Initiative is encouraged

Student hood and teaching department are not the only places that give you the ability to get modern education. Our heroes are different: they are students, recent graduates of our university, experienced specialists. Besides their difference they have one thing in common they are proactive, self-motivated concerned individuals. Moreover, they have already done much and become well-known people, even if this is only their department. Their experience proves that the initiative opens the doors for self-realization making one’s life more interesting.

Cold heart of the aircraft 

MAI student estimates characteristics of heavy-duty electrical machines.

Irina Kobzeva, a student of the Aerospace Institute of Moscow Aviation Institute, an engineer of the 310th Research Department “Electric power, electromechanical and biotechnical systems”, has already made significant progress despite her young years. Irina’s scientific and professional interests are superconducting electrical machines.

Irina caught it up immediately after admitting to MAI though it is not for women at all. Furthermore the new field of knowledge captured her so much that immediately after the classes Ira ran to the laboratory of the 310th Department and stayed up late. The enthusiastic student was noticed by teachers, they offered her job. Gratefully accepted the offer Irina soon became the part of the scientific corp.

– There are a lot of very talented teachers in MAI. They literally need a few classes encourage you to hook up your life with aviation, - admits Irina. – Moreover, MAI gives you a knowledge base that allows you to work in various enterprises of the technical industry. Also you can stay at the University to do science and conduct researches. For example, I didn’t wonder where to work. I wanted to do science, so I stayed at the University.

Day by day Irina was getting new knowledge and experience. That was how she became one of the creators of a unique mathematical technique for calculating the parameters and designing a superconductor electrical machine and along with the staff of the 310th Department became one of the patent holders for the utility model.

- The field of superconduction has not been studied sufficiently, - Irina says. The standard methods for calculating electric machines are not suitable, so you have to create a new analytical calculation technique. 3D-simulation allows you to reproduce the type of machine and calculate all its parameters. That is, it turns out that the analyst gives an evaluation of the machine in the plane, and modeling in software environments takes into account all assumptions and gives more accurate results of calculating the superconductor machine in volume. Irina wrote more than a dozen articles in scientific publications, as well as worked for the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) and the Russian Real Estate Fund (RFN). After graduation fr om MAI Aerospace Institute, the girl plans to continue her post-graduate studies at the newly established 310th Department. By the way, the teaching experience of a talented student already exists: she conducts laboratory and practical classes for students.

– It is wonderful that MAI is an applied university, - Irina thinks. – Here professor don’t only read lectures, they also help the students to use their skills on practice. As for me it is very important. This is reflected in the increase in the number of practical classes, as well as in attracting senior students to research work.

We should mention that now Irina and her colleagues are working on improving methods of calculating of the superconducting electrical machine’s configurations and optimizing them. 

Forward to the heights

MAI student creates engines and experimental stands.

Sergey Seliverstov, a graduate student of the Institute №2 “Aviation, Rocket Engines and Power Installations” of MAI, began building a scientific and engineering career from his student days. In 2013, he, having been a second-year student, started to work at the MAI Resource Center as a technician. Every year, Sergey got promotion: he walked up and up the career ladder. His studying at the university and clear objective helped him constantly achieve new heights.

After getting a diploma, Sergey continued getting the education by taking up postgraduate study. In 2017, MAI student joined the staff of the Institute №2. He began teaching, at the same time he was engaged in research and development in the 205 Department. Together with the faculty colleagues he developed a lot of advanced projects, for example, a small jet engine for UAVs and mobile generator sets. One of the engine models developed by the specialists of Moscow Aviation Institute was presented by Sergey at the YOUTH EXPO exhibition in Sochi. It took place in the margins of the World Festival of Youth and Students. The invention interested customers, as well as Denis Manturov, Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia.

– The university started to get mountains of letters. It doubled our work, - Sergey says. – Fortunately, we had a lot of groundwork for this field, our own experimental stand, so it really helped us.  By the way, my colleagues and I worked hard on this project when I started to work at the Institute.

The developers say that MAI engine is very powerful and compact, so it could compete with foreign analogs and significantly accelerate the flight of the aircraft or raise it to a greater height depending on the task. 

- Now we are optimizing it as the engine uses a lot of fuel, - says the graduate student. – Actually, this is the problem of every jet-engine of that type. Moreover we do everything to solve problem as well as to significantly improve our engine.

For a long time Sergey has been interested in additive manufacturing. The Institute №2 has 3D Printing Lab. The student mastered the technology of manufacturing parts on existing machines from and to.

- At first I mastered the work on the stereolithography machine as an operator, - remembers Sergey. – I took photos of the details and made them. Then I was engaged in the construction and debugging of modes, that is, I did the actual programming work. I mastered a machine by a machine. Now I lead the direction additive manufacturing. We frequently get requests from different faculties and institutes of Moscow Aviation Institute.

