�� - Project-Based Education

�� Startup Club Summed Up the Results of the First Season

Евгений Сергеевич Загоскин — Wed, 29 May 2024 19:00:00 +0000

The first season of the �� Startup Club wrapped up on May 22nd. From January through May, the Startup Club had organized more than 20 events, such as trainings of entrepreneurial competencies, master classes by experts, consultations on filling out applications for participation in grant contests, participation in conferences and project pitches jointly with the My Business Centre and the Skolkovo IT-Park 74 Regional Operator. “In addition to activities in the form of an accelerator, trainings and more, that are held at the university, we should create a community of students interested in startups, where they will be able to communicate informally after classes, collaborate with each other and learn from each other,” noted Adviser to the Rector for Information Education and Technological Entrepreneurship at �� Dmitriy Kozlenkov. Participants of the event presented their projects, and each of them showed significant results over the past year. “Any student can join the Startup Club not only to develop their startups, but also to become a member of a team that is already working on their project. You can join without any idea or team at all. We will help you find a team and develop your idea. The most important thing is being motivated,” said organizer of the Startup Club Aleksey Baskov. We welcome you to join the new season with new ideas and projects! Official website of the �� Startup Club: https://pred.susu.ru/

Lecturers from the Department of Russian Language and Literature Completed the School of the Project-Based Learning Mentors

Игошин Олег Сергеевич — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 19:00:00 +0000

Lecturers of the Department of Russian Language and Literature spent three days immersed in the innovative educational technologies of the Skolkovo Foundation for the creation and management of projects. On November 14-16, the School of Project-Based Learning Mentors was held at "Boiling Point – ��". The purpose of the school is to unite the professionals who are ready to work with school and university teams in the project-based learning format. The event was held as part of the Academy of Mentors project, organized by the Skolkovo Foundation and the Circle movement under NTI (National Technology Initiative). Lecturers of the Department of Russian Language and Literature Tatiana Semyan, Natalia Kundaeva, Evgeny Smyshlyaev, and Yulia Feoktistova were selected and were able to join the list of participants of the three-day intensive project aimed at developing the skills of project-based education mentors. During the School, the invited experts and specialists of the Academy shared their experience and developments in the teaching and support of mentors of youth projects, and the participants of the School figured out how to launch project-based learning in their regions (organizations), what barriers need to be overcome, how to organize a system of education and methodological support for the project team, how to effectively form the necessary competencies among students being trained with the use of the project-based learning technology. The participants of the School were divided into groups; each team had to develop a real project as per the instructions from real �� companies over the course of three days. Cases for project development were offered by representatives of PJSC Rostelecom and the "Smart House" project office, ChelPipe, and Neurotechnology company. The experts who provided lectures and master classes at the School of Mentors included: Elena Klepikova, head of the academic programs at the Academy of Mentors Project Office of the Skolkovo Foundation; Yuriy Sergeev, metrologist of the Shiffers Institute; Maksim Ivanov, staff member of the Department of Project and Innovation Activity of ITMO University Rezeda Rybalko, head of projects of the Ural Club of New Education. Head of the Department of Russian Language and Literature, Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Professor Tatiana Semyan noted that "The main function of the curator is not only to develop a successful project with students, but also to develop the students’ leadership skills, creativity, interdisciplinary communication, strategic thinking. The knowledge and skills we gained in the School of Mentors will allow us to better supervise the Virtual Museum of South Ural Writers project, which was created by philology students, programmers, and designers, and help them to form skills for independently solving complex project tasks."

