SCIENTIFIC EDUCATIONAL CENTER science idea

The training of professional personnel has always been and remains a priority task for the Russian transport industry. There are 19 specialized universities and their numerous branches throughout the country in the transport sector. Today, more than 250 thousand students and cadets study there. The Russian University of Transport is the leading transport university in the country, subordinated to the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation. Alexander KLIMOV, Rector of RUT, told in an interview with the Transport of Russia newspaper about how the personnel of the future are being prepared.

— Alexander Alekseevich, what key changes have taken place at the university in recent years?

— The mission of the Russian University of Transport is to train specialists for sustainable operation and development of the transport industry. Our goal is to create a university in 2035 that trains specialists in all types of transport, conducts research and engineering developments in promising areas of the industry. In recent years, we have been able to expand the range of educational areas being implemented. We have opened training for specialists in the field of road management, marine and river fleets, and civil aviation. We always work closely with the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, relevant agencies and key companies. Today, only together can we achieve a result that will allow us to implement the country's largest transport projects, such as the creation of high-speed rail traffic or the development of unmanned aircraft.

— Do modern transport challenges affect the development of education at the university?

— Our university has always been integrated into solving the tasks facing the country's transport departments. The creation of the Moscow Engineering School (as our university was called at the time of its creation) was due to the shortage of railway engineers, which was especially felt with the beginning of the construction of the Great Siberian Railway. Therefore, the Ministry of Railways submitted to the government a proposal to create the country's second higher education institution, which would train engineers for the needs of the department. Since then, everything we do is inextricably linked to the current challenges and directions of the Russian transport industry. Today, it is important to balance the current expectations of companies and competencies that will not lose their importance many years after graduation. Higher education cannot be reduced to closing the current gaps in the activities of specific structural divisions of organizations. We must pay tribute to our leading transport companies: they look far ahead and understand the importance of forming an "engineering" mindset, broad professional erudition of future specialists in the face of exponential technology growth. It is necessary to teach the student how to properly organize working hours, effectively engage in self-study, correctly prioritize, and discipline himself. Graduates should be ready to work in a multilingual and multicultural environment to participate in major international projects such as the development of the North—South transport corridor. These formats require an understanding of the trends of the global transport system. Therefore, we are implementing joint programs with universities of friendly countries. The prototype of the future of transport is being formed here and now. Through meaningful discussions, debates and projects, we must form an understanding that the future should and will be shaped by our collective efforts. Everything that happens within the walls of the university should be a development resource for both the individual and the country's economy.

— How does the Russian University of Transport determine what to focus on in training personnel for the future?

— It is often said that there is a gap between industry and universities. But for the transport industry and specialized universities, this has never been a massive problem. Industry universities have always been deeply integrated into the life of companies. In my opinion, the right balance has developed: companies have modern ideas about the personnel training system, and universities are well aware of the trends in the development of the industry. This allows us to develop new educational programs with a perspective for 5-10 years ahead. The more the university is integrated into real life and into the implementation of projects for the development of the industry, the easier it is to build the contours of training future specialists.

— The university has implemented a system of continuous project training, where students try to solve the problems of industrial partners. What can we say about the intermediate results?

— Yes, we are seriously engaged in the development of "project thinking" — universal tools for structuring problems, forming an image of the desired future and searching for effective tools to achieve it. Often, specialists begin to come up with new things without understanding what the situation is now, and what the true problems of implementing their plans are, without agreeing on a common understanding of where we want to move and what to achieve. Project-based training at the Russian University of Transport primarily develops a certain culture of thinking, when a student must first understand the essence of a problem or opportunity, form an idea of the final product and identify tools for achieving goals. At the last stage, predict how effective the project is and how it will transform in the future. It is important to understand how today's environment and system will resist change and how to overcome it with minimal losses. That is why project thinking is needed not only by engineers. This is a universal technique, it should be mastered by all university students. Our key task is to root this model in the minds of future specialists. Already, more than 1000 projects have been developed at the university within the framework of the design module — the best of them are aimed at solving real problems of the industry. This helps future specialists to integrate into the activities of enterprises already in the learning process. About a third of RUT students are involved in the real activities of transport companies through such activities.

— This year, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the Federal Assembly with a proposal to extend the Priority 2030 academic leadership program for another six years and allocate an additional 190 billion rubles. RUTH participates in this program, what does it give the university?

– Our university has been participating in the Priority 2030 program since 2021. We are implementing five strategic projects. All topics are relevant, with an eye to the future. Transportation systems of agglomerations, autonomous (unmanned) navigation, digital logistics platform, reduction of carbon footprint in the transport sector and a number of others. Such initiatives make it possible to implement ideas and create products that companies will need in the future. The projects provide an opportunity to invest resources in the development of new areas of activity not so much of the university as of the transport industry. Priority 2030 is not the only development project. So, last year, RUTH and PGUPS were able to become one of the winners of the Advanced Engineering Schools competition. Now we are closely cooperating and working together to provide personnel and scientific support for the creation of high-speed railways in our country. Within the framework of the federal project "Professionalism", we are creating a unique transport cluster for the training of mid-level specialists for the central transport hub. Railway workers, rivermen and specialists in the management of unmanned aerial vehicles will have higher qualifications due to the use of modern training complexes.

— RUT (MIIT) is creating a multifunctional technological cluster "Obraztsovo". Tell us about this project.

– The university is primarily about people. But in order for them to achieve results effectively, a comfortable environment is important. Native walls should help. At the time when the main university buildings were built, ideas about educational programs and technologies were different. Previously, there was no interactive education, focusing on the needs and interests of the student. The main forms of training were in-line lectures, seminars, and practical classes in laboratories. Today we are massively introducing project–based learning methods, business games, hackathons, training competitions, simulation simulators, 3-D modeling and much more. Modern education should provide access to the content of every student in 24/365 mode. Nowadays, the learning environment should be saturated with the most modern technologies and transformed to meet the specific tasks of the educational process. That is why now, thanks to the Ministry of Transport of Russia, we are building a new multifunctional technological cluster "Obraztsovo". The largest scientific and educational center of the transport industry will be a modern and comfortable space for both students and employees. The cluster will unite 7 facilities of the Russian University of Transport. It will include new buildings and existing buildings of the RUT, which will be reconstructed. Already today we are building two facilities — the RUT Military Training Center, which will open to students next year, as well as a new academic building of the construction Institute, including a sports and recreation complex.

— Neural networks and artificial intelligence are actively being introduced into modern education. What technologies does RUTH use now?

– Artificial intelligence is a technology that claims to be the "new normal" in the near future. It will free millions of people from doing monotonous and time-consuming work, give us more time to create and realize our unique abilities. It will allow teachers to speed up the preparation of teaching materials, saturate academic disciplines with examples and cases, and quickly create unique sets of test tasks.

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