The Information Scientist -- Design Students Education in Moscow Aviation University

Bobrick L.P.,
Moscow Aviation Institute, Engineering Graphics Department, Moscow, Russia
mpb@online.ru

Markin L.V.,
Moscow Aviation Institute, Engineering Graphics Department, Moscow, Russia
markinl@list.ru

Kuprikov M.U.,
Moscow Aviation Institute, Engineering Graphics Department, Moscow, Russia
m_kupricov@mail.ru

The modern Russia has a rich market of goods. That’s why further production should be oriented only on competitive goods, which must be aesthetic and ergonomic besides implementing the main declared functions. Formerly the aesthetic aspects were provided with designers, but now due to the wide manufacturing application of CAD/CAM/CAE systems, the traditional design education became unsatisfactory for producers. It was a problem – the artists couldn’t work with computers and the engineers couldn’t give aesthetic aspects to goods. That’s why since 2003 year we have been educating students by “Information science – Designer” speciality in Moscow Aircraft University. The qualification of this speciality is “The systems of computer graphics and geometric modeling”.

The main directions of education are:
1. Informatics and information technologies;
2. The general engineering education;
3. Mathematical education, including mathematical modeling, optimization, decision theory;
4. Engineering and computer graphics;
5. The history and theory of design;
6. Art and technical drawing;
7. Technical aspects of design and modeling;
8. Design of technical and constructor documentation;
9. Working with different systems of solid and surface modeling;
10. Creation of program packages with computer graphics;
11. Working with different systems of stage, interior, encirclement virtual modeling;
12. WEB-design and Internet technologies;
13. Economics and engineering psychology, sociology and psychology of publicity.

Harsh lowering of government financing of aircraft industry led to sizeable staff reduction in it and made working in it not attractable for graduates. However, taking the direction of MAI into account, the education of speciality “Information science – Designer” is oriented first of all on the future work in aircraft industry. We propose that our graduates will be working with CAD systems for aircrafts and their encirclement (airports, factories).

Moreover, the curriculums of afore-mentioned speciality provided computer and design training which allowed our graduates to successfully apply received knowledge in extraordinary wide regions such as the factory-made (not only aircraft purpose) design, publicity, polygraphs, system administering of local area network and so on. The necessity to afford our graduates so wide and various training demanded long and thorough preparation of curriculums from us. These curriculums must be satisfying the following demands.

1. The curriculums must provide all demands of government standard. In other case our high school couldn’t give graduates the degree of high education. It means that we must pick out the considerable part of education time either for mathematics and natural science disciplines or for humanitarian and social-economy disciplines (so-called federal component).
2. We must give our graduates the professional knowledge in the area of information technologies during 5 years. The main mass of MAI students learn 5,5 years.
3. The curriculums must provide all necessary information and experience for future art work. The difficulty with this problem is that the students who entered in our specialty are oriented on technical but not art or humanitarian high school.
4. We must give our students necessary engineering training. In spite of absence of the word “Engineer” in their diplomas, the graduates must master corresponding terminology and understand engineering design and technology problems. The difficulty with this problem is that engineering education is hard even for those who prepare themselves for this education. Moreover, the traditional curriculums for information scientists and designers don’t propose any engineering subjects. That’s why lecturing on the general engineering and special disciplines demands big erudition and qualification from the lecturer.
As a result of long researches and consultations, the curriculums for information – scientist - design students look the following way. Grouping of time into discipline divisions is presented on picture 1.

Picture 1

Position 1 represents general humanitarian and social-economy disciplines (the history of arts and home history, philosophy, sociology, law learning, psychology and foreign language);
Position 2 represents general mathematical and natural science disciplines (mathematics, informatics, physics, ecology, ergonomic and engineering philosophy);
Position 3 represents general professional disciplines (engineering and computer graphics, technical mechanics, material study, electrical engineering, microelectronics, the history and the principles of function transport systems and the technological tools of design);
Position 4 represents special disciplines.
As we can see from picture 1, the special disciplines don’t get a lot of time. But these very disciplines are most important for graduates because these disciplines allow them to begin to work. That’s why this time must be used as efficiently as possible.
Picture 2 represents the distribution of educational time on courses which are located in the special discipline block.

Picture 2

Components of the special disciplines shown on picture 2 are: 1 – introduction to speciality; 2 – the history and theory of design; 3 – the basics of computer graphic and three-dimensional modeling. The biggest component 4 on picture 2 (977 auditorium hours) is the collection of nearly special subjects, called “specialization disciplines”. Their comparative volumes are shown on picture 3. As a rule, these disciplines are learned on chief courses.

Picture 3

The “specialization discipline” block contains such disciplines as: 1 – modeling, 2 – design of presentation, technical and constructor documentation; 3 – drawing up computer graphics; 4 - computer design in net technologies; 5 – visual modeling of stages and interiors; 6 – applied program complexes with computer graphics; 7 – design and virtual modeling of encirclement; 8 – technology of before printing preparation of publicity publications; 9 – circulation and security of paper and electronic documents; 10 – theory and practice of artistic and constructor developmental work of wares.

The block of art disciplines is so important and large that we propose to engage the lecturers of this profile from art-industrial academy. The summer manufacture practice proposes to be both in manufactures and in printing office and design office.

For these graduates who want to prolong education, the MAI engineering graphics department offers to study and work on degree of doctor.