Project-based Learning 2019-2020: New Projects and Global Tasks

Шилинцев Артем Евгеньевич — Sat, 26 Oct 2019 11:04:45 +0000

Project-based learning, which was successfully launched in autumn of 2018, has become one of the main projects of our university in 2019. The new educational approach is rightfully considered as one of the best practices of the university, the experience which can now be translated to other educational institutions in our country. Project-based learning at the university is supervised by Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, Doctor of Sciences (Engineering), Professor Andrey Radionov. We talked about development of the new educational approach in the academic year of 2019 - 2020, about leading projects and the outlooks for them serving as a basis for global regional initiatives, about students’ interest to the new learning approach, about perspective industrial partners, and many other things with project-based learning managers: Aleksandr Shishkov and Elena Ponomareva. Manager of project-based learning at ��, Candidate of Sciences (Engineering), Associate Professor Aleksandr Shishkov: “In 2019, �� launched 73 projects within project-based learning: 45 of them are new projects of the university. Meanwhile, 28 projects intended for several years are successfully in progress. One of the key moments in the development of project-based learning in 2019 is digitalization of projects: in 2018, at the beginning of project-based learning introduction, we used to store all documentation in paper format with signatures and stamps. In the new academic year, we are actively shifting away from the bureaucratic routine, and now all information about the projects is stored in a digital cloud. The whole system for submission of applications is computer-aided, so any administrative staff or student of the university, as well as any external customer, can submit their applications online. Project managers process online applications remotely, and after their approval, participants of project-based learning fill in digital passports of projects. This is the key change for the entire system of project-based learning management. It is important that submitting applications via the project cloud is suitable for employer-customers. As of today, we have already got more than twenty applications submitted by enterprises for cooperation with the university in the frameworks of project-based learning. Interdisciplinary projects can independently search for students via the digital cloud. Students can freely join any project that they see in the cloud. In a digital space of the cloud, potential employers can find students for their projects themselves. One of the most outstanding examples of interaction between customers, administrative staff and students of the university within the cloud is the project of the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science entitled “Ensuring Information Security of Field Networks”. Development of this project was initiated by �� Pipe Rolling Plant: partnership with the university was arranged by the Head of ChelPipe Development Control Department; he proposed the topic of the project which the enterprise truly needs. At ��, this project is supervised by a lecturer of the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science Andrey Barinov. The project is designated for the development of a system and methodology for detection of intrusions into the networks of automated production process control system by the example of ChelPipe Group. The cross-disciplinary project also includes Master’s degree students majoring in Mechatronics and Robotics (Institute of Engineering and Technology, Department of Mechatronics and Automation) and Specialist degree students (of the 4th and the 5th years of study) majoring in Information Security of Computer-aided Systems.” In 2019, many technical projects stepped up to a new level. The Institute of Engineering and Technology’s Faculty of Aerospace Engineering started pursuing a principally new topic. It is a global project on engineering of a multi-purpose space platform. In the future, it is planned that this project will involve the entire �� Institute of Engineering and Technology and be able to grow into a federal global programme. Director of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, Head of the Department of Aircraft Engines, Doctor of Sciences (Engineering), Professor Sergey Vaulin told us about the specifics of the new project, the project team and prospects of its development: “Initially, we talked about constructing a spacecraft with a transport and energy module within the project-based learning. Today, the project tasks have transformed. The new project of a multi-purpose space platform as part of a reusable launch vehicle includes development of a spacecraft for landing on asteroids. In this regard, projects of the institute of Engineering and Technology – the Youth Design Bureau and Project-based Learning – have been united; the same team of students is working in each of them. Among the participants of the new big-scale projects are Bachelor’s, Master’s and Specialist degree students from the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the �� Institute of Engineering and Technology. The goal of the new project is to teach students to work in the conditions of real production tasks. In the frameworks of project-based learning, students will have to pass all stages of a technical object development: technical proposal, sketch design, and engineering design with all ground-level tests. The project is successfully developing, drawing attention, and more and more students want to join it to get such an experience. In the new year, initiative third-year students joined the students who have already been taking part in project-based learning. It is planned that the project will involve second-year students, who are being trained in the elite education programme. The first internal customer of the multi-purpose space platform will be the project of a spacecraft designated to land on asteroids (this is also a project of ��’s project-based learning; the project head is Vladimir Shiryayev). In the long run, the platform will be able to perform other tasks as well: Earth observation, communication, etc., which means that the platform is being engineered as a multi-purpose model capable of accepting orders for space services. It will have to put the spacecraft into the orbit and preset its necessary speed. Then the spacecraft has to move towards an asteroid and perform all tasks set by a customer, for example, take samples of soil, analyse its composition, and successfully return to the space platform in the end of the mission. The new project is supposed to be a cross-disciplinary one. It is planned to involve specialists from the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science. This is related to the fact that the tasks of onboard control circuit are principally similar for both the spacecraft designated to land on asteroids and for the multi-purpose space platform. Project of students from the Department of Automated Control Systems of the �� School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science entitled “Designing the Exterior of the Onboard Control Circuit (OCC) of a Space Vehicle for Flying to Asteroids – 2019” (project leader is Head of the Department of Automated Control Systems, Doctor of Sciences (Engineering), Professor Vladimir Shiryayev) is dedicated to development of a spacecraft control system. Cooperation within the project also involves the School of Economics and Management. Specialists of the School will be responsible for interaction with suppliers of the space service market. In the future, we will need mathematical description of data, analysis of an asteroid’s composition, and of the chemical processes occurring in the fuel of rocket engines, as well as analysis of physical principles and phenomena. In this regard, we are planning on attracting physicists, chemists and mathematicians of the university to work on the project.” The project of the multi-purpose space platform has a great future. If its success and necessity are proven, it has every chance to become one of the global �� projects and obtain state financing. This precise project might lay the basis for a concept of the new Interregional Research and Education Centre (REC), bringing together the scientific and research potential of ��, Sverdlovsk and Kurgan regions. The rocket-and-space research field of the REC is planned to be developed at �� and Ural Federal University. The project is being currently elaborated, and the issues of its financing are being specified. The decision will be made at the level of Presidential Plenipotentiary for the Ural Federal District. Future of Project-based Learning Project-based Learning Manager, D.Sc. (Philology) Elena Ponomareva: “Today, project-based learning is one of the main projects at our university, and it combines science and the initiatives of our key industrial partners in the process of training. In the nearest future, project-based learning at our university will only be expanding and growing. All the main programmes, especially those related to engineering, will most likely be developing namely within the frameworks of the project-based learning. Students should gain professional competences in the process of solving real-life problems. Thanks to the development of the project-based learning, the well-known stereotype that employers keep repeating ‘Forget all you’ve been taught at the university’ will very soon become irrelevant. Projects like the one on Engineering of a Multi-purpose Space Platform have all chances of becoming global world-class projects. The main achievement of the project-based learning over the first year of its fulfilment is that the projects’ support has been completely transferred to a digital platform. This result should strengthen in the future and be translated to all other practices of our university. Today, the project-based learning offers a lot of cross-disciplinary projects. This means that each projects needs designers, programmers, linguists, journalists, PR specialists, and economists. We would like to provide the members of the academic staff with a possibility to place their requests via a Projects Cloud: in their requests, project heads can specify their needs for this or that specialist, and students can write in on their own and are free to participate in the projects, bypassing all the bureaucratic stages. Students can also take the initiative and place information in the digital cloud that they have competences in certain fields, and heads of any projects can forward invitations to such students to join their teams. Such “university labour exchange” will be able to function on the basis of the cloud platform. Students and project heads can meet in the cloud and agree on the details of their collaboration. The combination of the resources of the programmes of elite training and project-based education, the focus on digital technologies and on the achievements of high science, along with simulation of professional activities in the context of the realities of tomorrow – all of that constitutes the complex approach, thanks to which our university traditionally maintains the high level of the quality of the educational process.” Read more about the projects within the �� Project-based Learning in the Projects Cloud, or on the special page of the �� web-site on the Projects of the Project-based Learning.

