Abstract:

The purpose of the article is to conduct a comparative analysis of new educational practices in the preparation of students of engineering programs. To achieve this goal, a comparative case-study research strategy was applied. In the status of "cases" were two leading regional universities: the Ural Federal University (Russia) and the University of Dunaujvaros (Hungary). The choice of two partner universities for the study was caused by the similarity of engineering educational programs and active introduction of new formats of engineering education into the educational process. To implement this task, in May-June 2018, a survey of students of engineering programs of these universities was conducted using a questionnaire on the Googleform platform. To clarify the results obtained, the materials of interviews with the heads of engineering educational programs of the studied universities (November 2020) were considered.
Within the framework of the sociological survey, the factors influencing the quality of education of future engineers, student assessments of the effectiveness of educational technologies and teaching methods used in the University were identified, as well as students ' opinions on the prestige of the engineering profession and prospects for future employment were summarized.
It was found that in the studied universities, according to students' estimates, a favorable educational environment has been created, where are enough opportunities for professional and personal development. With varying degrees of activity, new technologies and techniques for education of modern engineers are developed and used: project training, peer-to-peer learning, training programs, gamification, self-regulation of the learning rhythm (self-pacing). At the same time, there is a contradiction between the quality of the educational environment of universities and the low level of efficiency of its development. The modern process of professional training involves an active position of the student, the willingness to take responsibility for their training. The level of academic involvement of students is a condition for the formation of their professional potential.

Keywords:

Engineering education, comparative analysis, educational technologies, university, educational program, peer-to-peer learning, self-pacing.