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PRIMARY TRENDS
IN THE CREATION OF A CORPORATE SYSTEM OF LIFELONG EDUCATION
IN THE STATE-OWNED CORPORATION “ROSATOM”
V. A. Prokoshev,
T. N. Tairov,
Yu. P. Cheremisina
The EU Memorandum on Lifelong Learning declares: "the move towards lifelong learning must accompany a successful transition to a knowledge-based economy and society.”
The increase of the role of intellectual capital in a modern corporation creates the necessity for its transformation into a "continually taught organization”. The specifics of the nuclear sector, which are connected with its belonging to the sphere of high technology and the great capacity and multidisciplinary nature of its requisite knowledge, necessitate a special approach to the organization of lifelong education already at the early stages of selection and preparation of specialists. The problems of nuclear education in recent years have been widely debated by the scientific and pedagogical community and by specialists of the atomic sector. In the framework of educational reform, various structures have been created on the national and international level (the Russian division of the World Nuclear University, the European and Asian Network for Education in Nuclear Technology, etc.). However, serious breakthroughs in the improvement of nuclear education have not yet been made.
The preparation of specialists capable of working in such complex and potentially dangerous sectors as nuclear energy and industry demands a considerable number of practical skills in addition to an awareness of the range of specializations and general technical competence. Summarizing recent trends for improvement of the educational system for nuclear power and industry, the following can be identified: (a) increase in investment in education and professional preparation as well as facilitation of realization of a person’s abilities and of a person’s participation in production (modernization of the educational and scientific base, the influx of young teachers, a respectable salary, upgrading scientific and teaching qualifications of instructors, replenishment of the fund of scientific and technical libraries); (b) creation of an integrated corporate educational system, including combination of internal and external forms of instruction with periods of professional employment for students of the selected
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specialization during engineering and production preparation at base enterprises and scientific and educational institutions; (c) support of close cooperation between institutions of higher education and enterprises by means of development of a targeted selection by trilateral agreement; (d) preservation of an engineering hierarchy of education for nuclear specializations with a period of training from 5.5 - 6 years; (e) formation and correction of educational standards, curricula, and programs with the participation of scientists and industrial workers; (f) development and introduction of new, innovative forms of educational organization and technologies, and so on.
Thus, for example, the Administration of Saint Petersburg has planned a program for leading manufacturers for the preparation and retraining of core staff. More than forty industrial organizations in conjunction with institutions of higher education have created the basic departments and affiliate departments at enterprises, as well as faculties for the targeted preparation and continued professional education and retraining of key personnel. A pilot project for the preparation of key personnel for shipbuilding is being implemented. More than twenty industrial enterprises and over ten institutions of higher education are participating in this program on the basis of co-financing. The employer reimburses the city budget for up to 20 % of the resources spent on preparation of specialists.
Recently a program for the preparation and retraining of key personnel in Saint Petersburg’s technology intensive sectors of industry was approved. An International Innovation Center was created, for training in which more than three hundred students were selected, trilateral agreements “enterprise - institution of higher education - student” were concluded, and further training has begun in accordance with an individual program agreed upon with the organizations. For the purpose of improving the system of continued professional education, it is proposed to proceed by way of creation of specialized educational complexes that provide retraining and upgrade of qualifications for various areas of focus and specializations. Included in the tasks for such complexes are:
Organization of preparation of specialists of various levels (from secondary technical training to retraining and upgrade of qualifications for managers and specialists with use of modern educational technologies and methodological implementation in the educational process of certified programs and the requirements of educational standards); provision of close cooperation with enterprises of the sector
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and organization on this basis of training and upgrade of qualifications in the specialist preparation programs required by enterprises.
Solution of these tasks in relation to the movement for ensuring nuclear and radiation safety includes: (a) creation of the necessary material and technical infrastructure (the material and technical infrastructure of the complex should ensure training is carried out according to scenarios approximating real life conditions, with the actual use of modern equipment and means of protection); (b) selection and preparation of regular personnel for organization of the educational process, who should ensure the ability to carry out scientific research, consultations, and rendering other services in the sphere of ensuring nuclear and radiation safety, to prepare for licensing, certification and attestation, and to participate in carrying out inspections and preparation of their final reports; (c) formation of an educational and methodological base that includes a library of research and technical and methodological literature, an electric database of enterprises and technologies, photo and video materials and other informational resources; (d) organization (together with the primary form of carrying out educational lessons) of short-term seminars, meetings, round tables, instructor seminars, and other measures devoted to relevant questions of ensuring nuclear safety; (e) large-scale international conferences, forums, exhibitions, and presentations; (f) ensuring cooperation with foreign countries and international organizations for the solution of designated problems in development for the entire international community of unified, systematic approaches to the solution of current problems in safeguarding nuclear and radiation safety in the world.
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