Italian engineering education through the eyes of SPbPU students
Students of the Institute of Energy and Transport Systems (IETS) and the Institute of Industrial Economics and Management (IIEM) of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University went on a one-week trip to Milan, where they had a unique opportunity to experience the foreign system of higher engineering education and make other exciting discoveries. Those who saw the second largest Italian city for the first time were particularly excited about the visit to the country's financial and economic capital, which is also one of the world's fashion centers. On this educational journey, the students were accompanied by A. S. Aleshin, faculty member at the IETS, and E. Sokolova, postgraduate at the Department of Nuclear Power Engineering and Thermal Physics.
The main destination was the Polytechnic University of Milan (Politecnico di Milano), one of SPbPU's major partners. The Polytechnic University of Milan ranks among the world's top 20 technological universities in the QS World University Rankings, and is considered to be one of the best Italian universities in terms of engineering education.
The main purpose of the visit was to attend lectures and seminars of the leading professors of the Polytechnic University of Milan. The Department of Power Engineering hosted the scholarly disputes. The subjects of the lectures included power engineering, combustion engines, turbomachinery, photoelectric systems, next generation of nuclear reactors, etc. All speeches came with interesting presentations. Our students claimed that Italian professors had welcomed Russian students with open arms, and had been willing to share not only their knowledge, but the experience in their own developments and research as well. "All our mentors treated us with utmost respect and understanding. They even tried to explain to us the subjects that we only new on a basic level. It was a great experience," IIEM student Anastasiya Cherenkova shared. Having witnessed the dedication of Italian professors firsthand, the students were excited to find out that from July to August 2016, professors from the Polytechnic University of Milan will take part in the SPbPU Summer School in the field of "Heat and gas turbines".
Apart from lectures, our student got to visit modern labs and research centers at the Polytechnic University of Milan. In this university, each master's degree student conducts their own research under the guidance of experienced colleagues, paying particular attention to experiments. SPbPU students were shown unique devices and how to use them effectively in project activities.
It so happened that during the visit of our students, Global Energy Prize Summit 2015 opened at the Polytechnic University of Milan. The summit was held in the format of interactive moderated discussion. According to organizers, it helped scientists determine the most important innovations in power engineering of the 21st century." SPbPU students also took part in a discussion on the technological revolutions that are expected to happen later this century: whether the sun, wind, or water will become major power sources, which innovations will change the industry beyond recognition, etc. IIEM student Kirill Kudryavtsev shared his impressions of the event: “We were lucky to be at the summit. The world's most reputed scientists in the field of power engineering and Nobel Laureates gathered here. These are experts that our government consults with, and it's good to see Russian scientists among them.”
Finally, the SPbPU delegation visited the University of Genoa, where they met professor Pietro Zunino. He is a partner of the SPbPU Department of Nuclear Power Engineering and Thermal Physics. The parties discussed ways to further enhance cooperation and reviewed the results of the students of a presidential engineering training program, who have undergone study placements with the international company Ansaldo Enegia.
Our Italian counterparts also prepared an extensive cultural program: our students got to see numerous sights across Milan. They particularly enjoyed evening walks in this beautiful city.
International Relations Office