MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

The Republican seminar "Organization of work in engineering classes in the 2023/2024 academic year" took place today at the Belarusian National Technical University. It was attended by the leadership of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Industry, rectors of universities, heads of education departments of the regions and the education committee of Minsk.

It is no coincidence that this seminar took place at BNTU, the country's leading university that trains engineering personnel for the sectors of the economy.

At present, taking into account the highly developed industrial, construction, transport and other sectors of the economy, the demand for engineering personnel on the national labor market is one of the highest.

High-quality engineering education is the key and basis for the economic development and national security of the country. Highly qualified engineering personnel capable of effectively coping with various challenges are one of the main resources that determine both the degree of well-being and the security of the state. Engineers have the tools to achieve technological sovereignty in their hands, and the results of their work determine the prospects for tomorrow.

The training of an engineer is largely determined by the potential of knowledge, skills, abilities, interests and aspirations, which are laid down and developed long before entering the university.

In a rapidly changing technological environment, it is essential to provide high quality engineering training. The task is to prepare in advance motivated and prepared applicants for admission to engineering specialties, which, in turn, is associated with the need for good basic training in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and drafting. Cooperation in this direction of schools, gymnasiums and universities makes it possible to create an effective educational environment that provides training for motivated and interested in their professional development graduates.

A promising form of holistic and systematic, and, accordingly, productive cooperation is the creation of specialized engineering classes in institutions of general secondary education with comprehensive support of their activities by technical universities. This decision is confirmed by the positive experience of the specialized classes of pedagogical, sports-pedagogical, agricultural, military-patriotic direction.

The development of a network of engineering classes will be supported by a set of measures for regulatory, scientific, methodological, informational, organizational, career guidance and logistical support, which is approved by the Ministry of Education in the form of a road map. This approach predetermines the need for further development of the scientific foundations of the concept of continuous engineering education.

Currently, applications for opening engineering classes and groups have been received from 164 institutions of general secondary education, in which about 2,000 students of grade 10 are already planning to study. These data eloquently underline the interest in engineering classes not only of the industrial sector and the education system, but also of the common public.

The Ministry of Education appointed the Belarusian National Technical University as the coordinator of the activities of engineering classes, which, together with the National Institute of Education, developed a program of optional classes “In the world of engineering and technology: choosing an engineering profession” and appropriate methodological support.

Thus, the effective interaction and work of all stakeholders will determine the success of the development of continuing engineering education.