Biblio-Globus Has Become a Partner of the “Virtual Museum of South Ural's Writers” Project

Шилинцев Артем Евгеньевич — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 09:00:41 +0000

The project created by Master’s degree students of the Department of Russian Language and Literature entitled “Virtual Museum of South Ural's Writers” keeps developing and establishing partnership relations with institutions supporting the development of contemporary humanitarian knowledge. In the new academic year, the Virtual Museum of South Ural’s Writers concluded an agreement on cooperation with the main bookstore in �� – the Biblio-Globus store. In the frameworks of this partnership, a decision was made to provide information support for each of the parties and ensure announcement of upcoming events. The Virtual Museum has got a new venue for an expanded audience as well as for arranging events targeted at popularization of the region’s literature and positioning of �� as the leading centre for research and popularization of contemporary literature of the Southern Urals. In 2018, at the beginning of the “Virtual Museum of South Ural’s Authors” mega-project, the Department of Russian Language and Literature has already got two partners: The Institute of Slavic Languages at the University of Zurich, publishing house of a Zurich’s journal entitled “SlavicumPress”, which is dedicated to cotemporary literature, and Poeziya (Poetry) bookstore founded by a �� poet, Aleksandr Samoylov. There is a subproject dedicated to the poetry of this author, which has started being implemented by Master's degree students at the beginning of the new academic year. Project leader, Professor Tatyana Semyan: “Establishing partnership relations for the project is not our primary goal. It is professional and informational support that is the indicator of the project’s development; and responsibility before partners promotes implementation of the idea at a high-quality level which meets the highest standards.” Partners of the project

�� Project on Vital Capacity of Human Beings: From Helping Cadets to Training Psychotherapy Clowns

Шилинцев Артем Евгеньевич — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 06:04:08 +0000

