Bauman Moscow State Technical University


The Bauman Moscow State Technical University, BMSTU, sometimes colloquially referred to as the Bauman School or Baumanka is a public technical university located in Moscow, Russia. Bauman University is the oldest and largest Russian technical university offering B.S., M.S. and PhD degrees in various engineering fields and applied sciences.

History

Bauman University is the second oldest educational institution in Russia after Lomonosov Moscow State University. In 1763, the Russian empress Catherine II founded the Educational Imperial House. On 5 October 1826 the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna issued a decree to establish «great workshops for different crafts with bedrooms, a dining room, etc.» as a part of the Moscow Foundling Home in the German Quarter. All craft pupils were moved from the Orphanage there. On 1 July 1830 Emperor Nicholas I approved «Statute of Moscow Craft School». It was the inception of the first Russian technical university.
Russia's developing industry needed skilled labor in many trades. So, the aim of the new school was to train skillful artisans with a solid theoretical background to improve and spread skills in various trades all over Russia. New school was created to teach various crafts as well as basic sciences. By 1868 education became so good that MCS was reorganised into the Imperial Moscow Technical School under the directorship of Victor Della-Vos. The main purpose of IMTS was to «educate construction engineers, mechanical engineers and industrial technologists». IMTS achieved outstanding results in technology, chemical, food and textile industry, metal and wood treatment, and mechanical sciences.
The IMTS was financially supported by the Government and industrialists. Its management was democratic. But a key feature of the new institution was its educational system called the "Russian method", which unifies a broad and intensive theoretical preparation with a deep practical education closely connected with industries. Under his leadership the school participated in the Universal Exposition in 1873 in Vienna and the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876, where this method won a gold prize. It proved to be influential on John Daniel Runkle when he introduced manual training alongside theoretical training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was also applied to other American technical universities. IMTS was recognized the best machine-building education institution of Russia and joined the ranks of the world leading polytechnic schools. A lot of outstanding scientists taught in IMTS, such as D. Mendeleev, N. Jukovsky, P. Chebychev, S. Chaplygin, A. Yershov, D. Sovetkin, F. Dmitriev, A. Letnikov, A. Gavrilenko.
In the Soviet period it was renamed Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School, after revolutionary Nikolay Bauman. BMHTS continued education of engineers for machine and instrument building. In 1938, new military departments were created in MHTS: tank, artillery, and ammunition. In 1948, rocket department was added.
During the first half of the 20th century, Bauman University formed and founded more than 70 technical universities in the USSR. Some of them are now well known institutions, such as Moscow Aviation Institute, Moscow Power Engineering Institute, Moscow University of Civil Engineering, Moscow Chemical Institute, Moscow Communication and Informatics University, Central Aerohydrodynamics Institute TSAGI, and the Military Academy of Aviation Engineering Joukovski.
On 27 July 1989 USSR State committee for peoples education conferred on Moscow Higher Technical School a name of Bauman Moscow Technical University. BMSTU was honored to be the first Russian technical university. Nearly 200,000 students graduated from the University. Most of them chose to become scientists or engineers in leading research centers, universities, private and government owned companies. Many of government officials, chief designers, CEOs of big enterprises, and cosmonauts are Bauman graduates.
Many Bauman University graduates are world-renowned: Sergei Korolev for the first satellite in space and first man and woman in space, Andrey Tupolev for the world first supersonic passenger plane, Nikolay Dollezhal for the world first civil nuclear plant, Vladimir Shukhov for the first method and the world first petrol cracking plant as well as for the first hyperboloid structures in architecture, Nikolay Zhukovsky for the foundation of aerodynamics and hydrodynamics sciences, Pavel Sukhoi for the foundation of Sukhoi Aerospace Design Bureau.
Some of the specialized departments of BMSTU are located outside Moscow in cities of Moscow Oblast: Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Korolyov. There is also a of the University in Kaluga.

