Ceremonial Presentation of Certificates for the First GRIAT Graduates
Certificates for the first GRIAT graduates
Ceremonial Graduation Feierliche Zeugnisübergabe. Left to right: Prof. Albert Gilmutdinov, Ivan Stepanov, Ilnar Zaripov, Prof. Jens Strackeljan, Ilnur Sadykov, Farida Gafurova, Prof. Peter Scharff, Aleksei Chinnov, Il’yas Siraev, Prof. Helmut Weiß (Image: Heiner Dintera)
On 6 September 2016 in Kazan, the first 6 CEE students from the GRIAT project received their master’s degree diplomas from Rector Prof. Jens Strackeljan, Rector Prof. Peter Scharff of the TU Ilmenau, and Rector Prof. Albert Gilmutdinov of the Kazan KNRTU-KA. Congratulations! The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan, Mr. Fattakhov, the Secretary General of the DAAD, Dr. Rüland, president of Siemens AG Russia, Dr. Möller, representatives from the German Embassy in Moscow, as well as numerous lecturers and relatives were present at the ceremony.
“GRIAT” – German-Russian Institute of Advanced Technology – was brought to life in September 2014. In the initially 4 master’s programs – including “Chemical and Energy Engineering” (CEE) – the students were to first study in Kazan, the capital of the autonomous Republic of Tatarstan in the Russian Federation, at the “Kazan National Research Technical University named after A. N. Tupolev” (KNRTU-KAI), then spend the third semester in Germany at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (OVGU) or the Technical University of Ilmenau (TUI), and during the fourth semester back in Kazan write their thesis supervised by both the German and the Russian counterparts. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) supported the development of the curricula and the use of German lecturers in Kazan ("flying faculty") with initial funding, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan the construction work for GRIAT and an extensive scholarship program.
After two years, an overwhelmingly positive report can be drawn. The initial difficulties, which are almost inevitable in a project involving two different education systems, were overcome, ambiguities eliminated, and problems solved on an unbureaucratic "working level". It is very pleasing that all of our graduates have already found employment immediately after graduation, a clear indication of the economic sector’s acceptance of this international program. Meanwhile, the program has grown by three courses of study both in Magdeburg as well as Ilmenau. One course of study is provided by an additional technical university, the TU Kaiserslautern, and joint degree programs are also in preparation at the TU Darmstadt and the TU Braunschweig.
Contacts: Reena Schliephake, Prof. Dr. Helmut Weiß