During the first year of project-based learning at the Faculty of Psychology of the �� Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, a new big-scale mega project was initiated, among the participants of which are students of the 3rd to the 5th years of study. We have talked to the supervisor of the project on Vital Capacity of Human Beings, Doctor of Sciences (Psychology), Associate Professor, and Head of the Department of Developmental Psychology and Age Related Counselling Elena Rylskaya, on the specifics of the project, on development of vital capacity in different categories of people: from orphans to cadets of military academies, on distinguishing between the concepts “vital capacity” and “sustainability”, on preventing suicides, psychological technologies of corruption behaviour, and more. – What is the essence of the global project? And what each subproject is dealing with? – The project on Developing Vital Capacity in Modern Human Beings in Different Living Conditions is a big-scale one. Its structural plan includes a number of mini-projects, for instance, the Modification of the Test on Vital Capacity of Human Beings. Such test already exists, but after additional research has been performed, there has appeared a need to include a new scale system to it. Another mini-project aims at developing a program of supporting and enhancing the vital capacity in children without parental care. This project is being fulfilled in orphan boarding school No.13. The project is managed by Doctor of Sciences (Psychology), Associate Professor Elena Rylskaya. Elena Rylskaya One of the projects is being fulfilled within the frameworks of an order made by the �� Branch of Air Forces Military Education and Research Centre “N.E Zhukovsky and Yu.A. Gagarin Air Force Academy”. The project is managed by Candidate of Sciences (Psychology), Associate Professor Irina Shlyapnikova. The project on Preparing to Independent Life and Prevention of Social Maladjustment of Children without Parental Care is being supervised by Candidate of Sciences (Psychology), Associate Professor Elena Gudkova. – Why are projects on enhancing vital capacity are so relevant today? – If you ask a person with sound mind: ‘Do you want to live?’ s/he will reply ‘Yes!’ But the whole world and all the age groups show very worrisome statistics with regard to suicides. For dozens of years, the average frequency of suicides has been equalling 14 cases per every 100 thousand people around the world. It is troubling that we are loosing not only the value of our own lives, but also that of other people, what often results in grave crimes, which are also being committed against children. Therefore, the crucial and vital function of giving birth and bringing up a human being, as a value-based advantage of the existence of the whole civilization, falls under a threat. A society killing its own future lacks vital capacity. We are seriously concerned about the problems of literally living a life according to egoistic scenarios, which are becoming more and more popular with young people: “child-free”, “live in the moment”; “enjoy your life to the fullest”. The infantilism of public conscience is accompanied by non-reflexive chaos and eclectic axiological sphere. Unleashed growth of material needs leads to rampant corruption, which corrodes the foundations of the life of human beings. Taking into consideration the complex, dynamic and stress-inducing character of our life, absolutely everyone needs to enhance his/her vital capacity. – What measures does suicide prevention include? – Suicide prevention means exactly the development and maintenance of the vital capacity. The vital capacity does not only imply that a person will not commit suicide. In general (if we put it simply), the vital capacity is the ability to solve life-related tasks. Mathematical talents show in the ability to successfully solving mathematical problems, linguistic talents – in solving linguistic problems, and so on, and in the same way the vital capacity shows in solving of life-related problems. These are everyday tasks, by solving which a person can provide for normal conditions of his/her existence. These are social tasks, the ones of the interpersonal interaction, a model of how a person is able to establish contacts. These are also professional tasks: how well a person can succeed as a professional. And finally, these are the tasks on searching for and finding the meaning of life: how well a person can determine the meaning of his/her life and act accordingly, and not drag on his/her existence, like the Russian literary character Oblomov. As a biological individual Oblomov is healthy, but socially speaking he lack the vital capacity. When we analyse what causes people to try to commit suicides, it often turns out that on the outside people can be doing quite well, and it is totally hard to understand why life loses its meaning for them. A person who lacks the vital capacity is not necessarily an underclass representative. Often, homeless people want to live very much. They create pseudo-families, try to love, and satisfy their aesthetic needs. And the essential human qualities, including the lust for life, are the last things that underclass people lose. The project on developing the vital capacity is a relevant task both for our university, �� and our region in general. This is a unique project. No one has ever worked with our population with regard to developing and enhancing their vital capacity. And here we should mention important differences between vital capacity and sustainability. – How do these differ? – Vital capacity and sustainability are similar and yet different concepts. If we take their semantics: sustainability is the ability of a person to stand up to difficulties. But once s/he does that, what’s next? S/he falls? But if s/he is truly capable of standing up to them, s/he can keep developing. This is the specifics of vital capacity and the uniqueness of our project. – The projects that you’ve mentioned are different… Cadets in an academy need one thing, and kids in in an orphanage need another... – The programs include various exercises and situations. Their structure has an invariable part, which is based on developing the structural components of vital capacity (ability to adapt, self-regulate, and spiritual ability, and meaningfulness of life). This invariable part of the program can be common for everyone (except for the content of the exercises). The exercises also comprise an invariable part, which includes the analysis of difficult life situations. For teenagers, certain types of life situations are give, for junior school children – different ones, and for cadets – other types of situations. If we speak about organizational psychology (and we do plan on working with personnel of organizations), there will be yet another type of life situations. – How is work arranged within the project? – The work is carried out in the following algorithm: talks, classes, solution of test problems, choice of situations. These are educational projects. We start with