A Fourth-Year Student’s Letter to Applicants

Testimonial published in 2020. Roles and career details reflect the account at the time it was written.

I am a fourth-year student in Group TO. I want to share some thoughts about our department, offer advice to applicants and describe some of the activities it holds.

Over the past few years, our department has added many new training stands, computer classrooms, controllers and other equipment. To me, this showed the department head’s and instructors’ interest in preparing future specialists. Although the department was already 50 years old at the time of this account, it continued to develop alongside automation worldwide.

Applying to university means choosing a path in life, and it can be hard to make that decision at this age. I suggest thinking about whether you would enjoy subjects such as higher mathematics, fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, programming, automatic control theory—one of the most important subjects—metrology, electrical engineering, technical automation equipment and other engineering disciplines. Modern training stands and computer laboratories also give students practical experience in class.

To be admitted to an exam session, students must complete a set number of laboratory assignments, coursework and calculation papers. In our experience, qualifying to sit the exams was harder than passing them. If you attend classes and complete the planned work during the semester, the session is manageable.

The department also holds events alongside classes: New Year celebrations for top-performing students, conferences and Olympiads. They offer a change of pace or a chance to demonstrate what you know in other disciplines.

The modern world needs highly qualified automation specialists who are willing and able to keep learning and work with modern equipment. The department prepares such specialists, and senior students help their younger peers with their studies.