In addition to teaching and scientific work Sergey is involved in different student scientific research projects because he is the chairman of MAI Students’ Scientific Research in his native Institute №2.

Request model

Students of Moscow Aviation Institute create successful IT products and teach users to design internet services.

A step towards optimizing and simplifying the work of the organizing committee of the International Youth Scientific Conference “Gagarin Readings” turned a great and successful IT project for Alexander Novikov, MAI graduate student, and his mentor Pavel Keino, Head of the MA program “Design of High-Load Internet Services”. MAI students designed web-based platform called Conference laboratory. Using it representatives of universities and scientific organizations could get turnkey site on a separate domain with a huge number of functions in just two mouse clicks after simple registration on the project website. The project as acquitted itself well at the conference in MAI as won the competition “The territory of meanings on Klyazma”. “The Conference laboratory” will be struggling to win the finals of the U.M.N.I.K. (the participants of the youth science innovation competition) in the near future.

- We designed a full target, - Pavel Keino, Head, developer and author of the idea, notes in an interview with "Oblako". – This system is flexible enough to suit users’ needs and requests. Having no software development skills it can personally design any configuration of the application.

The authorized system greatly simplifies the process of receiving and processing applications, as well as their filing. In addition, the “smart” system developed by MAI students is able to generate reports in Excel spreadsheets, as well as to impose a final version of collections and diplomas. The user is required only minor nuances, and the time previously required for recording and maintaining the history of applications is spent on the direct organization of the event.

Besides the Laboratory of the conferences programs Pavel Keino also leads another project which soon will be launched at MAI. This is the development of meta-modeling tools for modern BlockSet web applications.  Of course not only Pavel is working on this new invention, but also a large team of the of students MAI Institute №3 "Control Systems, Informatics and Power Engineering": Nikolay Kozyrev, Nikita Zhiga, Vladislav Novikov, Philip Yarmukhametov, Artem Tsimbal, Dmitry Zolotov and Andrew Bubnov.

– Using metamodeling tools, you can create your own blocks and build your own business website logic, - Pavel Keino says. - But at the same time you are not required to process the programming itself. For example, with the help of our service, you can draw the web form you need by simply clicking the mouse, moving the sliders, placing check marks wh ere necessary and creating conditions that meet the specified logic of the dynamic page being created.

By the way the MAI IT-center and the university after an ensemble with MATI helped students successfully give life to their projects.

- When I was still a graduate student, many at the university did not understand what I was doing as I spoke with them in the gibberish language, - confesses Pavel Keino. – It was a hard time for me because my creative desires weren’t accepted seriously. Later, in the name of MAI, I received colossal support, and our projects in the field of Internet services became not only tangible, but also very successful. And do not go far for examples. The mere fact that we at MAI are opening a new master program in Internet services suggests that the trends that we caught many years ago are more in demand than ever in the world and in MAI in particular.

Platform that increases sales

MAI graduate learned to make money on advertising with the help of technologies.

An idea of creating a high-tech business came to Dmitry Stepanenko, a founder of the Hot-WiFi IT-Company, when he studied at the Aircraft Electronics faculty of Moscow Aviation Institute (the National Research University) in the fifth year. The student decided not to put it aside, so he began to act resolutely. Soon the charismatic leader, the future specialist for integrated security system gathered a team consisted of the like-minded people from his classmates and students from different faculties. He managed to attracted first investment. That’s how a new Hot-WiFi startup appeared on the IT-market.

The company started with providing technical support for several small firms and tuning Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, rapidly developing IT market dictated the rules. Dmitry’s team went for new clients, revenue and biggest profitable piece of markest’s pie. This small start-up Hot-WiFi literally transformed into a giant of the technological advertising market and acted as a manufacturer of software for automating marketing business tasks in front of their eyes. Nowadays partnership network of the company includes 16 countries like Russia, UK, Canada, Spain, Turkey, Thailand and etc.

- We help companies to earn more money from Wi-Fi platforms, - says Dmitry. – Hot-WiFi provides an opportunity for businesses to advertise with their target audience, which is within walking distance. Imagine you’re passing by a café, a fitness club or a shop that is equipped with our system. As soon as you come home, to the university or office and connect the network, this establishment will be able to customize it for you its advertising, invite you to its event or tell you about the sales. Such advertisement is very efficient: it is directed to its own audience. Our system can also track your entering an establishment and then provide the business analyst that the advertisement really works.

Besides commercials Hot-WiFi company also collects users’ data as phone number, e-mails or their id in social network for their clients.

