Head of the Department of Land Transport and Technological Machines, DSc in Engineering, Associate Professor Elena Kurakina first came to SPbGASU as an applicant with a strong desire to become an engineer. Here she spent her student years, and after finishing her PhD studies, she remained at her native university to teach. Elena Vladimirovna admits that her future professional activity was predetermined by teaching practice during her postgraduate years. We talk with her about the role of a teacher in modern higher education and the prestige of her chosen profession.

– Why did you choose teaching? Where did it start?

– When I entered our university after school to major in Traffic Management, I thought that, having qualified as an engineer, I would work in a specialized organization in the field of ensuring safety and organizing traffic. And I couldn’t think about teaching! But fate decreed otherwise: I entered graduate school and, as part of my teaching practice, in 2009 I experienced the role of a teacher for the first time. There were few practical hours, but during that short and interesting period I experienced both excitement and satisfaction from the classes and gaining new, interesting experience as a high school teacher. That’s when I realized that I didn’t want to work in a specialized organization, but to conduct teaching activities. In 2013, I was hired as an assistant at the Department of Land Transport and Technological Machines.

– What does it mean to you to be a modern teacher? What do you see as the result of your teaching work?

– To be a modern teacher is, firstly, to be able to encourage undergraduate and graduate students to express themselves and develop themselves and create positive contact to organize an effective educational process. Secondly, know current methods, techniques, technologies and teaching strategies and be able to use them in practice. Thirdly, teach students professional competencies! It is important to note that a modern teacher must constantly feel the need for self-development, without which it is impossible to teach and inspire his students to acquire new knowledge. To be a modern teacher at SPbGASU means to be a person who is able to create conditions for the development of students’ abilities and increase motivation to receive an education.

I am pleased that my students have received awards at various competitions, conduct scientific publications, and speak at conferences - this is also the result of my teaching activities as a grant, a research project supervisor, and a co-author. When I see the burning eyes of students, I watch how they easily test the knowledge they have acquired, I understand that this is the main result of my teaching work!

– The President declared 2023 the Year of the Teacher and Mentor. Have you had mentors, what did they teach you, and have you become a mentor? What do you see as your role as a mentor?

– I was lucky to meet a wonderful mentor. It was Sergey Arkadyevich Evtyukov - my scientific supervisor and scientific advisor, teacher and professional. This year, Sergey Arkadyevich was awarded the title of laureate of the Government Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of education. In 2014, under his scientific supervision, I defended my PhD thesis, and in 2022, I defended my thesis for the degree of DSc in Engineering. My mentor taught me how to solve complex scientific problems, think creatively, and carry out deep theoretical research. In a word, for me he is a Teacher with a capital T!

In my opinion, the task of a mentor is to transfer knowledge to his students, motivate them to develop and support them in scientific and pedagogical activities.

– In your opinion, what does the state need to do today, what working conditions should be created in order to increase the prestige of higher education teachers and attract young teachers into education?

– Today, at the state level, full attention is paid to scientific and pedagogical personnel and the importance of a higher education teacher is noted. This is confirmed by existing national projects and the designation of national priorities: 2022−2031 in Russia was declared the Decade of Science and Technology, 2021 was the Year of Science and Technology, 2023 was the Year of the Teacher and Mentor. All this increases the prestige of a higher school teacher and should attract the attention of young teachers for the development of teaching activities.

The project's other materials

Fedor Perov: “An Architect Must Study Throughout His Entire Life”

Andrey Boyarintsev: “I Adhere to the Partnership Model of Education - It Is the Most Effective”

Anna Telyatnikova: “Teaching Methodology is the Key to Learning Success”