Metinvest Polytechnic has launched academic councils in seven fields of study. In particular, the councils have been set up for such areas as metallurgy, mining, occupational health and safety, environmental protection technologies, industrial automation and software, as well as business intelligence and business process management.
In addition to academics, the academic councils also include representatives of business - top managers and industry specialists of Metinvest's companies.
The creation of the academic councils serves as testament to the university's strong commitment to deepening cooperation between education and business to prepare students for the real challenges of the modern job market. Metinvest's specialists will make a significant contribution by providing their expertise to help identify a list of relevant competencies of graduates and the content of educational programmes and address organisational issues of dual education, as well as sharing their experience and innovative practices with future professionals. In addition, it is planned to identify areas for joint research on relevant issues of modernisation of the mining and metals sector.
In its development, Metinvest Group aims to reach the level of efficiency of the world's best steel companies. To do this, we need specialists with state-of-the-art knowledge and innovative thinking to drive our company forward and give it a new impetus. The creation of the academic councils is a unique experience aimed at nurturing such young professionals at Metinvest Polytechnic. This will ensure that the content of educational programmes will stay attuned to the real needs of business and education will be more responsive to the most pressing issues of today.
— Tetiana PETRUK, Chief Sustainability Officer of Metinvest GroupNot only does Metinvest continue to be Ukraine's pillar, but it is already developing projects to rebuild the industry after the victory. With this in mind, actual steps to establish an ongoing dialogue between education and modern industry are a prerequisite for building a talent pool for the future recovery. At the end of the day, this should bring students closer to employers, improve the competitiveness of graduates in the job market and shorten the adaptation period at the new workplace.
Oleksandr POVAZHNYI, President of Metinvest Polytechnic, added that the creation of the academic councils opens up new opportunities for both the university and business. "We have created a platform for discussions between partners and further implementation of educational innovations. Identifying strategic priorities for the development of educational areas at the university, analysing curricula and assessing the quality of the educational process, developing grant programmes to support talented young people, and providing international expertise of the educational process are just some of the important issues that are already being discussed at the meetings of the councils," University President said.
The value of such kind of interaction has several aspects.
Konstantin MOISEYENKO, coordinator of academic councils, added: “Firstly, education and business can, as they say, try to look at the problems of training specialists through each other’s eyes. Secondly, the result of such communication is the deepening of expertise and quality of results in a number of areas: from training to innovative activity. Thirdly, the first meetings of academic councils showed that non-standard solutions to not only current, but also systemic problems of higher education appear during the discussion.
The activities of academic councils began with discussion of issues of educational programmes, organisation of practical training and dual education. In the future, such meetings should systematically cover the issues of scientific research, popularisation of engineering education among young people, establishment of international contacts, etc.