Studying at MAI, Dmitriy says, it really helped him in the further work. Despite he didn’t become a software engineer, complex knowledge allowed him to speak with developers in one language and to understand issues of his work.

- My specialization didn’t give deep knowledge but that’s why it is called “integrated security system”, - says Dmitry. – Graduates then were to continue their studying for the direction they prefer. As for me, the chief, integrated knowledge from different areas helped me to speak one language with the developers and qualify them. Moreover, I perfectly understand what they are doing and what the program code is. We talked about legal issues of this field at MAI, so now I can easily coordinate the lawyers’ work. I literarily graduated as a versatile specialist. By the way, I have some specialists from MAI in my team. 

Engine of soul

MAI graduate gave interview on his engineering vocation and career move.

Fighters from the Suhoi are graceful, elusive, superior fast and agile. With a sinking heart and genuine admiration, we watch the performances of these winged cars at various air shows, Victory Parade on Red Square. The engine makes them fast and powerful as bullets. It is manufactured on the A.Lyulka Design Bureau. One of the developers of the iron “heart” for fifth-generation Su-57 airсrafts, as well as a number of other front-line aircraft of the Su- family, was Andrey Starodumov, a graduate of the "Aviation, Rocket Engines and Power Installations" Institute of MAI and Head of Research and Development Department of the A.Lyulka Design Bureau.

He began to comprehend the engineering profession in the 1990s, which were difficult and economically unstable for Russia, but he never regretted his choice. He remembers his years in MAI with great warmth. He has not lost the relationship with his alma mater over the years, but, on the contrary, it has grown only stronger. Now, Andrey, with great pleasure, has been recruiting internships for students from MAI, who he has been teaching the complex science of engine construction for a year now. By the way, Andrey together with his colleagues took an active part in the restoration of his native faculty after the fire in 2009. The grateful MAI perpetuated the name of his graduate, who extended a helping hand, on a memorial plaque located in the newly rebuilt building №2.

- I studied missile engines, - remembers Andrey Starodumov. – In the last years of studies, I started to work with Yuriy Ravikovich, a MAI professor, at the 203th department of the Engine Design. I really liked an engineering profession, although my acquaintances thought I should work in the most demanded field of business in those days. However, I felt the engineering profession was my destiny.

His feelings weren’t wrong. Knowledge and experience he received bore fruit. The university became a “runway” for him. So, now Starodumov heads one of the key departments of the A.Lyulka Design Bureau, he does a big volume of project estimates of the modern advanced engines in the field of gas developments and heat-mass-exchange. Moreover, most work is performed for Gasprom.

The A.Lyulka Design Bureau in the person of the department under the leadership of Andrey Starodumov implements part of the researches and developments in close connection with MAI. He is also working on different projects together with the university. One of them is designing the cooler system for advanced turbines. 

- The engineering profession requires a lateral thinking - says Andrey. – Thus it is used to hire graduates from MAI. It is interesting and effective to work with them.

Space as premonition

MAI graduate tells about entering, teaching and working in the field.

The destiny of Igor Usovik, a graduate from the Aerospace Institute of MAI, has been predetermined since his childhood. His father served in aviation and his grandfather served in Rocket Forces. It wasn’t unsurprisingly that Igor subsequently chose the engineering profession and entered MAI, the university that connected both sky and space.

- I’ve graduated from MAI for three times, - the student says smiling. – I have two higher education and postgraduate studies. Igor Usovik can’t express the joy and excitement he felt when he entered the university. - To tell the truth I can’t put these feelings in words, - remembers he. – Perhaps, this is the real happiness. 

Even now, despite the enormous workload of the head of one of the departments of TsNIIMash, Igor regularly comes to alma mater to give lectures in his native 604th department “System Analysis and Management.” He teaches students the system analysis and the effectiveness of space complexes. By the way, MAI student remembers his university years, favorite teachers and disciplines with great warmth and enthusiasm.

- When he studied, he was interested in programming, space flight mechanics and statistical dynamics, - says the graduate.

He says that the knowledge received at the university is the fundament that helps solve a lot of complicated tasks during the work in the branch.

- From my point of view, one of the main advantages of the system of the teaching and construction of the educational process in the Moscow Aviation Institute is that, in addition to lectures, seminars and practical exercises, it is possible to get acquainted with the samples of technology, as well as be creative when preparing various works in the process of learning, - tells Igor.

In the Central Research Institute for General Machine Building of MAI student leads a department that works on several advanced space researches.

- Our department conducts research in the field of limiting technogenic contamination of near-Earth space, orbital maintenance of spacecraft, including the active removal of space debris into burial orbits, - Igor notes. - In addition, we are conducting research in the field of ionizing radiation of outer space and their impact on the onboard equipment of rocket and space technology.