The experience of Russian universities will be used in Tajikistan when training specialists to work at energy enterprises. Cooperation between the two countries in the scientific and educational sphere was discussed by experts at the international scientific and practical conference “Engineering research, innovation and investment in the field of energy and industry”, which was held in April 2023 in Bokhtar. Representatives of Russian universities, including Togliatti State University (TSU), took part in its work.
New opportunities
The conference was organized by the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources and the Energy Institute of Tajikistan. The invitation of the Russian side is evidence of the high interest of the government of the republic in close cooperation and constant contacts between experts from the two countries in the economic, scientific and educational fields.
The forum discussed the prospects for international academic mobility of students and teachers, the implementation of network educational programs, joint research work, etc.
Russia and Tajikistan have been partners in these matters for many years. For example, residents of Tajikistan are provided with quotas for studying at Russian universities: in 2022 there were 750 such places, and in 2023 – already 902.
According to experts, more than 30,000 students from the republic study at Russian universities. In March 2023, the Minister of Education and Science of Tajikistan, Rakhimjon Saidzoda, and the head of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia, Valery Falkov, signed an agreement on the mutual recognition of academic degrees and titles. The agreement also applies to the degrees of candidate of sciences, doctor of sciences, titles of associate professor and professor.
Also, within the framework of bilateral cooperation, there are associations of universities, joint projects in the field of education, international network universities, etc.
Thus, cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan and the Energy Institute of Tajikistan is especially promising for Togliatti State University. Within its framework, scientific research and training of engineering and technical personnel for energy enterprises are carried out.
In 2022, 50 citizens of Tajikistan graduated from the bachelor’s and master’s programs of TSU in the direction of “Electric Power and Electrical Engineering” and have already found work in their homeland.
Personnel for the cascade of hydroelectric power plants
Hydropower is a priority for Tajikistan. There are a large number of high-pressure hydroelectric power stations on the territory of the country, for example, Nurek. The construction of the Rogun hydroelectric power station is actively underway, the dam of which will be the highest in the world.
Hydropower accounts for 98% of Tajikistan’s electricity production, and the republic’s government is interested in attracting investment, technology, and personnel to this industry. In turn, Russia has something to offer.– Russia and Tajikistan have long and effectively cooperated in the energy sector. There are HPPs, which today are fully serviced by Russian companies. In Tajikistan, there is now a real boom in the construction of hydroelectric power stations – cascades of stations appear on mountain rivers. Thus, we strive to ensure the energy independence of the country.
But all new energy infrastructure facilities require highly qualified personnel with good theoretical background and practical training. Russian universities have the greatest experience in training such specialists. With some of them, we are already implementing network educational programs, in which students study for a year at the Institute of Energy, and then continue their studies in Russia and receive a Russian diploma of higher education,” says Nemat Badalov, senior specialist in the international department of the Energy Institute of Tajikistan .
For future energy engineers, the question of practice is important. However, foreign citizens, even those who have the status of students of a Russian university, cannot obtain admission to energy infrastructure facilities.
In December 2022, this problem was discussed in detail at a meeting at the Ministry of Energy of Tajikistan by the director of the Institute of Chemistry and Energy of TSU Pavel Melnikov, the head of the Department of Power Engineering and Electrical Engineering of TSU Vera Vakhnina and the rector of the Institute of Energy of Tajikistan Dilovarshoh Isozoda.
For students of TSU – citizens of Tajikistan, it was decided to organize an internship directly at the energy enterprises of the republic, so that it would be possible to get an idea of their future jobs during the learning process.
– We also discussed the possibility of organizing targeted training of students for the energy sector in Tajikistan, encouraging talented children with nominal scholarships. We already have the first signs: a student enrolled in the master’s program “Technical and information support of intelligent power supply systems” at TSU in the direction of the company “Pamir Energy”, – says Vera Vakhnina.
According to Nemat Badalov, Tajik students are interested in studying at Russian universities. The fact is that the technical documentation for most HPPs (both those built 30 years ago and those just put into operation) is in Russian, since the equipment is purchased in Russia.
Accordingly, specialists need to have a good understanding of the language in order to understand technical terminology. Therefore, studying at a Russian university is also a good immersion in the language environment.
Source : ASIA-Plus