Abstract:

Since 2016 Russian regional universities have a new status – flagship universities. This is the initiative of the Ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation and recently 33 universities has been awarded the flagship status. The main role of a flagship university is to support the development of the constituent unit of the Russian Federation where it is located. First, to provide the local labor market with highly qualified specialists. Secondly, to solve current problems of the regional economy. Thirdly, to implement educational and innovative projects jointly with the local administration and enterprises. A special area of responsibility of a flagman university is to train specialists with competencies demanded by employers. Therefore, it is highly important to upgrade existing practice-oriented educational programs and develop the new ones.

This article examines the theoretical approach and practical solutions to the development of practice-oriented bachelor's educational programs in "Mechatronics and robotics" at Petrozavodsk State University. To solve this issue we used a competence-based approach which involves employer orientation when developing the curriculum. The key milestones are:
1. Defining a set of professional standards by types of professional activities related to "Mechatronics and robotics".
2. Defining a possible job listing for graduates in "Mechatronics and robotics".
3. Setting up of employers list who might employ graduates in "Mechatronics and robotics".
4. Setting up a list of competencies required by employers.

To solve tasks 1-3 we need to automate the generation of the job listing and the list of employers by means of search and sort algorithm. This is due to the fact that the current national classification of professions of workers, officers and wage levels contains more than 8,000 professions and positions, and the number of registered organizations in Russia is more than 10 million. Therefore, manual search for information is not possible due to the large amount of data. Thus, we developed search and sort algorithm, based on the frequency maximum of key words.

To solve task 4 we collected and processed current vacancies in Northwestern Federal district, which contained the names of occupations or employers enlisted. Also we considered vacancies found via keywords for professional occupation. We identified professional requirements and necessary work experience for each vacancy and generated the list of competencies demanded by employers.
As a result, we formed a list of current employers and a list of current vacancies in the region.

We offer tools created to develop practice-oriented educational programs which allow universities to understand whether graduates are in demand on the regional labor market and whether graduates will be able to find jobs in their degree field. Modern practice-oriented educational programs in regional universities will increase the number of employed graduates and enhance the prestige and attractiveness of regional universities for prospective students. The administration of universities will be able to align the subjects of the curriculum to competencies demanded by employers of the region. Thus, the need of employers for skilled workers will be satisfied and socio-economic development of the region will be stimulated.

Keywords:

Mechatronics and robotics, major educational program, curriculum, practice-oriented, competencies, employers, job placement.