Incorporation Project as a Tool for Students' Integration into the Company's Business Processes

The name Incorporation refers to the major purpose of project, which it to early integrate university students into the business processes of a vertically integrated oil company. Developed jointly with partner universities, the project was created as a response to several challenges of the company related to providing cross-functional cooperation and training of highly qualified personnel for the company as well as soft early adaptation into company. Incorporation involves the integration of Industrial and Civil Engineering students into the phase of field concept design, and the further development of a strategy of a construction project based on the oil company's real case. So far, the Incorporation project has been applied in the perimeter of the Capital Construction and Conceptual Engineering functions of a major oil company, but as an educational tool it can be extended to other functions. As a result of two full annual streams of the project, the students of Master's degree programmes Conceptual Engineering for the Oil and Gas Industry at University of Tyumen (UTMN) and Industrial and Civil Engineering of Oil Production Facilities at Industrial University of Tyumen (IUT) developed key skills and got a system view for the value chain. This promotes the career guidance of students and their subsequent employment in accordance with their expectations and skills. This article highlights Incorporation background, its goal and objectives, principles and actors, includes a full description of one project stream as well as results over two years of Incorporation implementation in a large oil company. The purpose of the article is to demonstrate existing best practices in the training of hard skills and team as well as personal soft skills among students of specific Master's degree programmes who makes a talent pool of oil company.

Structural and functional model of developing pedagogical skills of teachers of economics in Master’s degree programmes

The article represents a structural and functional development model of pedagogical skills of teachers of economic disciplines in Master’s degree programmes with carrying out and proving its theoretical substantiation and the expediency of its use. The interconnected, namely theoretical, semantic and effective blocks of the suggested model are analyzed. The components, criteria and levels of pedagogical skills are described as well. The article identifies such approaches to the development of pedagogical skills of teachers of economic disciplines in Master’s degree programmes, as psycho-didactic, competence, activity and innovative; the principles that must be followed in the development process of pedagogical skills of teachers of economic disciplines in Master’s degree programmes, namely, professional orientation, subjectivity, priority of active teaching methods, interactive technologies and self-improvement are also characterized. The effectiveness of the structural and functional model introduction of pedagogical skills development of teachers of economic disciplines in the Master’s degree programmes was tested experimentally.

Adapting to a new learning environment: Mainland Chinese students studying in master’s degree programmes in Hong Kong

This article investigated the learning experiences of mainland Chinese students in master’s degree programmes in Hong Kong. Using a qualitative research approach, 20 mainland Chinese students in master’s degree programmes in a first-tier Hong Kong university were interviewed. It observed, first, that mainland Chinese students appreciate the teaching and learning approaches adopted in Hong Kong, but that they take some time to adapt. Thanks to heavy financial support from parents and parental expectations, they are pressed to adapt as soon as possible and get high marks in the one-year programmes in Hong Kong. Second, the mainland Chinese students’ previous experiences of participating in campus activities in mainland China and their instrumental views of learning restrict their involvement in informal learning through campus activities. Third, their limited interaction with local and foreign students constrains the development of their intercultural competence.

Studying Adult Education. A comparison of master’s degree programmes on ALE in Germany and the US

Earning a university degree in adult education continues to be one prominent way of becom-ing an adult educator. That is because obtaining a comprehensive academic education is con-sidered essential, especially in conjunction with the aim of professionalising adult education. But how do the contents, structure, and aims of study programmes differ internationally, and how does this relate to different concepts of the professional role? This study compares mas-ter’s programmes in adult education in Germany and the United States. The findings point at characteristic differences in the relation between academics and practice.