The advanced Engineering School of the Southern Federal University presented three-year results of its work and long-term development plans at the Council for Reviewing and Coordinating the activities of the Institute, chaired by Valery Falkov, Head of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science.

The flagship project of the Ministry of Education and Science "Advanced Engineering Schools" has been implemented since 2022. Currently, 50 such schools have been created within its framework, and by 2030, on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin, their number should be increased to 100. SFedU has been operating since 2022, is among the TOP 6 in Russia and is one of the largest Schools in the country (1,113 students).

Starting this year, the first 30 schools from 15 regions will enter a new stage of financing under the terms of the project – after three years of budget financing, they will switch to off-budget and will operate at the expense of attracted funds from industrial partners.

"The first 30 advanced engineering schools are moving to a new qualitative level of development. The results presented by the university teams show that together we have managed to create an effective model for integrating education, science and production. The next step for the first wave of schools will be to scale up their activities. We have everything we need for this: modern equipment, competencies, established contacts with industrial partners. It is important that regional authorities pay great attention to the development of advanced engineering schools in their cities, understanding their value for strengthening relations between higher education and the real sector of the economy," said Valery Falkov, Head of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science.

The SFedU's medium–term goal is to ensure the leadership of the Russian Federation in technologies for creating autonomous RTK groups as the main unit of combat operations and the technological future of unmanned vehicles by 2028.

The advanced engineering school of the Southern Federal University implements a wide range of relevant and sought-after engineering training programs. It takes into account the interests of industrial partners and contributes to the transformation of the engineering education system. The School was designed as a holding company: partner companies initiate the creation of divisions that are extensions of these companies.

"We are working with Element Group and OPK JSC (part of Rostec State Corporation) to develop electronics projects, with Kronshtadt Group of Companies and UZGA JSC to develop control systems, and with JSC concern in the field of Devices, Complexes and communication systems. KRET" (part of Rostec State Corporation).

Initially, we designed four divisions: "Artificial Intelligence", "Electronics", "Cyberphysical platforms" and "Devices, complexes and systems". Starting in 2023, at the initiative of the Okeanpribor Concern, a new division, Hydroacoustic Systems and Complexes, has been established at the SFedU, which allows us to work in the field of underwater robotics," said Alexander Fedotov, Director of the SFedU Advanced Engineering School.

A distinctive feature of the educational model at SFedU is the developed graduate competence model, which formed the basis of 20 proprietary educational standards for bachelor's and master's degree programs. An important component of the educational model of the IISH programs is the technology of project-oriented learning, where the results of educational activities are directly related to the implementation of a real scientific project, the customer of which is a partner company of the IISH or an advanced research laboratory of the Southern Federal University.

The educational and professional track "Rostec Code" is also being implemented at the School. It is aimed at advanced training of engineers for the tasks of the corporation's enterprises. The track is implemented in two areas of training at SFedU 11.03.01 "Radio Engineering" and 11.03.04 "Electronics and Nanoelectronics". Students enter into targeted contracts with a partner company and are employed at a fraction of the rate, which allows them to gain experience and work experience from the very first year. An additional incentive for studying at industry programs is the Rostec Code scholarship, which consists of social benefits from the company and motivational payments from the SFedU staff for academic performance, project and scientific activities, as well as improving the level of proficiency in a foreign language.

In the summer of 2024, the first graduation of the Advanced Engineering School of the Southern Federal University took place – 76 masters received diplomas. 68% of graduates of the Institute were employed in the contour of enterprises belonging to the Rostec State Corporation.

"In 2024, key projects of the SFedU Research Institute were aimed at fulfilling complex and interdisciplinary tasks in the interests of industrial partners, which allowed for a seamless transition from fundamental and exploratory research to applied research, organizing the transfer of solutions to the real sector of the economy, moving to a fundamentally new level of cooperation with high-tech enterprises, maximizing the resources of the SFedU Research Institute. in the production process. We plan to further develop cooperation with industrial partners in those basic and advanced solutions that underpin national security and are associated with ensuring the technological leadership of our country," added Alexander Fedotov.

Work for the future is also important for the staff of SFedU. In 2024, the Rostec Engineering Classes project was launched. The initiative aims to bridge the gap between university education and the requirements of real businesses. Engineering classes are based on design activities and practical training using modern technologies. This will allow students to easily integrate into the higher education system, where they will receive support at all stages of their studies, including scholarships, internship opportunities, advanced training and employment from the first year. Thus, a seamless "School – University – Partner enterprise" system is being implemented.

During the three years of the project, the university's infrastructure has significantly improved. The classroom fund has been updated, multifunctional spaces have been created for meetups and leisure for students, 5 special scientific and educational spaces have been launched: an experimental laboratory for the creation of devices based on bodyless microwave ICS; a laboratory for "Group technologies for the use of agricultural UAVs"; a laboratory for the support of intelligent technologies; a laboratory for sonar systems of marine robotic complexes; "Smart" factory "Advanced microelectronics and photonics technologies".

The most successful projects at the SFedU within the framework of scientific research activities have become a unified simulation and modeling complex for scenarios, models and algorithms for the functioning of robotic complexes and their basic components (control systems, navigation systems, vision systems, automation systems, etc.). Space topics are covered in the project "Automated test systems of orbiters and modules the orbital station" commissioned by PJSC RSC Energia. AIS data is intended for remote control, telesignalization, tele-measurement, communication with on-board computing systems and control of the power supply system of complex industrial facilities. AIS provide control over the functioning of orbiters and modules of orbital stations at the stage of assembly, testing at the manufacturing plant and directly at spaceports.

MEMS resonators encapsulated at the plate level deserve special attention.

"The technology of encapsulating MEMS elements in layers of a silicon wafer is a promising and sought-after field of methods for housing micromechanical devices. MEMS devices manufactured using this technology will have a competitive advantage over their counterparts in terms of size, price, and reliability.

A joint project to develop encapsulation technology between NCPP Vostok JSC and SFedU, with the support of Element Group of Companies and the Russian Science Foundation, was launched in 2024. The work performed at the first stage of the project showed the technological readiness of JSC NCPP Vostok to solve the problems of encapsulating MEMS structures. The experience gained by the employees of the enterprise and the Advanced Engineering School of the Southern Federal University in solving the problems of encapsulation technology is unique and will contribute to improving competence in the tasks of MEMS sensors," said Mikhail Chebanov, Head of the MEMS Department at NCPP Vostok.

The implementation of the socio-economic development initiative "Advanced Engineering Schools" in the period from 2022 to 2024 was carried out within the framework of the federal project "Advanced Engineering Schools" of the state program "Scientific and Technological Development of the Russian Federation". Since 2025, the continuity of the activities of the Advanced Engineering Schools project has been ensured by including them in the federal Universities for a Generation of Leaders project of the national Youth and Children project.