foreign partner-universities are carried out successfully.
Organization of international scientific cooperation in modern conditions is the basic task of, chiefly, heads of departments and faculty deans with corresponding rector's board support. International scientific cooperation successes, above all, determine such forms of its organisation as long-term scientific traineeship of young experts and inclusive education of students at partner-universities. This is the most effective way to start serious joint scientific work. Joint scientific seminars are the marks of real integration of scientific interests, effective way of young academics and students involving into international cooperation. Such were the seminars held in 1997, 1998.They are always hold under support of Ministries of Education and Science of Ukraine. The experts of trade and academic institutes and industry take part in such seminars.
Determining the themes of joint scientific researches is the central problem of cooperation with foreign partners. Its successful solution will demand from our departments making scientific works on the European level. First of all, we are to have our own up-to-date perspective ideas, and second, we are to have performers who will be able to conduct the work on the appropriate level of qualification. Thus there are scientific researches together with Stuttgart University on the problems of parallel modeling carried which were successfully accepted on the European level. In terms of American Fund of Social Researches grant together with West Virginia University the work "Development of control method of massif condition over abandoned mines" is carried out. Our University actively participates in realisation of the program of telecommunication network creation "Ukrainian research and Education Network". It also conducts researches on solar electric drive with improved energetic parameters together with Magdeburg University and Institute of electrodynamics of National Academy of Science of Ukraine.
Experience of structural reformation of industry in the Eastern European countries indicates that only investment in advanced technologies, in development of perspective equipment models guarantees way out of critical situation. In connection with this an advanced experts training with the level that Ukrainian economy will need in 5-10 years, but which now is a basis for forming of intellectual environment of future technologies will take a special place in engineering education.
One of the priority directions of economics structural reformation in Ukraine is a development of machine building complex. Analysis of the foreign information shows that the machine building development is moving in direction of mechatronics.
Mechatronics is an interdisciplinary engineering science which has found its place on the crossroads of machine building, electrical engineering and informatics.
Attractiveness and success of mechatronics are closely connected with the market success of many innovative mechatronics products. Important industrial branches, such as automobile, air-craft, machine tool building industries, rolling-mill machinery, consumer and drive equipment and etc. have undergone lately important innovative cycles, mostly on the basis of highly productive mechatronics products.
An important advantage of mechatronics approach while projecting and manufacturing modern equipment is that the concept of improvement, diagnostics and maintaining machines is changed at root. Due to the integration of microelectronics into mechanics, hydraulics, pneumatics and electric drive there appear principally new possibilities of equipment integration into the one united automated system. Due to the integration into the united information system a mechatronics equipment manufacturer has a possibility to improve constantly its production and to react quickly to the changes in the international market. And this is a principally new level of machine building development in the XXIst century. Higher school cannot and has no right to stay away from a new big jump of scientific-technical progress. Demands to the methods of work and engineer training level greatly change in these circumstances. Strongly formalized knowledge and knowledge that stands out of the frames of particular specialities and ability to interdisciplinary joint work are of great demand nowadays.
Only in university experts training system oriented mechatronics development is possible as a one whole with the necessary methodology depth and interdisciplinary width.
In Donetsk State Technical University together with Magdeburg University the group of students in mechatronics direction is formed. Curriculum and special disciplines programs are coordinated with the curriculum of Magdeburg University Mechatronics Department so that Ukrainian students can undergo inclusive education and diploma project using modern equipment of German institutions.
Ukraine's entering into international communication systems gives an access opportunity to information in any country of the world and this demands training of experts who are good at modern information equipment. Introduction of distance education through the Internet into educational system is of a special attention. In our University we held a summary scientific-methodical conference on the problems of distance learning, showed perspectivity of this direction on the one hand, and on the other hand the need of deep reconsidering structure and contents of work in the studying process organisation. Gathered for the last years in our University experience of engineering accompaniment of new technologies has found a positive response in oversees firms and interested Ukrainian enterprises. Thus Donetsk State Technical University together with the German firm "Siemens" has worked out legal, financial and information aspects of cooperation between "Siemens" and a number of Ukrainian educational and scientific institutions by the way of establishing the regional centers of electric drive and automation in these institutions. The main aim of these centers is 1) to create favourable conditions in order to involve Ukrainian experts and organisations to carrying out design, mounting and other works while reconstructing technological complexes on the Ukrainian enterprises using modern German equipment, and also 2) to increase efficacy of already operating in Ukraine "Siemens" equipment on account of personnel skill development in these enterprises. Establishing such automation centers is also a catalyst of new scientific research development. Due to Donetsk Automation Centre activity at German Engineering Faculty experts and Masters training in electric drive and programmed control system is successfully conducted. Together with German academics the research is conducted in perspective directions of using artificial intellect for technological processes automation.
Integration into scientific and educational space of Europe and world is a multilevel problem. One of the basic problems here is a dynamic personnel work: training in the European and world level of Ph.D. and Doctors of science. This training should start with an early selection of talented students, foreign language training, involvement into research within the frames of international cooperation.
Practically in Ukraine there was formed normative-legal field of higher education which will assist transition of state to the market economy, its integration into the international community.
The new system of education should be innovative, and its main aim is to develop creative abilities of a young person, interdisciplinarity in education, balance of technocratic and humanity aspects of education. Realisation of these new approaches is possible only in terms of expansion of independence and educational institution identity development, and also in terms of academic freedom of higher instiutions' departments which decide for themselves who, what and how to teach. Significant achievements and positive perspectives of further development fill us with optimism.