“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest,” Benjamin Franklin, an American scientist and politician, said more than two centuries ago. This statement is still relevant today. A notable example is the successful strategic partnership of the Department of Automation and Control Processes of ETU “LETI” and company Sistema-Service. The university and the enterprise celebrated the tenth anniversary of cooperation with the opening of an innovative research and educational center of process control systems for the gas and oil industries at the university on October 30.
“Over the past 5 years, our company has made a significant breakthrough in the development of technology infrastructure. Already, it is being mass-introduced at many facilities in the oil and gas industry. We considered it necessary to equip the ETU “LETI” laboratory with it, transforming it into an innovative research and educational center,” Sergey Kvashnin, Director General at Sistema-Service, said.
Until today, students of the department studied at the laboratory using the products of the German concern Siemens. Now it is possible to use modern equipment of Sistema-Service, which meets international standards. In the innovative research center, students will be able to conduct research and scientific experiments.
“Siemens equipment is of a more general industrial purpose, and we developed our complex based on the tasks that confront us, namely, for use at hazardous industrial facilities. We took into account all the necessary technical specifications in our controllers, and we are proud of this product!”
The modernized industrial equipment will help students to master the studied theoretical material and consolidate their knowledge in practice. According to Mikhail Shestopalov, Head of the Department of Automation and Control Processes, this is a unique opportunity for students.
“I believe that education at the department should be connected to the industry. The task of the department is not only to give students a good theoretical knowledge but also to teach them practical skills. New equipment is aimed at meeting this challenge. It is unique because it has no analogs. Sistema-Service produced everything presented here.”
The long-term cooperation between the Department of Automation and Control Processes and Sistema-Service for the training of qualified personnel for the industry is mutually beneficial. The university gives graduates fundamental theoretical knowledge and practical skills that are in demand in the high-tech industry. The enterprise, in turn, receives highly qualified workers of modern high-tech industries.
Strategic partners are constantly looking for new ways to interact. For example, specialists of Sistema-Service train two groups of students of the department in specialized subjects. Some classes are held at the enterprise. The company forms the requirements for the training of highly qualified specialists, taking into account the development of breakthrough technologies. Today, more than a third of the company’s employees are graduates of ETU “LETI.”
“Our company continues the program of training of personnel for the industry. Every year 5-10 people come to us from ETU “LETI” to practice. The students write term papers and theses at our place; our specialists supervise them. And even if a student after graduation will work at another enterprise, I’m sure that this will give him good knowledge and wide opportunities in the area to which he devoted his studies,” Sergey Kvashnin, Director General at Sistema-Service, said.
In the coming week, company employees will complete the setup of new equipment, and students will be able to start training. Strategic partners are sure that without timely developments and highly qualified personnel it is impossible to lead the market: you will be only catching up. Therefore, they are already trying to look beyond the horizon of today and are building new tasks for joint work.