I would go to the brawlers, let them teach me…

Last week, the head of the department «Equipment and Welding Production Technologies» ZNTU A.V. Ovchinnikov gave an interview to the Zaporizhzhia newspaper MIG. This interview talks about the attractiveness of the profession of a welding engineer and the scientific activity of the department as a whole. Parents and their children, future students choosing a profession are strongly recommended to familiarize themselves with the article.

The text of the interview is below.

In recent years, fewer and fewer students have entered Ukrainian universities for technical specialties, even for budgetary quotas. However, this trend is not characteristic of Zaporizhzhia National Technical University, which recently celebrated its 117th birthday. There are enough people who want to study at ZNTU, especially in specialties that are in high demand in modern conditions. Among them is the specialty of a welding engineer, which is gaining popularity due to the development of laser and plasma technologies, as well as 3D printing of metals. Why is the profession of a welding engineer attractive to young people? We will talk about this with the head of the «Equipment and Technologies of Welding Production» department of the Engineering and Physics Faculty of ZNTU — Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Oleksandr Ovchinnikov.

Very few historical facts

— It is possible to obtain a part of the desired shape in different ways – casting, pressure, mechanical processing. A complex product is expediently made by welding, permanently joining metal parts with the help of special welding processes, – says Oleksandr Ovchinnikov. — It turned out that Ukraine became a pioneer in the development of welding technologies in the Soviet Union, in the 30s of the last century, the Institute of Electric Welding of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR was created in Kyiv. Over time, the process of quarreling turned out to be so in demand by industry that such an industrial region as the Zaporizhzhia region could not do without its own educational base of specialized personnel. In 1963, the Department of Equipment and Technology of Welding Production was organized at the Mechanical and Metallurgical Faculty of the Zaporizhzhia Machine-Building Institute [ZMY]. It was headed and directed for many years by Venyamin Popov, who later became the rector of the university. For more than half a century, more than three thousand engineers have been trained. I have been in charge of the department for the past year and a half.

— What would you say to the question of a graduate student: «A quarrel is generally interesting»?

— Not only interesting, but vitally necessary. No serious production – machine-building or metallurgical – can do without welding technologies. What is a modern method of quarreling? Imagine: a workshop, an automated hand-robot that independently cuts and welds parts of a complex shape. The person organizing the work must be able to correctly calculate and model the structure, know metallurgy, metallurgy, welding technology, have automation and programming skills. That is, arguing is a polytechnic specialty that allows you to master almost all technical skills.

Titanium is a metal to all metals

— Have you heard that your department opens a «window of opportunity» for students?

— Starting this year, students will be able to do internships and write scientific papers directly at factories — potential places of their future employment. Not only that, we issue not just an engineer’s diploma, but also teach working specialties. The rank of a welder will be assigned free of charge. We agreed with the Kyiv center that it will certify the diplomas of our wrestlers at the international level, which will allow them to find work abroad.

— Your doctoral dissertation, to put it simply, is connected with the titan’s quarrel. Why is this issue so important?

— The research center «Titan Zaporizhzhia» works as a structural subdivision of ZNTU, which solves specific problems of specific enterprises. We, practically the only ones in Ukraine, also develop so-called spherical powders used on 3D printers for growing parts of any geometry. Isn’t it exciting to press a button and with the help of a laser, plasma or an invisible electron beam, a part or an entire product will grow, previously created by a 3D model computer? Such printers are already being implemented at Motor Sychy, allowing to obtain details of aircraft engines, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles of the so-called new generation. And this very promising direction will also be developed by our students.

Contemplating life

— A young man aged 17–18 wants to connect his future life with technology. But he did not decide on a specific profession. What would you recommend?

– Come to us. A person goes to study to gain competence. So, after the quarrel department, you will get such competence. Don’t just study for five years, you will see real production, you will practice on the high-tech equipment of the enterprise, for example, «Motor Sych», you will master all the skills, you will become a specialist. As a student, it is possible to engage in scientific work, from the third year to perform real tasks – we also pay money for this. Our students participate in scientific projects, speak at conferences, travel around Ukraine and abroad. An entry may appear in your employment book: was a research worker. A good welder will find himself in any industry. That is why our graduates are good technicians, managers and top managers, and some of them have become politicians, deputies and mayors. I would like to add that this academic year, almost 60 students entered the department, and the budget seats were fully occupied. In 2017, admission to master’s programs increased more than six times. A similar situation with postgraduate and doctoral studies.

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