Training of Engineers: Approaches to Customization of Educational Programs

Abstract

Since the field of information technology (IT) is constantly and rapidly developing, the training of engineering personnel couldn’t be behind this global digital transformation. The new digital reality focuses on the mandatory formation of competencies which are end-to-end technology-oriented: Big Data, machine learning and artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, robotics, blockchain, Internet of Things, 5G technologies, quantum technologies and others. Considering the speed of the development of these technologies, concerns have arisen about the relevance of the content of educational programs of higher education, as well as the degree of flexibility of educational trajectories of engineering graduates. To ensure the relevance and flexibility, constant revision of training programs regarding the study and development of new paradigms and solutions is required. This paper calls into question how to meet the requirements of the labor market at the time of graduation, considering that the educational programs are compiled at the time of the beginning of education and in accordance with the established federal standards of higher education. The goal is to adjust the results of the educational program or even to introduce completely new results in accordance with the changes that have occurred in the industry at the time of the implementation of the program to ensure students form the most relevant and in-demand competencies. The article describes the approaches of the Institute of Computer Technologies and Information Security (ICTIS) of the Southern Federal University to the creation of flexible, interdisciplinary bachelor’s and master’s degree educational programs. The content of these programs directly corresponds to the current and promising demands of the labor market. The presented approaches to the customization of educational programs meet the needs of students in personal and professional development. These approaches contribute to the development of a student-centered learning system that is specific for each level of education. Project-based learning is a key tool for the formation of relevant professional competencies within bachelor’s degree programs. The master’s degree focuses on the formation of unique research competencies in the context of the current agenda. For this purpose, the ICTIS has opened special research programs that involve a grant system for undergraduates. What is also important is the inclusion of undergraduates in research groups led by postdocs of the Institute. The key principle uniting these approaches into a single system is the introduction of its own educational standards in engineering areas in the ICTIS. The standards of the ICTIS regulate the possibility for students to choose variable professional competencies after mastering the basic educational component. These competencies are formed annually based on the analysis of prospective labor market demands and can be included in the program even after the start of its implementation. The analysis on the results of the ICTIS educational standards implementation has shown the effectiveness of the concept of these standards in the field of computer technology and information security. The effectiveness of this concept of the educational standard allows gradually being implemented in other fields of knowledge.