More than 90% of first-year students of the Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University who were enrolled in bachelor's degree programmes took advantage of the offer to transfer to 5.5-year specialisation programmes. This became possible due to the participation of the first technical university of Russia in the pilot project to improve the system of domestic higher education, which was initiated by President Vladimir Putin.
Rector Vladimir Litvinenko announced his decision not to wait for the next admission campaign and to give everyone the right to get a full-fledged higher education on the first of September, during the ceremonial line-up dedicated to the Day of Knowledge. He then assured the audience that very soon "the bachelor's degree in technical universities will completely disappear", as it is impossible to train a full-fledged young engineer in 4 years, who is in demand in the real sector of the economy.
"We did not rush the young people, we gave them enough time to think, to consult with their parents and older friends, who know from their own experience what the price of a bachelor's degree is on the labour market. Let's face it, its holders are not welcome in the labour market, and in the foreseeable future it will be more and more difficult for them to compete for prestigious jobs. I have no doubts about this, because the number of graduates who have received a full-fledged basic education, and therefore an objective advantage in employment, will soon increase dramatically in our country. I am pleased that our first-year students have realised this and decided to take advantage of the opportunity we have given them. This is absolutely the right choice," emphasised Vladimir Litvinenko.
The advantages of transferring to specialisation are obvious. These include deeper fundamental knowledge, additional competences in the field of digital technologies, economics, management, and long-term practice, during which one can not only acquire the skills necessary for professional development, but also lay the foundation for one's future career trajectory.
Another question: how rational is it to spend an extra year and a half on this? After all, some of your peers, while you continue to study, are already starting to get more or less decent money. And even if it is not a "dream job", even if your prospects are much brighter, nevertheless, finding the strength to "gnaw on the granite of science" for longer than originally planned may not be so easy. Forpost" decided to ask the first-year students themselves, who decided to transfer to specialisation, how sensible their choice was.
Sofya Loginova came to study in the city on the Neva from the small town of Vuktyl with a population of less than 10,000 people, which is located in the Komi Republic. She says that she "decided to transfer not immediately", she thought for a long time, evaluated all the pros and cons. But in the end she realised that it was the best option, because "many companies do not hire bachelor's degree graduates".
"Initially, I did not have the opportunity to enter a specialisation. The whole point is that at the USE I passed not chemistry or physics, but geography. This is one of my favourite disciplines and I decided in the eighth grade that I would choose it. And although after a few years I realised that for a successful career I needed to graduate from a serious technical university, such as Mining University, I did not change my decision. The curricula of all the training programmes available to me required only four-year studies, so I had no alternative. But now that it has appeared, it seems to me that I made the right choice," says Sofya.
After graduating from her alma mater, she plans to return to the Komi Republic and work there as an ecologist. The dominant part of industry in her small homeland is the fuel and energy complex. Profile companies have recently paid much attention to minimising the man-made impact on nature, so the prospects for professional self-fulfilment in this field are very high.
Unlike his classmate Danila Shimko initially entered the Bachelor's programme "Automation of technological processes and productions in oil and gas refining" in order to eventually study for a specialist degree. It would seem, where is the logic? But, in fact, it is present.
"The whole point is that, while I was still an applicant, I knew about the pilot project, that it was supported by Putin, and that is why I enrolled not in a Moscow university, although I am a Muscovite myself, but in Mining University. It was a conscious choice. Firstly, in five and a half years I will have time to get much more practice, and this is a very important factor in future employment. And, secondly, I have several acquaintances who have graduated with a bachelor's degree, and, to be honest, I can't say that their careers have taken off after graduation. They understand perfectly well that they need to go on to graduate school, but somehow it doesn't work out, there is no proper motivation. Someone has already more or less settled down and does not want to lose the tit in his hands, someone has children and they are not up to studying. That's why it is much more logical to finish a speciality course and get a better chance of making your dream come true," believes Danila Shimko, who plans to get a job at Gazprom after graduation.
Nikita Ruzhyin came to St Petersburg from the Irkutsk Region to study. He discussed the idea of transferring to a specialised course with his classmates for quite a long time, but in the end he came to an unambiguous conclusion: an extra year and a half would definitely not be superfluous. However, he emphasised another decision of the rector, also taken within the framework of improving the higher education system.
"Now I am studying in the direction of "Automobile Engineering". To be honest, I was planning to enter another speciality related to IT-technologies, but I didn't get enough USE points. So, one of the most interesting initiatives, which is being implemented at Mining University within the framework of the current reform, is the opportunity to transfer to a more prestigious field of study after the third semester. It will be opened not for everyone, but only for 20 per cent of the best students, who have honourably demonstrated themselves in studies, social life, sports, or some other activities. It's a really great idea, because now many talented kids are forever deprived of the opportunity to get the speciality they dreamed of because they were unlucky in their exams," Nikita said.
The young man added that competition does not scare him. He plans to become one of the best by the end of the first year and a half of study, get to the top of the ranking and take advantage of the new opportunities that are opening up thanks to the pilot project to improve higher education.
Valery Shekhunov, who came to the northern capital from Murmansk, also favourably evaluates the concept of the "core of higher education", within the framework of which the first year and a half of study all students study exactly the same subjects. That is, they study general education and general technical disciplines, which are necessary to form a fundamental base, regardless of their future place of work.
"I asked my parents and they said that it used to be like that, everyone studied the same programme for the first two years, and then they started to master specialised disciplines. This allowed to get the foundation of knowledge that is necessary for every engineer. And it increased academic mobility, i.e. made it possible to transfer to other areas of training," Valery emphasised.
By the way, he initially enrolled for a specialisation, and did not even consider a bachelor's degree as an alternative, as "such education is not valued in the professional environment". As the young man himself says, "if you are lucky enough to enter Mining University, whose diploma allows you to count on the most optimistic scenarios of career development, you should use your chances as effectively as possible".
Sergey Feofanov comes from the Vologda Region. He didn't hesitate for a minute about whether or not to extend his studies. After his bachelor's degree, the young man was planning to enter a master's programme anyway, so the transfer proposal saved him from unnecessary nervousness after four years.
Alina Loginova from Petrozavodsk also had no doubts that transferring to a specialisation was a great idea. The girl is studying to be a heat power engineer and plans to work at a CHPP in the Leningrad Region or St. Petersburg in the future.
"I want to get a fully completed higher education, but I can't call it a bachelor's degree. In today's world, it is not quoted. You need to become the best, to win the competition, to be an example for others. It is important for self-realisation and self-improvement. An extra year and a half is not the longest period, and if we take into account that during this time we will get a lot of new knowledge and skills, the choice made by the overwhelming majority of students is quite logical and justified"
Alexey Makhovikov, Director of the Institute of Basic Engineering Education, where all the first-year students enrolled at Mining University this year were enrolled, clarified that no sanctions will be applied to those young people who decided to stay on the bachelor's programme. All of them will continue to study according to the existing curricula, and at the end of the eighth semester, when their colleagues will go to the next industrial practice, they will start pre-diploma activities.
However, the number of such students will be small. After all, about half of those who have not written an application for transfer, systematically skip classes or are characterised by poor academic performance. Morally, most of them have already said goodbye to the university and simply gave up on any manifestations of activity.
It should be reminded that in 2023, for the first time since our country joined the Bologna Process, the number of budgetary places in the first year of specialisation at Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University was more than at the bachelor's level - 982 against 940. This means that now almost 1850 people will study there, while only a few dozen people will study at the bachelor's programme.
