On Friday, 24 May, at the regular meeting of the Academic Council of the Empress Catherine II St. Petersburg Mining University, twenty-four of the best prepared postgraduate students of the 2nd-4th years were solemnly awarded certificates of "Professional Teacher". Thus, the leadership of the oldest technical university in Russia emphasised that the mission of postgraduate studies should be not only to train scientists, but also teachers.
Rector Vladimir Litvinenko explained that this innovation will be an integral part of the changes that are taking place today within the framework of the pilot project to improve the system of higher education, implemented at the initiative of the President. The most important link, without which the integrity of the entire chain of transformations aimed at achieving technological sovereignty for our country is impossible.
"One of the main tasks facing the academic community is to create conditions to ensure the continuity of generations of engineers and scientists. But it is no less important to create conditions for the training of personnel, which in the future will train personnel themselves," the rector emphasised.
The block of disciplines aimed at preparing future teachers has been significantly strengthened in the postgraduate programme, including rhetoric, psychology and ethics. In addition, each postgraduate student is now assigned not only a supervisor, but also a pedagogical supervisor.
Holders of "Professional Teacher" certificates have successfully mastered the above disciplines, gained practical experience in the departments as "Assistant Trainees" and were certified by the Council for Pedagogical Competences.
Vladimir Litvinenko noted that he was presenting the certificates to "a team of teaching hope", and this is not a routine event, but a significant milestone in the development of postgraduate studies.
"Every good teacher has an individual pedagogical handwriting, his or her own approaches to how to enthuse the student with his or her scientific discipline. At the same time, professional excellence in training is still based on common basic criteria. Mastering them gives a sense of awareness in the complex and responsible business of training highly qualified personnel. A teacher is a special mission, here awareness is more important than anywhere else" - said Vladimir Litvinenko.
The status of "Professional Teacher" gives postgraduates the right to pedagogical activity as an assistant of the department with the volume of teaching load not less than 220 hours during the academic year.
Upon reaching 600 hours of teaching practice and gaining experience in mentoring students, subject to successful mastering of the postgraduate programme, such an employee will receive the "Teacher-researcher" diploma and, accordingly, the right to be a teacher at the Mining University in the module of disciplines of his/her speciality.