introducing students to the concept of a project, with its structure, with the order of its execution; we teach them the fundamentals of completing a project. In the frameworks of each mini-project, students study theoretical and methodological fundamentals of the problem, as well as materials and sources; they learn compiling tests and complete engineering assignments. In the project dedicated to development of vital capacity of orphaned children, students study the level of development at which the problem is, as well as articles on this topic. They engage themselves into the problem completely. At the next stage, participants of the project develop the structure and the mockup of the programme. Then they fill in its every block. In the course of completing the project, a feedback gets established; certain exercises get tested upon participants of the programme. Students conduct training sessions while using the elaborated parts of the programme. It is quite possible that some exercises appear to be poorly-efficient and will be eliminated. After testing, the programme is ready to get implemented; so it gets handed to the ordering customer and is recommended for frequent use in similar categories, in samplings. – Please tell us about ordering customers of the project. – ��'s Faculty of Psychology is acting as the main ordering customer. This is our goal; we work on development of tests which our students are going to use in the future. Also among the ordering customers is Municipal Educational Institution for orphaned children and children left without their parents’ care: the Special Boarding School No.13 of the city of ��; branch institute of the military Science-and Education Centre of Air Force at the Zhukovsky – Gagarin Air Force Academy (��); State Budgetary Institution of Supplementary Education “SMENA” Youth Palace; Department of Profession-oriented Diagnostics and Counselling; and Nadezhda Centre providing assistance to children left without parental support, orphanage No.6. – What stage is the project at now? – We have already finished the stage of learning the technology of working within the project. If we are to speak about the project connected with test compilation, nowadays we have accumulated about 300 initial variants of the test. – What does the test include? What is its structure like? – There are four scales in the test: the ability for adaptation, self-regulation skills, spiritual abilities and life understanding. – If a man passing the test is in a stressful situation but does not recognize it, will the test help determining the man’s true condition? – You mean checking the answers on social desirability? Social desirability of the test is mandatory to be checked during compilation of the test and improvement of its psychometric characteristics. Here we have various options. Sometimes the test includes a lie scale. It assumes that a man is insincere if giving socially desirable answers. We checked the first test variant on social desirability. The checking showed it to be possible. We stick to the following algorithm: if the number of points upon results of the test elevate the maximal indicators, the person is more likely being insincere. This moment is mandatory to be taken into account. Insincere answers are often given by adult people, especially those who are career-oriented. They are so focused on their success that they don’t even allow the thought that they might be imperfect in some aspects. If we see elevated number of points upon results of the test, we can’t take them into account because people more likely were giving socially desirable answers. – What are further plans for the project? – Ahead we have the next project for which we are preparing the Project Design Abstract. We have already submitted an application. Within the second year of project-based learning we are planning to implement a project on training of psychotherapeutic clowns in hospitals. �� students majoring in Psychology are going to act as the clowns who visits hospitals where seriously ill children undertake their treatment. The effect of positive emotions on a person’s recovery has long since been proved. The practice of inviting psychotherapeutic clowns for enhancement of vital capacity of sick children has been used abroad for a very long time. We are planning to introduce this experience in our project. The second project planned in the frameworks of the second application is the project regarding development and enhancement of vital capacity of a company’s personnel. Preliminary negotiations with potential ordering customers are already being held. The ability of a company to survive under complex conditions is determined by vital capacity of its personnel. This is a different type of vital capacity which might include other structural components which are not included into the structure of general vital capacity (managerial potential, leadership potential, communicative competency, stress resistance, etc.). Developing these skills will favour enhancement of personnel’s vital capacity. If they are public officials, the work will include formation of anti-corruption behaviour foundation, because public officers liable to corruption destruct vital capacity of all companies. Fighting against bribery-seeking behaviour means enhancement of vital capacity as well. – This is a very brave idea for a project… – Within the project on anti-bribery behaviour, we are planning to provide psychological aid to public officials. There is an entire complex of psychological factors which favour corruption. Meanwhile, there are psychological techniques allowing to prevent such a behaviour. When recruiting candidates for public service, their competitive selection includes testing on inclination to corruption. We are planning offer our variants of testing to government entities. Admissions for public service includes testing on a lie detector. We’ve got a lie detector at our Faculty. If government entities provide a request, we are ready to introduce such a project as well, and by doing so promote the enhancement of vital capacity of contemporary officials. – How do you arrange cooperation with other Institutes and Schools of �� in the process of project implementation? – Project-based learning at �� is being implemented within the overall process of the university’s digitalization. In the nearest future, when we modify and check the test, creation of its digital version will be a logical continuation. This is the next stage of project implementation. In the modern world, testing should be carried out electronically. We have this planned and, of course, we will need assistance of programmers from the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the �� School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Admissions campaign at �� is in full swing. Do you want to become a professional psychologist? Welcome to the Faculty of Psychology at ��’s Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities. Detailed information about enrolment for university applicants is available on �� Applicant website.

