The InMotion International Project: Russian and foreign students master computer modeling

16 July 2018 Education 0

Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University is a traditional participant of ERASMUS+ international educational projects. Currently, SPbPU participates in the InMotion Project sponsored by ERASMUS+ and focused on a new approach in teaching BSc, MSc, and postgraduate students and retraining specialists in the engineering areas.

The InMotion International Project: Russian and foreign students master computer modeling

Along with Polytechnic University, eight other universities from Europe and Asia take part in the InMotion Project which includes realization of a broad scale of events including the educational module of the International Polytechnic Summer School for Russian and foreign students. Altogether, more than 20 professors from all over the world shared their experiences and knowledge with the students of the Summer School.

The intensive and concentrated agenda of the educational module got a lot of positive reviews from Russian and international students. It is already known that another course on computer modeling will take place next summer; it might very well become a traditional component of the educational program of the International Polytechnic Summer School.

The InMotion International Project: Russian and foreign students master computer modeling

In the first half of July, the module had effectively taken place on the base of the SPbPU Institute of Computer Sciences and Technologies. Forty students from Malaysia, Spain, Germany, China, Russia, and other countries participated in this project. The Summer School included collective distance working on creation of models in various visual modeling environments: Simulink, OpenModelica, Rand Model Designer (Russia), AnyLogic (Russia), ISMA (Russia). The results of the students’ joint work were presented at a conference and awarded with special diplomas.

The InMotion International Project: Russian and foreign students master computer modeling

Along with Polytechnic University, participants of the project were: the Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU), the St. Petersburg Maritime Technical University, the University of Bremen (Germany), the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), the National University of Distance Education (Spain), the University of Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Malaysia University of Technology, Petronas University of Technology (Malaysia). The St. Petersburg Institute of Informatics and Automation of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SPIIRAS) is an industrial partner that provides communication between universities, leading industrial enterprises, and research laboratories. European partners are united by their long-term joint work in EUROSIM, the European modeling federation.

Lectures and practical exercises were conducted by project-participant teachers. Each university had a dedicated day during which its representatives talked about the features of teaching modeling. Prof. Borut ZUPANČHIČ and Sacho BLAŽIĆ of the University of Ljubljana told the students about the peculiarities of teaching management theory using the Simulink environment; professor of the National University of Distance Education of Madrid A. URKIA taught lectures on the OpenModelica environment; SPbPU professor Yu.B. SENICHENKOV spoke about the use in educating of the Rand Model Designer, a national environment of visual modeling, in the development of which employees and students of the Polytechnic Institute had been engaged; professor of SPbMTU V.A. RYZHOV spoke about Wolfram SystemDeveloper, a new environment of visual modeling; and colleagues from NSTU focused on ISMA, another national simulation environment. Lectures of our colleagues from Malaysia caused a special interest. Professor of the University of Kuala Lumpur Dr. Khairul Anuar Maat SAAD taught a lecture on simulation of hydrodynamic effects. A seminar devoted to open education was also pretty interesting. It took place in the SPbPU Center for Open Education directed by V.E. VASILYEV. Colleagues from Spain and Germany also presented their reports on distance education. The students visited SPIIRAS, where they listened to enjoyable lectures and visited the museum of the institute, and got acquainted with the work and products of the TRANSAS Company.

Many international students shared impressions on the computer modeling educational module. “It was great that we had several project engagements within the frame of the course. Computer modeling is an extremely interesting sphere, and I was glad to get such a lot of new and interesting information. I very much liked the way how the students communicated and interacted: we all came from different countries and we have got a huge bulk of new experience,” Khor Wei HAN (Malaysia) said.

The InMotion International Project: Russian and foreign students master computer modeling
The InMotion International Project: Russian and foreign students master computer modeling

Ernesto ARANDA (Spain) stressed that computer models have presently got extensive application. “Physics, mechanics, chemistry, biology, sociology and other sciences: professionals who can create models necessary for obtaining new knowledge are needed everywhere. This topic has always been of great interest to me, and during this intensive and concentrated course I learned a lot of interesting things, and I express my greatest gratitude for that to the professors,” Ernesto added.

The future architect Nur Akila ELIAS (Malaysia) is sure that computer modeling nowadays is an indispensable tool for the architects. “I was glad to come to Russia, get to know your country, see St. Petersburg with my own eyes, and meet a lot of new friends. The knowledge that I’ve got here will for sure help me in my future career.”

“Participation in this course of the Summer School was a great opportunity for me to better know your country, see how your students live, and learn about the Polytechnic University’s educational programs. The accomplished course on computer modeling will, no doubt, be a great addition to my resume,” Enrique MARTINEZ (Spain) pointed out.

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