Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics

History

On September 1, 1964, the Minsk Radioengineering Institute admitted students for the first time. The youngest state institute in Minsk was established on the campus of the oldest polytechnic institute in Belarus, and was designed to meet the republic's demand for highly qualified specialists in the evolving national radioelectronic industry. 2,500 students were enrolled in full-time and evening studies in two departments: the Department of Radioengineering and the Department of Automatics and Computers. 127 lecturers (including 2 professors and 30 senior lecturers) taught in the only building.

Departments

Student life

The training of scientists of the highest calibre is conducted in graduate and doctoral courses in 23 fields. There are four Interdepartmental Specialized Scientific Councils for presenting theses for Doctor of Science and Ph.D. degrees. Institutes of advanced and conversion training of management and specialists in information technologies and radioelectronics (the Institute of Information Technologies, or ITT) was established in BSUIR.

Since 1984, international Outstanding Reformers of Natural Science seminars (sponsored by the Department of Philosophy) have been held at the university. The annual international scientific and methodical conference "Distance education and educational environment of the 21st century" has become a tradition.

Due to the importance of mastering multiple languages, two departments teach English, French, German and Spanish. Original and modern methods of teaching foreign languages are employed, with an emphasis on understanding and translating scientific and technical literature.

Attention is paid to student health and the provision of necessary conditions for study, everyday life and leisure. Students can consult physicians and undergo a complete medical examination or treatment in Minsk hospitals. In addition, they can improve their health at a rural rest home on the Minsk Sea or enjoy themselves during holidays at a summer camp on the Brasłaŭ lakes.

Students are provided with all necessary aids and reading material for study. They are encouraged to use the university library and its over one million textbooks, monographs, and literary works.

Students from other cities (and abroad) lodge at the residence halls, which have a capacity of 2,100. The dormitories are in central Minsk, not far from the university, in a district with all necessary services and recreational facilities.

The university's brass band is renowned and was awarded the title of national band. Other musical ensembles such as the folk group Tutejšyja, vocal group Hamanina, Tango sport-dance studio, the Gypsy vocal group Ščadryca and vocal ensembles of students and staff perform. The student newspaper Impulse has been published since 1985 and covers a wide range of university activities.

The university prepares its engineering staff in 22 disciplines in the fields of computer facilities, computer science, radio engineering, microelectronics, telecommunications automated systems, artificial intelligence, automatic control, electronic apparatus and construction, medical electronics, and economics. About 9,000 students are engaged in daytime, evening, and correspondence training in 18 of 36 departments, including foreign students. The curriculum and scientific research produce highly skilled teachers; among them are two academicians, ten academicians from branch academies, two members of the New York Academy of Sciences, and 60 professors and doctors of science.

At the university the Institute of Improving Professional Skill program is available, along with information devices and computers; IT software and others. Among the staff are recipients of governmental awards and honours, noted educators, notable figures in science and engineering and renowned inventors and researchers from Belarus and Russia. In addition, the physical education faculty features trainers from Belarus and Russia. Professors and scientific staff of the BSUIR have been invited to deliver lectures at schools in Canada, the US, Germany, Portugal, Spain, China, Poland and other countries. The physical plant is housed in six buildings, with a modern laboratory and technological facilities. Within the framework of contracts with a number of industrial corporations, instruction is conducted with their equipment. With sponsorship by Philips, Intel, IBM and their Belarusian partners, a number of computer classes have advanced computer equipment. BSUIR contracts in the introduction of new technology with a number of institutes in other countries: with Moscow State University of Electronics and Mathematics in distance education, the University of Wuppertal (Germany) in a lecturer exchange and with Warsaw Technological University in the introduction and development of automated training systems in microelectronics.

Preparation of scientific staff for advanced degrees in Belarus and abroad is conducted in post-graduate courses and doctoral programs in 22 fields. More than 30 students from other schools in Belarus, from industry and rural areas are accepted annually for training in targeted post-graduate courses. In the BSUIR, there are three councils guiding dissertations for master's and doctoral candidates.