Author:

Text by Yulia Rudneva, photos from personal collection of the interviewees

Design Solutions for Frame Construction: �� Students Invented Alternative Mason’s Scaffolds

Шилинцев Артем Евгеньевич — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 09:28:42 +0000

One of the key research-and-education projects of the Institute of Architecture and Construction is the project entitled “Masonry Scaffolds”. Project team is working on development of innovative scaffolds for cast-in-place frame buildings. Nowadays constructors use structures weighing no less than a ton (at that, they are difficult to get transported) or scaffolds made out of materials at hand, which are hazardous for both constructors and people around them. Within the project of students of the �� Institute of Architecture and Construction, a principally new concept of scaffolds is being brought up to reality from the scratch and to its practical application: the new scaffolds are lightweight and compact; they are made of durable material and get assembled inside of a building under construction; at that, they are equipped with all the necessary. Project leader, Candidate of Sciences (Engineering), Associate Professor Maksim Molodtsov, and Head of the Department of Construction Operations and Theory of Structures, Candidate of Sciences (Engineering), Associate Professor Grigory Pikus, told us about the project team, the idea and materials, the infrared heater, as well as about other details regarding improvement of scaffolds. How did the project idea originate? M. Molodtsov: Our project can be considered a startup. Construction of cast-in-place frame buildings faced the problem of modernization of scaffolds: the weight of traditional scaffolds used to amount more than a ton. A lifting crane used to be needed to transport them. When discussing the project, students themselves proposed the idea to develop lightweight and compact scaffolds that can be carried around by a worker by himself. Today, the majority of buildings are being constructed upon the cast-in-place frame principle: they have a frame made of columns and solid slabs. When the frame has been assembled, partitions and brick walls need to be erected inside. For this purpose, until now, constructors of traditional buildings used to use very heavy large-sized scaffolds which are difficult to place inside a building when the slabs have already been installed; getting them out of a building is difficult as well. The optional solution for constructors was making scaffolds out of materials at hand. This is a real problem which can lead to serious injuries among constructors. Besides, transporting of traditional scaffolds always require using freight transport. What is unique about your scaffolds? G. Pikus: We propose maximally lightweight, multi-functional and at the same time durable scaffolds. We came up with a solution regarding the material unexpectedly easily. This is the so-called “cellular” cardboard with compressive strength being approximately 0,4 kg/cm2, which allows placing brick-loaded trays on top of it. Global experience shows that cardboard has already started being used in bearing structures, for example, in the walls (Holland), in frames and lining (Germany). The most important thing is that it is impossible to deliver scaffolds to cast-in-place frame buildings or hybrid precast buildings using a crane: it is impeded by already-erected slabs. Scaffolds that we propose are intended to solve this problem as the crane is only needed to deliver scaffolds to a certain level of a building, and their further placement in one or another part of the floor is carried out manually. At that, they can get easily carried around by a single person and fit into the door frame. They can get easily placed on the steps of a staircase. By their structure, the scaffolds are module blocks that can be combined variably depending on constructors’ goals. Moreover, the entire load from the scaffolds and the running load (of bricks, mortar or masons) in typical scaffolds is born by two linear supports, which causes considerable forces in a slab, which are not taken into account in the process of designing. It is also necessary to solve the problem connected with ensuring stability of compressed supports. The innovative scaffolds that we propose, the load gets evenly distributed throughout the slab, and there are no separate supports. The block of scaffolds is additionally protected against drenching and damage by carbon fiber. One of the important advantages of the new scaffolds is the laser level embedded in the scaffolds. Now horizontality and correctness of brickwork layers by the height is going to be monitored by the laser. The primary material of the scaffolds is cellular cardboard. Compressive strength ≈ 0,4 kg/cm2 Does the block of scaffolds with extended functionality presume special options? M. Molodtsov: Yes. Specialized versions of the scaffolds presume a block of electronics which includes an infrared heater. Construction is carried out all around the year, and if constructors get frozen, their labor productivity reduces. The idea to put an infrared heater inside the scaffolds was “spied” during trips around Europe. Infrared heaters there are placed on the ground of street cafes near the tables. There are no walls but people feel warm. We decided to install similar infrared heaters in the improved versions of the proposed samples. The heater and workplace illumination together with light diodes are embedded in the system of the innovative scaffolds. Moreover, the scaffolds are equipped with USB-charging devices which allow constructors charging their phones and listen to music right at the workplace. We also propose various models of scaffolding blocks with embedded thermometers for air temperature measurement, a special gauge designated to determine the temperature of a mortar, as well as an electronic display with clock, and even a small refrigerator for water. At that, scaffolds can be bought without the electronic block; the block can be bought separately as an addition to the already-bought scaffolds. All of this ensures convenience and creates a comfortable environment. The more the convenience, the higher is labor productivity. Who does take part in the project? M. Molodtsov: The project includes five students of full-time mode of study of the specialty 08.04.01 “Construction”. The project group includes the following students of ASI-178 project group: Artem Kolyako, Viktor Gordov, Aleksandr Stenin, Diana Te, Anastasia Nikiforova. The group also includes students who combine working and studying full-time. For example, the author of our presentation is an artist. The main principle of our work with students is brainstorming. The concept of the innovative scaffolds originated like this, in creative discussions. At the end of May of 2019, we demonstrated prototypes of the scaffolds made of cardboard at a conference on project-based learning as the initial result of the work. The demonstration excited special interest and heavy applause among spectators. Where are you planning to carry out testing of the scaffolds? G. Pikus: Testing of the scaffolds is planned to be carried out on construction sites of partner companies. We have many partner companies which might be interested in this. Today constructors make scaffolds out of materials at hand, and this is dangerous. If something happens, responsibility lies upon the leader or developer of the Method Statement. Naturally, these hand-made scaffolds get constructed without any statements; there are no technical provisions for them. In our project, we propose a finished innovative product which allows saving time, money, and health of constructors.

Author:

Text by Yulia Rudneva, photos from personal collection of the interviewees

Official Website of the EJTA’s Conference on Building of a Eurasian Bridge in Journalism Education Starts Its Work

Шилинцев Артем Евгеньевич — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 09:02:04 +0000

On October 15th-16th of 2020, an International Science-to-practice Conference on Building of a Eurasian Bridge in Journalism Education will be held at ��. It is being organized by the European Journalism Training Association (EJTA-Belgium). Since 2016 �� has been an institutional member of the European Journalism Training Association, which units about 70 educational journalism centres in the leading universities from 30 European countries. For the first time in the EJTA’s history, the big-scale forum will be devoted to the exchanging the experience and ideas on journalism education on the Eurasian continent. The Board of Directors of the European Journalism Training Association made a decision on expanding the Association to the scale of a Eurasian organisation by including representatives of journalism centres from China, Iran, India, Kazakhstan and other countries, and approved �� as the venue for holding the EJTA-2020 Science-to-practice Conference in this new Eurasian capacity. “We can relate to this idea on uniting the European and the Asian journalism centres into one journalism training association,” notes �� Rector Aleksandr Shestakov. “After all, in its concept of international development, �� sees itself as a SMART university, which unites Europe and Asia. And we are confidently working on this. Students from Iraq, China, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and other countries are studying at our university. Today, �� is one of the major multicultural universities in Russia, which is actively implementing innovative technologies into its scientific and educational process. We are a “smart” university, the strategy of development of which is based on digital transformation of the research-and-education activity. At the university’s unique media platform, which includes digital television and radio broadcasting, multimedia newsroom, virtual reality laboratory, and other world-class media, excellent conditions have been created for holding discussions on modern functions of journalism, and stimulating the international exchange of students and teachers.” For three decades the institutional members of EJTA from Europe have been jointly working on improving journalism education, collaborating within the international exchange programs, as well as fulfilling joint teaching and research projects; and now the Asian schools of journalism will be joining this process. “The forum will be held in the very heart of Russia, in a place where Europe meets Asia – at �� in the city of ��. The crucial goal of this conference is stimulation of the collaboration in the field of journalism education and secondary vocational education, as well as develop the professional approach to training journalists in Europe and Asia,” notes Nico Drok, President of the European Journalism Training Association (EJTA), Professor on Media and Civil Society at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands. “The conference provides all the opportunities for becoming an EJTA member, establishing long-term partner relations, and organizing world-class breakthrough scientific research.” The following relevant topics will be discussed at the conference: the changing function of journalism in the society; required knowledge and skills of a media specialist; attitude towards journalism; professional ethics of a journalist; international exchange; and liberty of journalism education. Already now the conference’s website in Russian and English has started working. It holds information on the European Journalism Training Association, fields of its activity, and the terms of becoming an EJTA member, draft of the Conference Programme , and the list of speakers, who will deliver their presentations. On this website you can also find information on how to file and Application for participating in the conference, and how to fill out the Registration Form in the Registration section. For international participants, a special page has been created with the instructions on obtaining the invitation for entering the Russian Federation for the execution of visa. Moreover, for their convenience, the website provides the list of hotels in ��, where they can stay. The Conference Programme will be presented at the World Journalism Education Congress to be held at Paris-Dauphine University in Paris, France, in July of 2019. The �� delegation headed by the Dean of the Faculty of Journalism of the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Professor Liudmila Shesterkina will take part in the round table on the Journalism Education in Russia in the Context of Development of Transmedia , and in other events of the congress.

