Higher Engineering Education in Belarus

STARTING UP

Exercise 1.

Are you sure that engineering is the right course of study for you? Go through the list of points to decide whether to study engineering. Choose the statements which refer to you.

1. I enjoy practical projects – creating and investigating things.

2. I like finding out how things work.

3. I’m interested in improving the environment.

4. I enjoy solving problems.

5. I enjoy organizing activities.

6. I enjoy science programmes on TV.

7. I sometimes read articles on scientific or engineering topics.

If you have chosen most of these activities, engineering is the suitable course of study for you.

 

Exercise 2.

Study the meanings of the word ‘engineering’ in Russian. Then translate the phrases below.

Engineering – 1. инженерное дело 2. техника 3. технология 4. строительство 5. разработка, проектирование, конструирование 6. технический, инженерный, конструкционный.

 

Engineering education, engineering materials, production engineering, engineering students, electrical engineering, power engineering, highway engineering, mechanical engineering, environmental engineering, electronic engineering, military engineering, civil engineering, nuclear engineering, mining engineering, software engineering.

Exercise 3.

Match the branch of engineering to the products it deals with.

Use the model: Mechanical engineering deals (is concerned) with machines.

Branch of engineering	Products of the branch
1. automobile	a. roads and bridges
2. electrical	b. ships and boats
3. civil	c. excavators and loaders
4. medical	d. planes and helicopters
5. electronic	e. cars and trucks
6. marine	f. X-ray machines and body scanners
7. aeronautical	g. electricity generation and electrical installation
8. mining	h. computers and satellite communications

 

VOCABULARY

Exercise 1.

Match the English words (phrases) with their Russian equivalents.

1. environmentally friendly	a. студент
2. to apply	b. система зачетов
3. supervisor	c. идти на работу, службу
4. full-time	d. заочное обучение
5. undergraduate	e. производственная практика
6. to look for solutions	f. научный руководитель
7. curriculum (curricula– pl.)	g. оценивать
8. part-time	h. потребность непрерывного обучения
9. postgraduate	i. дневное обучение
10. pass-fail system	j. искать решения
11. academic guidance	k. экологически чистый
12. industrial placement	l. учебный план
13. hall of residence	m. применять
14. a habit of lifelong learning	n. магистрант, аспирант
15. to assess	o. наниматель
16. to go into employment	p. учебное руководство
17. scholarship	q. приносить пользу
18. graduate thesis (theses – pl.)	r. исследование
19. employer	s. жилье, проживание
20. to benefit	t. дипломная работа, диссертация
21. accommodation	u. стипендия
22. research	v. общежитие

Exercise 2.

Match the words to their definitions. Check any unknown words in a dictionary.

 

Scholarship, university, lecture, term, a graduate, curriculum, skill, research, placement

 

a. a long talk on a particular subject that someone gives to a group of people, especially to students in a university

b. the things that are studied in a particular subject

c. an ability to do something well, especially because you have learned and practiced it

d. serious study of a subject, in order to discover new facts or test new ideas

e. an amount of money that is given to someone by an educational organization

f. a job, usually as a part of a course of study, which gives you experience of a particular type of work

g. an educational institution of the highest level

h. one of the two periods of time that university year is divided into

i. someone who has completed a university degree

 

Exercise 3.

Match the words with a similar meaning. Check any unknown words in a dictionary.

1. undergraduate	a. teaching staff
2. research	b. pollution-free
3. term	c. to perform
4. thesis	d. student
5. to integrate	e. vital
6. academic staff	f. investigation
7. outlook	g. field of study
8. essential	h. characteristic
9. to undertake	i. view
10. environmentally friendly	j. demand
11. feature	k. dissertation
12. need	l. to combine
13. subject area	m. semester

Exercise 4.

Here is an extract from a speech made by a career advisor to a group of students choosing their future courses of study at university. Complete the speech by choosing one of the words from the box.

 

Develop, chemical, civil, highway, production, physics, electrical, mechanical, electronic

 

Engineering students should have an understanding of maths, … and chemistry. Working with pharmaceuticals, food, mineral processing and chemical manufacturing, a … engineer is trained to understand, design, control, and investigate materials flows. If you enjoy problem solving and find projects such as the National Library and Minsk Arena interesting, … engineering may be for you. If your interest is in road building then you may follow a specialized course in … engineering. By studying … and … engineering you learn about the design of complete systems, such as computers, controllers, power and transport systems. … engineers plan, design and develop a wide range of things: washing machines, cars and spacecraft. … engineers work very closely with mechanical engineers, to make new products at the right price, on time and in the correct quantity.