Bauman University today

BMSTU has 19 departments providing full-time education. University provides postgraduate and doctorate programs and has two affiliated secondary schools. More than 19,000 students study in BMSTU, and specialties cover all range of modern machine and instrument building. More than 320 doctor of sciences and 2000 candidates of science teach and do research in BMSTU. Main parts of the University are eight scientific and educational divisions. Each of them consists of scientific and educational branch. Several branch departments also exist, they deal with particular fields of industry. They are based on big factories and organizations, situated in Moscow, Moscow suburbs and in Kaluga. BMSTU has unique experience of teaching hearing-impaired students since 1934. Bauman University annually grants 800 to 3,000 students free room and board in one of 13 university residences.
The Bauman University is commonly regarded as one of Russia's most prestigious universities and has high entry requirements for its prospective students. The Bauman University is regularly ranked on the first place in official government and business press rating. The Bauman University also regularly occupies top 3 places in rating of alumni hunted by biggest Russian companies. In 2011/2012 QS World University rankings BMSTU occupied the 379th position in overall ranking and the 229th in Engineering & IT section.
The Bauman University has a National Research Center status, the financing of Bauman University is provided by a separate expense asset of Russian National Budget independently of Ministry of Education. Bauman University – National Technological University – carries research in cutting-edge areas of science and technology, basing on eight technological platforms. 32 companies included BMSTU in their innovational programs. Today the University conducts 90 considerable scientific programs in different fields. BMSTU is Skolkovo innovation center founder.
The feature of BMSTU is a close cooperation with industrial, scientific, educational and cultural institutions. TsAGI, Jukovsky Air Force Academy, NAMI, TsIAM, some departments of Chemical Machine Building Institute, Chemical Technology Institute and Engineering Physics Institute, Military Academy of Chemical Defense, MAI, Power Engineering Institute, Architectural Institute, and another leading scientific, educational and industrial institutions are BMSTU successors. Their staff is aimed at new scientific and technological achievements.
Now strategy of the University is to provide human resources for cutting-edge areas of Russian science and technology, in prior economic development directions of the country, such as: information and communication systems; nanosystems and materials industry; power supply and conservation; biosystems; security and counterterrorism; transportation and aerospace systems; promising military equipment.
More than 200,000 engineers have graduated since the institute was founded.

Educational programs

The admission process includes three exams on math, physics and Russian. The university accepts one in ten applicants, which means that there are more than 30000 applicants. More than 2,600 of them pass through two years of preparation courses, another 2,000 follow studies in high schools partners of Bauman University. Participation in admission process requires a gage of original high school certificate which prevent applicants to take part in Lomonosov Moscow State University admission process at the same time.
The academic year in this university begins on 1 September, and is divided into two terms. Students take exams at the end of each semester. The course of study lasts 6 years without interrupt for engineer specialist degree. But over the last few years the Bauman University has continued to integrate with the Bologna Process. And today some students learn using two step educational system. The first two years students study general engineering subjects. In the third year students begin to study specialized subjects.
All educational and scientific activities of BMSTU are future-oriented. It is taking part in conversion programs, defining priorities of new scientific areas development, developing foundations of government human resources system for high-tech industry.
BMSTU combines precise calculations with engineering intuition, follows traditions of Russian engineering school method, subtly appreciates new fields of activity, carries socioeconomic approach to complex engineering problems and humanist approach to education. Students begin to work at the University's well-equipped laboratories and in senior years at various plants, design offices and research institutes of Russia. All of that allows BMSTU to be on the cutting edge of scientific and engineering progress.
The university scientific library is one of the eldest among Russian universities. It was founded in 1830. The library fund includes 2.7 million of storage units of educational and scientific literature. An important part of the library fund is a collection of reports and theses made by BMSTU scientists
Bauman University is one of the three Russian universities that started in 1926 military education of students. Today military institute carries out training of military officers of 21 specialties. Military specialties are based on civil ones and help to teach high-qualified civil specialists. The institute consists of five military subdepartments, civil defense subdepartment and military training center. Practical training is carried out in Dmitrov branch, where military hardware is deployed.

Branches

Dmitrov

The first order of the BMSTU Dmitrov Branch was bringing into service in 1965. In 1965–1973 – Suburban Educational and Science-Experimental Centre, in 1973-2000 - Educational-Experimental Centre. The BMSTU radio telescope is situated near the Dmitrov Branch.

Kaluga

In 1959 BMSTU opened in Kaluga the branch for education of the industrial machine- and device engineering personnel. Nowadays the BMSTU Kaluga Branch is the lead technical institute of Kaluga region, the most authoritative and the largest branch of the Russian technical institutes. It consists of 7 buildings. The Kaluga Branch is an educational-science- manufacturing complex, including: 5 departments, military education department, computer bureau, library with reading-rooms, sport camp and sport pavilion.

Publishing

The Bauman University Publishing House was established in January, 1989 on the base of university publishing department. The House publishes manuals, handbooks, monographs and study guides for BMSTU and other technical universities.
The first issue of Baumanets newspaper was printed on 18 February 1923. At that time the newspaper was called Udarnik. It has been printed for 90 years since then. All the events of university life are reflected on its pages. Today has hard copies and electronic version, presented in Bauman site.
In 1990 Bauman Publishing House started issuing theoretical and applied broad-scoped "Vestnik MSTU". There are educational materials in different scientific areas: Physical and Mathematical sciences, Information and Computer science, Optics, Mechanical, Radio, Instrument and Power Engineering, Laser Technology, Economics, Law and other subjects.

Notable faculty and alumni