The Russian agrarian spring was marked by a global event - prominent scientists, leading Russian and foreign agricultural producers gathered on the basis of the Samara State Agricultural Academy. The subject of discussion was, among other things, the issues of personnel shortage, the lack of qualified specialists capable of working in new conditions, using new equipment, mastering innovative approaches and introducing modern technologies.
World Agribusiness Center ... in Samara
At the end of March, the Samara region, without undue modesty, could call itself "the center of world agribusiness." From 24 to 28 March, dozens of Russian and foreign companies working in the agricultural sector gathered in one place - on the territory of the Samara agricultural university. And the initiator was the new leadership of the Agricultural Academy - a team that set itself the task of creating an innovative platform for exchanging experience and improving the quality of education.
Open lectures, presentations, round tables and informal communication within the framework of the Agribusiness Club became the main highlight of the Week. Senior students and alumni of the academy could talk to potential employers, submit their resumes, and immediately get interviewed.
AGRICULTURE OF SAMARA REGION
today has good potential. The region is one of the few in the country with high growth rates in the agro-industrial complex. At the end of 2013, the gross grain harvest increased by 30%, the region became the only region in the Volga Federal District where the number of cows increased. The foundations have been laid for industries capable of competing in the future under the WTO conditions.
The main scourge is the lack of personnel
“The lack of qualified personnel is truly a global problem,” said Alexander Schumann, head of the eastern department of GRIMME (Germany). - Therefore, I gladly accepted the offer of the Samara Agricultural Academy to participate in the week of world agribusiness.
A long-term friendship connects the university with the GRIMME plant - an enterprise with a 150-year history, a recognized world leader in the production of specialized equipment for growing potatoes.
“We take care not only of improving our technology, but also training people who will work with these machines,” said Alexander Schumann. - Several years ago, the academy employees approached the plant management with the initiative to create a fund for agricultural training for potato growers. We actively cooperated, and it bore fruit: almost all the participants in the training fund project are now working in the potato business. "
One of the Samara potato growers, a graduate of the agricultural academy, director of OOO Chistoe Pole
Vasily Brezhnev recalls how he bit by bit accumulated his knowledge already in practice:
“After graduating from the university, I realized how much theory lagged behind practice. What we learned from the textbooks was far from reality. I had to master everything myself. Events such as the World Agribusiness Week open up an opportunity for dialogue between students, teachers and agricultural producers - people who in practice master new technologies. "
It is in the format of open communication that he sees the solution to the personnel problem in the agro-industrial complex and the leadership of the university. Rector of Samara State Agricultural Academy
Alexander Petrov:
“We understand that education is the system that today should be as dynamic and flexible as possible. - Everything changes very quickly. Through such events, we can update the knowledge not only of our students, but also of fellow teachers. Graduates and employers saw where and with whom they would have to work. We, in turn, have identified and mapped out the main directions of educational activities, focused mainly on practice. Having graduated from the university, our specialists should be involved in the sphere of activity as quickly and efficiently as possible. "
The personnel problem is very acute even in the best farms of the industry, and what can we say about the situation in everyone else.
Samara State Agricultural Academy is ready to go beyond ordinary lectures and practical classes and create an innovative training scheme for the tasks of leading agricultural enterprises of the Russian Federation.
The presence in the Samara region of a powerful potato cluster, confidence in the success of the educational project of such well-known figures in the potato business as the Chairman of the Samara Potato Union, General Director of the Solana-Agro-Service enterprise Vladimir Molyanov and the Vice-Rector for Development of the Samara State Agricultural Academy Alexei Brumin - all this allows you to count on getting real results.
Seminars, special courses and practices, including on the basis of farms in Russia, Germany and Holland, distance learning for residents of other regions of Russia - all this is just a part of the strategic development of the academy, which is going through the stage of reboot and change of formats. “We have achieved the main thing - we have drawn attention to the problem and by joint efforts have found ways to solve it,” explains the rector of the academy.
The fact that the need for a dialogue with agricultural producers has matured, no one doubts. There is a desire (and it is mutual), there is a platform, there is something to work with and with whom. Well, new educational projects will be given strength by a goal that is quite real and achievable, and a personal example of people who have achieved great success in the agricultural business.