Architect and builder are one of the top among popular professions. In the modern pace of building, such specialists are needed more and more each year. South Ural State University has been able to provide businesses of the Chelyabinsk region and surrounding regions with high-class staff for more than half a century. Over the years of its existence, the current Institute of Architecture & Construction of the largest university of the Ural region has prepared more than 20,000 engineers, planners, builders, designers, and researchers… SUSU graduates lead large companies and create their own unique projects such as the ultramodern living complex Korol Plaza (King Plaza). The specialty of building buildings and structures is one of the most in-demand for many years. Why? The director of the institute Dmitriy Ulrich tells us.
The SUSU Institute of Architecture and Construction prepares strong specialists: architects, designers, planners, builders, experts, and product engineers. Among yesterday’s students are owners of independent construction businesses, leaders of famous businesses in the construction industry, leading specialists of planning and research institutes, and researchers. Ambitious projects belong to the portfolios of former students of the Institute of Architecture & Construction: the Korol Plaza living complex, Meliot Hotel, and really, no matter where you look, specialists with SUSU diplomas have made their mark.
According to the results of scientific research by the institute, calculations were made on the foundations of the 27-floor office center Chelyabnisk-CITY, techniques to prepare and assemble metal domes for the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the roof of the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow, and in Chelyabinsk – the roof for the Ural Lightning Ice Rink. Compositions have been developed as well as the techniques for using high-strength concrete for monolithic construction. The large scientific issue of creating effective, large-size corrosion-resistant structures from laminated plastics for industrial structures was solved. More than 100 patents have been received for developed constructions and technological processes. This is just a small part of the achievements of the university’s architects and builders.
Only chosen students end up in the institute, which was formed by combining the Faculty of Architecture and the Faculty of Architecture and Construction in 2016. The competition is quite high – 6-7 people for each spot. A passing score on the exam is the 300 point mark. Students study in bachelors’, masters’, and post graduate programs, and there is the most in-demand program called Construction of High-rise and Long-span Buildings.”
In 2016 a group of students for elite training was selected for the first time. Besides more intense study of a foreign language, the students are able to receive additional skills.
“There is a separate file within the construction area in our institute called “Erecting Buildings and Designing Engineering Systems,” says Dmitriy Ulrich, director of the Institute of Architecture & Construction. “We took the profile “Industrial and Civil Construction” as the basis and added two more profiles to it – “Water and Wastewater” and “Heating and Ventilation”. This is how we train the same “ICCers” but with more deep knowledge of special disciplines and with wider horizons. Such specialists will be, without a doubt, more in-demand. The main thing is that young people have a high level of interest, and they’ll be taking their first exams with a “good” or “excellent” mark.”
Students of the institute don’t only receive fundamental knowledge, they also hone the theory in practice. In laboratories, future builders and architects study the chemistry of water, model the bedding and foundation of buildings, complete physical and chemical testing on materials and products, practice in the design studio, and practice academic drawings, sculpture, and plastic modeling. All of the academic laboratories are equipped with modern equipment which allows classes to be held at the highest level.
A research and design center Naslediye operates within the institute, where students and teachers develop projects to restore monuments of Chelyabinsk and Chelyabinsk regional monuments, as well as the Stroyitelstvo (construction) research center and the Center of Additional Academic Services.
Students of the institute can participate in exchange programs. In the spring semester, the “builders” (construction students) complete training at Zhejiang Ocean University and architects (architectural students) at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China.
The event of the year was the IAC’s entrance into the European Construction Association, which gives the education, which is already internationally recognized without this membership, an even bigger guarantee to be known outside of the borders of Russia and participate in international project contests and conferences.
Going to practical lessons after their second course, students already know that they are specialists that are needed, and that there are jobs waiting for them already.
“A degree from SUSU is highly regarded around the whole world – it’s no secret that our system of education is valued abroad,” stresses Dmitriy Vladimirovich, “We just translate the degrees into English and young specialists are able to find work abroad with ease. After all, it is important that beyond some signatures in a booklet, the graduate has knowledge in their head and has developed skills. We try to support both. The higher education in profile areas received at the Institute of Architecture and Construction gives our graduates undebatable competitive advantages in the employment process and opens up prospects for career growth.”
The institute has stable relationships with building firms, companies of the construction industry, planning organizations, and city and regional administration. We can note a few large employers: Chelyabinskiy Zavod Metallokonstrukstiy (Chelyabinsk Metal Plant), UralAZproekt, Cheyabdorproekt, Betotek, ChelZhBI-1, and many more. The Institute tries to develop and strengthen partnerships with leading businesses of our city, region, and country. Close ties have been developed with leading universities in the USA, Germany, Finland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, China, and Bulgaria.
The high level of training for IAC students depends on many factors. These are the professionalism of teachers, the conditions and provisions of the academic process, a set of elements in the academic process, the motivation of each student, modern teaching techniques, and effective testing systems.
“Our students are not only able to study well, they also live a full life. They participate in all of the major cultural university events. Under the leadership of the student professional bureau, the professional mastery contest Stroika has been held for six years and students of the architectural faculty realize the academic project Vitrazhi,” shares Dmitriy Ulrich, “The institute takes active part in the SUSU School Olympics. Our students have won and placed in these competitions several times, both in individual and team sports. The institute’s students traditionally makeup the core of the youth labor squads. As you can see, studying in the Institute of Architecture and Construction is interesting and prestigious. We hope that you choose your academic area correctly, take the EGE successfully, and gather enough points for the admissions contest. We will be happy to have you in our friendly environment of constructors, architects, and designers.”