From remote monitoring programs for housing and communal services to robots – VSTU students are implementing the most ambitious projects
University students Vadim Podlipskov, Ivan Dukhovich, Vladimir Tumanov, and Artem Samusev joined the Information Technology and Automation club and immediately set a very specific, albeit ambitious, goal for themselves – to become good programmers. It is unlikely that the guys then imagined that they would achieve such success that all of Belarus would learn about. They started by completing tasks related to internal projects and external clients, for example, developing software and remote control systems for housing and communal services. When they learned about the possibility of participating in the republican stage of the III WorldSkills Belarus professional skills competition, they decided that they must perform in two categories – "Mechatronics" and "Mobile Robotics". Moreover, they had everything necessary for this: special knowledge gained during the educational process and club activities, experience in similar competitions from senior students, who became experts for two original projects.
- In 2016, our students performed quite successfully at the II WorldSkills Belarus, -- said the head of the club, Associate Professor of the Department of Information Systems and Production Automation, Andrey Naumenko.
- But 2018 was truly a stellar year for the club members. Vadim Podlipskov and Ivan Dukhovich, under the guidance of expert Oleg Zamzhitsky, presented a robot at the republican stage that can manipulate containers, find them, move them from place to place, and is essentially a mobile computer. The students manufactured some of its parts themselves using a 3D printer at the VSTU Technopark. The robot impressed the jury with its capabilities, and the authors were awarded a gold medal. Vladimir Tumanov and Artem Samusev, under the guidance of expert Egor Chernov, competing in the "Mechatronics" competence, successfully completed the task of assembling a reduced-scale model of a station that sorts parts by color and composition, and then directs them to the working area, winning a silver medal. However, the championship participants are not resting on their laurels but are actively preparing for new performances. They have joined the national team, and their participation in the international stage of the professional skills championship, which will be held next year in Kazan, Russian Federation, is currently being considered. On January 30th, Belarusian Science Day, the guys will meet at a qualifying training session in Minsk.
- I want to note that young people who begin their scientific careers from the student bench receive full and comprehensive support both at the state level and at the university level, -- continued the conversation, Head of the Department of Information Systems and Production Automation, Candidate of Technical Sciences Vadim Kazakov. -- After the first participation in the WorldSkills Belarus championship, funds for strengthening the material and technical base of the club were allocated from the Special Fund of the President of the Republic of Belarus, which subsequently allowed us to achieve even more impressive results. At the end of last year, an application was submitted to the Special Fund of the President of the Republic of Belarus for the social support of gifted students for the allocation of funds for the further development of the club. Students V. Tumanov, A. Samusev, I. Dukhovich are nominated for inclusion in the Presidential Fund for Gifted Youth. Ivan Dukhovich is also nominated by the university for inclusion in the City Honor Roll. The Rector of VSTU, Professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences Andrey Kuznetsov, not only personally heads various scientific projects but also comprehensively supports initiatives aimed at developing youth science. Annually, grants are allocated from the university's extra-budgetary funds for the implementation of student research work. And many university teachers, current associate professors and professors, once started precisely in student scientific clubs. By the way, there are currently 28 of them at the university. It is rightly said that there are no beaten paths in science. But one can take the first confident steps on them in early youth, using the opportunities provided to young people in our state.