Pandemic is no obstacle
Moscow Aviation Institute is attracting more and more talented and motivated students from different parts of the world.
Complicated epidemiological situation, caused by the spread of COVID-19 worldwide, stirred the development of various forms of distance learning. Due to the restrictions of air and on-ground traffic across the borders, this format became the only opportunity for most foreign citizens to get quality education at the leading Russian universities.
1,700 international students from 80 countries are studying at Moscow Aviation Institute now. Over the past five years, the enrolment of foreigners to the university has increased by more than 2.5 times. Foreign applicants most often choose aircraft engineering, rocket systems and cosmonautics, aircraft engines and technical systems control. The organization of distance work with foreign students at MAI is based on high-quality lecture recordings, the organization of intensive practical seminars and constant possibility of feedback. Both teachers and curators from the Department of International Activities are involved in communication.
MAI LMS (learning management system – editor's note) platform provides the education. It was created back in 2006, but due to the load that increased last year significantly, it underwent six stages of modernization. This made it possible to increase the capacity and expand the functionality. The system contains useful educational content and many different interactive functions: it allows to demonstrate lectures, carry out seminars and laboratory classes online, store notes, keep records of online classes, fill courses with additional material, conduct control sections, etc.
– Considerable resources were spent on online training for English speaking first-year students. We improved the MAI LMS platform and adapted its interface to the requests of foreign citizens, using the experience of the world's leading online platforms, – says Alexey Zarechensky, Deputy Head of MAI International Activities Department.
Lectures are recorded in high quality, access to them is provided in accordance with the individual schedule, and practical classes are conducted using additional software and technical equipment. In order to keep the attention of the student focused on studies, modern approaches to visualization and visual explanation of the material are being implemented.
Another important element of distance learning is visualization. Informative presentations, interactive videos with 3D images of technical samples, engineering graphics are available to students.
– Analyzing the way students attend classes, the results of the session, and most importantly, the exceptionally positive feedback, we see that the experience was a success. In the future, we expect that this format will continue to be in demand for online training and other MAI online projects, – Alexey notes.
MAI enrolment available from anywhere across the globe
For the second year in a row, MAI Department of International Activities together with the Institutes, organizes a series of remote welcome days in Russian and English. These events provide foreign applicants with the opportunity to communicate with the management, professors, students and graduates, learn about the university, about admission rules and new opportunities.
– The new circumstances that we all faced in 2020 (the pandemic, closed borders, uncertainty) forced us to completely change the format of events to attract foreigners, – Alexey Zarechensky notes. – Applicants from abroad often do not have the opportunity to come to Russia and attend the university, and under the new circumstances of closed borders it became impossible at all. Welcome days at MAI were organized at high level, and it was important for us to keep it in a remote format. We had the opportunity to introduce foreign applicants to Moscow Aviation Institute, to interest motivated children with high level of knowledge to join our ranks us, to attract those for whom MAI is a conscious choice.
The enrolment process is also organized in a remote format: foreign applicants send their documents via their personal account, pass entrance exams online, deposit via MAI internal payment system. These time-saving technologies were used at Moscow Aviation Institute long before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking about the results of last year enrolment campaign, China remained traditional leader as far as the number of foreign residents is concerned. This is primarily due to the development of double degree programs with leading Chinese universities (MAI currently has six partner universities in China). Next comes Kazakhstan that maintained high position for many years, since MAI in Kazakhstan has a branch located in Baikonur. Uzbekistan holds the third line, it became the leader in recruitment and shows the biggest increase in students (enrolment has increased almost fivefold in five years). Next come Malaysia and Vietnam – the consistently high enrolment from these countries is due to long-term ties with local partner universities. It is interesting to note that the list of countries from which applicants enter the MAI has been supplemented by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal, Kuwait, Maldives.
On the way to the dream of becoming an aviation engineer
Tavarasa Pravinan, a first-year student from Sri Lanka, dreamed of becoming an aviation engineer since childhood. His dream was to work at a large aircraft manufacturing company that has many customers with huge fleets of aircraft. In order to better prepare for exams to MAI and thereby increase his chances of success, the young man graduated from the MAI faculty of pre-university education. He passed all the enrolment tests and in 2020 took an important step towards his dream – he joined MAI course 24.03.04 "Aircraft Engineering".
– I am a big fan of Abdul Kalam, an Indian scientist and politician who was the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He made significant contribution to the development of satellite and rocket programs and became widely known, among other things, due to his strategic vision of India's development: he developed a program to turn the country into technological superpower. I am inspired by his outstanding achievements, as well as the biography of the famous Russian cosmonaut Yury Gagarin. My dream has always been to become an aviation engineer, but, to my great regret, there is no opportunity to get that education in my country, – says Tavarasa Pravinan.
Surfing through the websites of Russian universities, the young man became interested in Moscow Aviation Institute, found out that MAI is one of the most popular universities in the area of aerospace training and one of the largest Russian technical universities, and sent the documents. The opportunity to study at MAI in English also became a significant advantage for him.