Project-Based Learning – a Prospective Startup: �� Students Elaborate Unique Projects while Studying

Богданова Дарья Владимировна — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 10:27:56 +0000

�� is a unique higher education institution which has been implementing project-based learning starting from September of 2018. Project-based learning is an educational model of a new format targeted at improvement of the education quality and the level of alumni’s competitiveness on the global labour market. Within the set goals of education’s orientation on the digital model of economy, a decision to develop the system of project-based learning which complies with demands of the modern labour market was made at ��. In September of 2018, 31 education projects have been launched in 10 Schools and Institutes at �� (NRU). Each of the projects is targeted at humanities / natural sciences / engineering spheres of knowledge and is either being developed taking into account the intensive application of digital technology or is completely intended for creation of a complex digital model as a segment of digital economy acting as the end product provided to a customer. An important component of such projects is interdisciplinary nature as a condition for successful development of digital economy. According to the Rector Aleksandr Shestakov, all projects initiated at �� (NRU) should comply with the edge level of science and technology as well as with problems being solved by businesses. They should be coordinated with enterprises leading both in Russia and on the global market. Therefore, ordering customers of projects are representatives of real spheres of social life, governmental structures and industry which contribute to development of digital economy: Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works PJSC, Metran Industrial Group, Transneft PJSC, REM JSC, SMS Group, NPO Avtomatiki JSC, European Journalism Training Association (EJTA, Belgium), etc. Partner companies (ordering customers of projects) take part in elaboration of educational programme: they provide venues for finishing project stages as well as offer functional positions and internships for a number of projects. According to conditions of project-based learning implementation at �� (NRU), ordering customer evaluates end product created by each project team, and then applies obtained inventions and technologies in its operation. An efficient result of project-based learning is the fact that an ordering customer has the opportunity to get a team of specialists who will be able to implement and replicate similar projects in their professional activity. Many study projects can become a prospective startup. According to director of the project-based learning programme at �� (NRU), Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, Andrey Radionov, after graduation from the university, the team of a startup can keep developing independently and commercialize its R&D inventions by organising one’s own business or a small innovative enterprise. When a project is elaborated and implemented upon an order from a large industrial corporation, the employer can get both a finished project and a team of graduated well-trained specialists (a spin-off) which can continue introducing the concept of their project already in the frameworks of activity of this large company. By taking part in a project team, students complete their functional objectives tha correspond with their spheres of activity, majors and the set goals. Project leader helps each member of a team to chose one’s own educational trajectory which allows acquiring the most advanced knowledge in this sphere, as well as efficiently complete the task in a project – to acquire professional competencies not just during classes but, what’s most important, in the course of working on a project. All projects implemented by students are unique without exceptions. For example, students of the Institute of Engineering and Technology take part in construction of an electric race car with a unique electric motor, the wheel hub motor. The race car will be presented at Formula Student, the engineering competition among university students from around the world. Students of the Institute of Architecture and Construction are working on elaboration of a programme for complex development of communal infrastructure. A series of projects are targeted at solving problems of the social sphere. Due to implementation of the project-based learning system in all levels (Bachelor’s, Specialist and Master’s studies), a qualitatively new level of higher professional education became available for students at �� (NRU). Thanks to project-based learning, students not only can apply knowledge acquired at the university in practice, but also learn how to work in a team, be responsible, and find innovative and creative solutions. Such kind of a specialist is in-demand on the modern labour market. More detailed information regarding the concept of project-based learning at �� (NRU), as well as of its ordering customers, project executives and project implementation venues is available on website of �� (NRU) in the Project-Based Learning section.

