The Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation hosted the sectoral seminar “Russian Engineering School.” According to Minister Sergey Tsivilev, improving the personnel training system is today regarded by representatives of fuel and energy companies as a key priority for the development of the industry.
In February of this year, a presidential decree was issued establishing the National Center for Personnel and Scientific Support of the Mineral Resources Complex “Corps of Mining Engineers.” on the basis of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University. In essence, this document creates a precedent for integrating educational and research institutions, executive authorities, and public organizations into a unified system of personnel training aligned with the current technological development agenda at the sectoral level.In addition to organizing educational methodologies and scientific research for the mineral resources complex, the Center has been entrusted with the functions of creating network-based technological sites for practical student training, analyzing the personnel situation in the industry, and forming a professional accreditation system. All of this necessitates the active participation of the relevant ministry.
Even before the launch of the presidential pilot project on improving higher education in 2023, the Mining University raised the issue of the importance of a comprehensive approach to education. According to Rector Vladimir Litvinenko, the training of a fully qualified engineer requires a strong school-level foundation across the full range of subjects, rather than a limited set of Unified State Exam disciplines. This foundation must develop organically into university-level studies, forming a fundamental educational base that must be intensively reinforced through practical training and further developed in the postgraduate period.
The seminar “Russian Engineering School” was also structured around the principle of a core linkage between different levels of education. The school-level perspective was presented in a report by Artem Korolev, Director of the “Nadezhnaya Smena” Charitable Foundation. The positive experience of a dual approach at the level of secondary vocational education was discussed by Elvira Fomina, Head of Educational Cluster Administration at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in the Republic of Tatarstan. The new model of engineering education was presented by First Vice-Rector of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, Marat Rudakov. The urgent needs of employers were addressed by Alexey Ponomarenko, Deputy Director General and Director of the Engineering Competencies Unit at the Corporate Academy of Rosatom. Students and faculty from Moscow's technical universities, along with industry representatives, were present in the hall and actively participated in the discussion.
In his opening remarks, Sergey Tsivilev recalled that even before the reforms of Peter I, a distinct type of people had emerged in Russia—individuals capable of unconventional technical thinking and of developing effective solutions under conditions of limited time and resources. During the reign of Ivan IV the Terrible, they were referred to as rozmysly. The Minister cited the example of the remarkably rapid and technologically advanced construction of the fortress on Sviyazhsk Island, which played a decisive role in the success of the siege of Kazan. Later, when the ideas of Russian self-taught innovators were reinforced by a strong scientific and educational foundation, the Russian engineering school reached leading positions globally.
«In the 1960s, the Russian method of training engineers, unfortunately, began to fade away: universities started producing engineers en masse who possessed only theoretical knowledge. They were not taught to work with their hands, they were not given practical training, and they arrived at enterprises without knowing what to do. The traditional Russian engineering school was strong because of its unified training chain—from worker to technician to engineer. This must be restored and further developed», – said Sergey Tsivilev.
Artem Korolev proposed that companies in the fuel and energy complex designate individual mentors from among their employees for each specialized engineering class in schools across the country. Such cooperation would support both career guidance and the development of educational programs. Korolev believes that, with the support of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, this model could be implemented by the end of 2026:
«Each company has its own solutions, but for the system to function as a unified method, coordinated action is required—agreement on approaches to career guidance for school students and the involvement of companies that are not yet engaged in this work».
As Elvira Fomina noted, the experience of the Alabuga Polytech educational center demonstrates that, within secondary vocational education institutions, the ratio of theory to practice should be 30% to 70%. A promising approach is the creation of pilot production facilities (training and production complexes) that fulfill real industrial orders. According to the speaker, in the near future, enrollment in secondary vocational education should increase from the current 60% to 80%, leaving universities with 20% of the most talented and motivated school graduates.
Alexey Ponomarenko, Director of the Engineering Competencies Unit at the Corporate Academy of Rosatom, noted in his report that enterprises today are focused on achieving sustainable growth in labor productivity and recognize that this cannot be accomplished without a new generation of engineers: “to improve production efficiency, people are needed who are capable of formulating scientific and technical hypotheses and finding effective technological solutions.”
The speaker emphasized that the system of secondary vocational education, even in its best practices, is oriented toward the production tasks of the present day. Only a new generation of engineering personnel can ensure further development.
First Vice-Rector of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University Marat Rudakov introduced the seminar participants to the conceptual foundations of the university’s new model of engineering education. These include a unified fundamental core of disciplines in the first and second years, a model of academic partnership with employers, and a system for training postgraduate researchers. The university was the first among the six institutions participating in the initial phase of the presidential pilot project to completely abandon admission to bachelor’s and master’s programs, thereby withdrawing from the Bologna process and transitioning to a six-year cycle of basic engineering training. All of this is being implemented to restore the true purpose of higher education — to form a holistic worldview in specialists, motivating them to work in the interests of the country:
«It is possible to purchase the most advanced equipment, but without well-trained engineering personnel, success will not be achieved. It is possible to educate outstanding graduates, but without incorporating an educational and value-based component into the learning process, we will face a situation where the best of them will very quickly settle somewhere in Dubai.
The mineral resources complex is undoubtedly the backbone of the state, and the engineering corps is its foundation. Throughout its history, the Mining University has cultivated the country’s elite, and such individuals cannot be raised in sheltered conditions. It has always been a process of rigorous work, driven by strong motivation and a clear focus on results».