THE ROSTOV STATE TRANSPORT UNIVERSITY

THE ROSTOV STATE TRANSPORT UNIVERSITY

The History of the RSTU  The Rostov State Transport University (RSTU) occupies a prominent position among the scientific and educational institutions of Russia.

Its history dates back to the 20-s of the 20-th century. The young socialist republic started rapid industrial and railway construction and desperately needed skilled engineers. On the 1-st of October 1929 the Rostov Mechanical Institute of Transport Communication Engineers (so RSTU was called then) was opened. 292 students were accepted to its three departments: Railway, Water-Transport and Road Construction.

They were lucky to attend the lectures of the outstanding Russian scientists, among who we can name the mathematicians D. D. Mordukhai-Boltovskoy, D. N. Goryachev, the physicist E.V. Bogoslovsky, the chemist N. N. Stasevich, the engineers A. P. Korobov, N. N. Dyakov, etc.

By the beginning of the 40-s the Institute had established its educational process, industrial base and laboratories. When transformation into the specialized industrial railway institution was completed it got the name of the Rostov Institute of Railway Transport Engineers.

During the years of the Great Patriotic War the Institute was evacuated to  Tbilisi. Education of the railway transport engineers and scientific research  did not stop even during this hard period. More than 30 teachers and  300 specialists heroically defended our homeland.

In August 1944 when the faculty and students returned back to Rostov they were struck seeing the ruins of the main building, Electro-Mechanical department, Hostel № 1 and other buildings. But they managed to restore everything and then to construct new buildings and facilities.

THE RSTU TODAY

Nowadays the Rostov State Transport University has become one of the largest and most prestigious higher educational establishments in the Russian Federation. The status of the university was given to it in 1993. In 2009 it was included into the list of 500 best universities of the world by the independed agency “Reuter”. Since its foundation the University has been a dynamic force both as an educator and a promoter of technical sciences and up-to-date technologies.

It is a vast complex comprising 8 departments, the International Institute of Business and Law, 42 chairs, Postgraduate and Doctorate Colleges, Branch Department of the Russian Transport Academy, Computer Centre, Experimental-Testing Plant, Engineering Centre of Postgraduate Professional Education, etc. Its main departments are Electro-Mechanical; Power Engineering; Automation, Telemechanics and Communication; the Humanities; Railroad Construction; Railroad Construction Machines; Railway Management and Operation; Preparatory. Besides day-time education there is also correspondence department. General Engineering Department is situated in Mineralnie Vodi, the biggest railway junction of Russia and the North Caucasus. The University has four branches in the cities of the Northern Caucasus: in Tuapse, Miniralnie Vodi, Krasnodar and Kropotkin. More than 22000 of students study in all the structural department of the university. At the present time the University conducts education in 31 specialities of the higher professional training and 12 working professions.

Our University is headed by professor Vladimir. I. Kolesnikov, an academician of the Russian Academy of Science. The University faculty exceeds 700 people, more than 40 members of various Academies, 80 doctors of science, 400 candidates of science and assistant professors. The University scholars carry out research work in various fields of fundamental sciences, engineering technology, education and the humanities. The University has good contacts with education centres of Europe, Asia and Africa. Annually many teachers participate in numerous international conferences in Russia, the C.l.S, Austria, the U.S.A., Germany, France, Italy, Israel, China, Thailand, etc. Some of them read lectures in the Universities of Gamburg, Berlin, Freiburg and Gissen.

The students of all the departments actively participate in scientific research. They make reports at different conferences, conduct experiments in the numerous labs and try to implement their results into industrial process. The students of the RSTU understand the necessity of mastering one or two foreign languages for their future professional activity so they try to do their best at the lessons and the specialized foreign language courses.

Our University is “a technopark”. The students have the opportunity to study real locomotives and carriages with working systems. They can have their lessons in the computer labs, Internet labs and multi-media classrooms. The unique training complex “The virtual rail road” is meant for getting professional skills and competencies.

The campus of the University occupies 16.5 hectares. It is a beautiful park all the year round. There are four academic buildings, four hostels for students, two large sport complexes with a swimming pool, a wonderful students' club for entertainment and recreation. Cultural and social life of the students is various and interesting. There are many traditional conquests popular among the students: «Miss RSTU», «Students’Autumn», etc. The performances of the student theatre, jazz band and orchestra always attract a large audience. Many cities of Russia like and welcome the student-actors from the Agitation Train. Thanks to wonderful sport facilities the University conducts different festivals and competitions. The students of the RSTU always get sport prizes and some of them even became the champions of the Olympic Games (as a wrestler Valentin Nikolaev in Melburn (1956); a cyclist Yuri Kashirin in Moscow (1980) and others).

Having rich and glorious history the faculty and the students of the RSTU keep their traditions and put forward new plans to meet the requirements of specialists' education in the 21-st century.