The primary purpose of scientific research at the university is to further the technical, social and economic development of Belarus. For the past 10 years, a design bureau has successfully implemented pilot production, in which research is developed into laboratory breadboard models and skilled production samples. Annual themed international conferences and exhibitions at BSUIR attract the attention of the scientific community worldwide.

International cooperation

The main modes of BSUIR international cooperation are defined by the BSUIR Strategic Plan on International Cooperation Development, and include as follows: • academic and scientific cooperation with foreign educational institutions and research centers under bilateral agreements; • participation in various projects run by international funds and programmes; • expanding of academic mobility of students and University staff; • execution of international contracts for development and delivery of R&D products; • organization of various on-campus conferences, participation of University students and staff in international fairs, conferences, symposia and seminars.

The University has bilateral agreements for cooperation with 25 universities:

University staff and students take part in various international programs (DreamSpark, TEMPUS, IAESTE, Copernicus, FP7, ICST, DAAD) and receive research grants from the French Society of Scientific Research Support and the German Research Foundation.

The University fulfills scientific research contracts, and scientific and technical-developments supply for companies from China, India, Germany, Poland, Italy, Russia, and Ukraine. University teaching staff, scientists, students and post-graduates travel abroad for scientific evaluation and research, participating in conferences, workshops and exhibitions. The university presents its scientific and technical innovations both in Belarus and at international exhibitions in Germany (Hannover Messe, Cebit), Egypt (Cairo Exhibition), China, Libya, Syria, India, Vietnam and other countries. BSUIR organizes international conferences in physics, chemistry, application of nanostructures, neural networks, artificial intelligence, prospective display technologies, medical electronics and distance learning.

International seminars and conferences are held at the university on the regular basis. In 1997, the seminar "Management of Higher Educational Institutions" was held. Two German universities (the Higher Technical School of Mittweide and the University of Wuppertal) participated in the seminar. In 1998, the "Millennium Frontier: Prospects of German-Belarusian Cooperation in the 21st Century" international seminar took place at the university. It was sponsored by the German DAAD organization, which aims to promote interaction among foreign higher-education institutions with international exchange programs for students, postgraduates and scientists.

Undergraduate students from Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan, Nepal, Turkey, China, Jordan, Nigeria and India (and graduate students from Algeria and Poland) study on the contract basis at the university. During the past 35 years over 1,160 professors and students went abroad on exchange programs, and over 235 of them went for scientific evaluation. The international-program experience gained as a result of cooperation is applied to the educative process, in the publication of monographs and textbooks for postdoctoral projects.

Sport

The Inter-University Department of Athletic Achievement, established in 1976, prepares student-athletes for high-level national and international competition.

University teams regularly win athletic and fitness competitions. Among Belarusian athletes who trained at the university are Ivan Edeshko (Olympic champion basketball player) and Alexander Medved (vice-chair of the National Olympic Committee of Belarus, three-time Olympic and seven-time world champion). The university basketball team RTI-Minsk has successfully participated in USSR and CIS championships for 30 years. BSUIR's best teams successfully participate in sporting events throughout Belarus, and a number of athletes are members of the national team in sports.

Over 285 Masters of Sport and 600 candidates for the Master of Sport title have graduated from BSUIR over the past 40 years. Athletic progress and student achievement are supervised by the Department of Sports and Physical Training and the Inter-University Department of Athletic Achievement.

Physical education consists of required classes, held in all departments four hours a week. Students choose among athletics, soccer, basketball, volleyball, handball, swimming, freestyle wrestling, orienteering and bodybuilding. Men's and women's intramural sports are offered. Facilities include a swimming pool, fitness center, playing fields, a ski lodge, summer camp at the Brasłaŭ lakes, and a sports center.

The university swimming pool was renovated under the administration of rector Mikhail P. Batura. The water-purification system was changed from chlorination alone to a system using supplemental silver ionization, an ecological and sustainable process.