Far East Engineers Association to be created at FEFU

The Far East Engineers Association is to become a key element for tapping into the region’s engineering potential, bringing together research, education and manufacturing. The initiative to establish the professional society was put forward by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Primorsky Krai, the regional branch of the Russian Mechanical Engineers Union and FEFU Polytechnic Institute. The project is supported by leading enterprises, universities and government authorities.

Creation of the Far East Engineers Association was discussed at the presentation of cutting-edge developments by FEFU Polytechnic Institute. The new association will be comprised of manufacturers, engineers, research teams of the region, and of the whole Far Eastern Federal District in the future.

Sergei Kalitin, the Industry and Trade Minister of Primorsky Krai, emphasized that the engineering education is the foundation of the technological sovereignty of Russia and is supposed to be the driving force of regional and national growth.

“We plan to build an ecosystem of engineering innovation through establishing joint laboratories, design bureaus, temporary and permanent teams able to implement breakthrough technologies in production. A shared information space is essential for tracking the evolving needs of economy, science and industry and fostering collaborative problem-solving. Many large enterprises and researchers don’t even know about the existing support measures for technological inventions in our region. We need to fix this,” said Sergei Kalitin.

The Association will primarily aim to strengthen the appeal of engineering education, help businesses respond to growing talent needs as well as boost innovation and deploy new technologies. The special emphasis will be put on conducting research and training at companies and manufacturing sites.

“As an innovation driver, FEFU plays a special role in enhancing engineering education and technological development in the region. The university teams up with manufacturing enterprises, implementing joint projects in UAV technologies, mechanical engineering, shipbuilding, marine engineering, geotechnical engineering, power engineering, telecommunications. All solutions are being developed in close collaboration with industrial companies, aligned with their needs and agenda,” said Viacheslav Seleznev, Director of FEFU Polytechnic Institute.

The next step involves forming a task force that will crowdsource proposals and ideas related to the Association and create an online portal for the region’s engineering community. A large conference for all stakeholders has been scheduled to take place following the X Eastern Economic Forum to discuss industrial enterprises’ needs for innovative solutions to address evolving challenges.

Background note: the history of engineering education in the Far East dates back to 1918, when the Higher Polytechnic School of Vladivostok was founded. FEFU Polytechnic Institute is a successor to its best practices and traditions. Today, it is an academic powerhouse, training skilled workers and developing breakthrough technologies for the Russian Far East manufacturing industry.