printHow are Engineers Trained? Expert Assessments of the Experience of Advanced Engineering Schools
Dezhina I.G.
Dr. Sci. (Econ.), Chief Researcher, Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS, Moscow, Russia irina_dezhina@mail.ru
Dezhina I.G. How are Engineers Trained? Expert Assessments of the Experience of Advanced Engineering Schools. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2026. No 8. P. 65-77
The Russian federal program for “Advanced Engineering Schools (AES)”, launched in 2022, aims to modernize engineering education in response to declining training quality and the country’s new priority of technological independence. Based on expert interviews with AES leaders (N = 7, 2025), the article examines how these schools redefine the profile of a “modern engineer,” what learning models they apply, and what obstacles they face beyond formal performance indicators. Experts unanimously stress that industry participation is essential: companies should co-design curricula, provide real engineering problems, and contribute practicing engineers as instructors. However, implementation varies widely because universities differ in resources, prior industry links, and capacity to attract external funding. Respectively, AES follow multiple training models, and this is beneficial since it ensures diversity. Some schools focus on producing “principal engineers” and future “chief designers”, others train engineers who can immediately add value in a specific partner company, while some emphasize entrepreneurial and economic competencies. A key constraint is the limited availability of company specialists for teaching, driven by workload and salary gaps. Upskilling university faculty through internships in partner firms is also difficult due to weak incentives and administrative barriers. The study revealed that after state funding ends, sustainability improves when schools diversify corporate partners rather than rely on a single “anchor” company. Moreover, the cessation of initial state funding triggered a positive shift from competition to collaboration among AES. These results confirm that AES serve as diverse experimental grounds for reshaping engineering training and university-industry relations.
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