Author:

Azaliya Sharafutdinova, photo by: Oleg Igoshin

They Speak All Languages: from the Language of A. Pushkin to Chinese, and JavaScript and Python

Шилинцев Артем Евгеньевич — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 10:05:32 +0000

A master class on working with chat bots was held for the applied linguistics students at the Department of Linguistics and Translation of the Institute of Linguistics and International Communications. This master class was organized as part of the focus on project-based learning and professionally-oriented work with students. The representative of Just AI, a St. Petersburg company which held the master class, was a �� graduate Svetlana Volskaya. Having earned her Specialist’s degree in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics (today, this is the Bachelor’s program on Fundamental and Applied Linguistics) in 2013, she decided to continue her studies in a Master’s program at Saint Petersburg State University. At present, Svetlana leads the office of computational linguistics and conversational artificial intelligence at Just AI company, St. Petersburg, where she travelled the entire path up the ladder from developer to head of the office. Now, her team consists of 11 developers. “I started immersing myself into the world of computational linguistics in 2008 at ��,” remembers Svetlana. “Since then I have travelled a long path – 5 years of studies at ��, a Master’s program at St. Petersburg, and even studying at the Institute of Theoretical Mechanics and Optics as a programming engineer.” Before the master class, there was a small lecture about where graduates of this specialty are in demand, and what human-machine dialogue is. There was silence in the room – the first- and second-year students wanted to catch every word. “At Just AI, we create chat bots for big business clients. Our clients include such companies as HH.ru, McDonalds, Papa Johns, UniCredit Bank, S7, Sberbank, and more. Our partners also include such huge, world-famous NLP companies as Yandex and Google,” continues Svetlana. “With the students at ��, we decided to try and write bots in Chinese on a platform that our company developed. The thing is that students of the department of Linguistics and Translation have a unique and very in-demand combination of qualities for the modern labour market – programming skills and knowledge of Chinese. Our company is currently entering the Chinese market, and as a result of this, I had the idea, for old times’ sake, to contact the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics and find out if their students would be able to cooperate with us in developing chat bots in Chinese on our platform,” she admits. According to Svetlana, within this partnership, �� students can develop several Chinese-speaking bots from scratch to production, deploy them into various channels, test them, and also help the company improve their platform, point out possible shortcomings in terms of morphological and syntactic analyses, which are built in to the platform. We wish success to our linguistics students in their future work on such a promising project, and of course, we want to sincerely thank our partners from Just AI!

“FactCheck-Ecology”: A New Interdisciplinary Journalism Project is to be Launched at �� ISSH

Игошин Олег Сергеевич — Wed, 12 Jun 2019 02:24:03 +0000

In the new academic year, the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities at �� is launching a new interdisciplinary inter-department educational journalism project entitled “FactCheck-Ecology”, which is to be implemented within project-based learning while training Master’s degree students majoring in Transmedia Journalism. By the sphere of Technology of Humanitarian Eco Engineering, the project has been integrated into the research direction of the university’s development in Ecology, the purpose of which is to establish a Russian Federal Centre of the Best Available Ecological Technologies and Competencies. “FactCheck-Ecology is an expectable continuation of the already-implemented international innovative project of the department of Journalism and Mass Communication called ‘Eurofactcheck’,” says the new project leader, Associate Professor at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Candidate of Sciences (Philosophy), Anvar Ismailov. “Therefore, it is for a reason that implementation of this ecology-related project is based on the arrangement of the procedure of fact-checking of federal and regional mass media publications regarding eco-related topics of �� and the �� region, teaching this process to the new generation of journalists working under conditions of devaluation of news flows, legalization of the ‘post-truth’ phenomenon and fake news, and on the necessity to carry out media support of ecology-oriented �� projects.” Direct goal of the project is to form a positive informational background on the ecology-related problem and a positive image of �� and the �� region based on application of the eurofactchecking technology. FactCheck-Ecology project is intended to support journalism education and quality journalism, enhance the level of trust to new media, make the necessary corrections in the accuracy of statements made by mass media, strengthen public participation in the activity of mass media, improve media literacy and provide motivation to distribute verified information in social networks. “Among the important tasks for Master’s degree students and academic staff to complete will also be further development of the Fact-Checking innovative educational module, creation of an Internet community for interested people, and development of an Internet platform called ‘FactCheck-Ecology’,” explained the Head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Liudmila Shesterkina. “The result of the project will be a reference Internet portal providing a reliable information on contact data of ecological foundations, public associations, and eco-related movements of �� and the �� region. The Internet resource will also take the responsibility of providing informational support to eco-related projects of ��.”

�������� - Project-Based Education

�������� Startup Club Summed Up the Results of the First Season

Lecturers from the Department of Russian Language and Literature Completed the School of the Project-Based Learning Mentors

Project-based Learning 2019-2020: New Projects and Global Tasks

Biblio-Globus Has Become a Partner of the “Virtual Museum of South Ural's Writers” Project

�������� Project on Vital Capacity of Human Beings: From Helping Cadets to Training Psychotherapy Clowns

Design Solutions for Frame Construction: �������� Students Invented Alternative Mason’s Scaffolds

Official Website of the EJTA’s Conference on Building of a Eurasian Bridge in Journalism Education Starts Its Work

Project-Based Learning – a Prospective Startup: �������� Students Elaborate Unique Projects while Studying

They Speak All Languages: from the Language of A. Pushkin to Chinese, and JavaScript and Python

“FactCheck-Ecology”: A New Interdisciplinary Journalism Project is to be Launched at �������� ISSH

�� - Project-Based Education

�� Startup Club Summed Up the Results of the First Season

�� Project on Vital Capacity of Human Beings: From Helping Cadets to Training Psychotherapy Clowns

Design Solutions for Frame Construction: �� Students Invented Alternative Mason’s Scaffolds

Project-Based Learning – a Prospective Startup: �� Students Elaborate Unique Projects while Studying

“FactCheck-Ecology”: A New Interdisciplinary Journalism Project is to be Launched at �� ISSH