- CIRED 2003 -

ACADEMIC VILLAGE

.

INTEGRATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION

GRADUATES IN ENERGY INTO

ENERGY SUPPLY UNITS

AUTHORS : M. L. GOIA

I. FELEA

N. COROIU

UNIVERSITY OF ORADEA

ROMANIA

BERCELONA

2003

1. HISTORY

The existence of higher education institutions in Oradea, a city situated in the western part of our country (in Bihor county), was mentioned in the documents of the epoch for the first time in 1780, when a higher education institution in philosophy, to be turned into the Faculty of Law, was established. Technical higher education institutions were established only later after the Second World War when the Technical Education Faculty was established.

The energy and electricity (EE) branches and the energetical industry (EI) branch were established only after the fall of the communist regime.

At present the University of Oradea has 18 faculties, 4 colleges, and about 30,000 students. The Energetic Faculty acquired an individual status within the University of Oradea in 1992 with the two above mentioned specialisation (EE, EI), attended by 113 students and with 8 professors of its own. At present the Faculty numbers 800 students and has 8 university teachers in the following certified specialisations:

-  Long term education:

-  electric energy (EE);

-  energetical industry (EI);

-  thermal power (TE);

-  energy economic engineering (IEEN)

-  Further education – mastership

-  energy quality and reliability

- Post academic studies

-  quality assurance engineers (quality assurance managers)

-  doctor’s degree : in the energy field

2. OBJECTIVE CONDITIONS FOR EDUCATION IN E.F. (IN THE ENERGY FIELD)


a) THE NECESSITY:

Fig.1. The structure of electricity consumption within SEEB

Fig.2. Main consumers and conexions of SEEB

b) THE OPORTUNITY:

As the necessity is motivated the opportunity of establishing institutions of higher education in energy is motivated by the following “sine qua non “ condition is that of competitiveness. This is conditioned by two main factors, namely: the quality of candidates and of the educational process.

Due to the great increase in the number of places in the economic and law higher education institutions, diminishing (slowing down) of industrial activity and lack of interest in exact sciences, the candidates interest in the technical fields, including the energy one, has dramatically decreased between 1990-1993. This is the reason why the selection of candidates based on entrance examinations did not allow for a high quality of the candidates during the first years of existence of the faculty.

Thus, students benefit from the experience of professors who have worked in this specific field for a long time, by the impetus of a young academic staff and the pragmatic view of our associate staff from the energy entities in the area.

At present the Faculty of Energy Studies is endowed with 2 amphitheatres, 3 seminar halls, 10 specialised labs, and 2 project development halls. Many applications are carried out in the actual installations of the three energy entities in this zone. There are computer networks and individual computer places in the computer labs, enabling the simulation of structures and processes characteristic of the energy installations.

3. Comparison between the Oradea higher education process and similar ones

The structure of the academic curriculum (CU)

TABLE 1

Specialisation / Share of subjects in the academic curriculum
Subject / EE / EI / TE / IEEN
Fundamental / 18,43 / 18,36 / 18,3 / 15,93
Technical / 35,83 / 36,05 / 35,59 / 24,41
Specialisation / 38,9 / 34,48 / 37,62 / 13,22
Economic and juridical / 2,04 / 6,32 / 3,72 / 33,56
Humanistic / 4,78 / 4,76 / 4,74 / 3,73

The difference between the structure of Oradea and EU or North American higher education institutions is the individualisation of a faculty specialised in energy studies.

Two Energy Faculties (in Bucharest and Oradea) have an individual character within the North America and UE universities. That underlines the importance of the field and confers greater autonomy and financial possibilities, but may have a negative impact on the relationships with other western universities that do not have faculties of this kind.

The Faculty of Energy from Oradea had to cope with this drawback. Nevertheless cooperation relationships have been established with ENEL, ITALY, UN University from Reykjavik, Polytechnic University from Toronto, Polytechnic University- Madrid, University of Technological and Economic Studies from Budapest, University from Reims.

The process of higher education from Oradea could be even further improved by paying more attention to the formative character and less to the informative one.

Nevertheless, the formative character of the process is more and more important taking into consideration the rapid evolution of technique, which dramatically diminishes the time the information taught during academic years, becomes obsolete.

Yet, the faculty managing staff has to solve another problem, that of striking the optimum balance between “the great mass of specialists” taught at the level required by industry and production processes and the “elite” who will work in the research and education fields.

The low salaries in these branches do not motivate the gifted and well-prepared students that could be attracted by these fields. Total different as the situation in the energy supply unirs where the salaries are much greather.

Performance improvement and especially adaptation to the requirements of the electricity distribution enterprises integrating (absorbing) the greatest part of the faculty graduates (see table 2) result from this iterative process.

Table 2 Work places taken by the graduates in SER (58%)

Specialization / Work places in SER
[%]
Unit / EE / EEs / EI
EE DISTRIBUTION / 69 / 80 / 83
(CTE) TERMOELECTRICA / 18 / 8 / 17
(CHE) HIDROELECTRICA / 13 / 12 / -

4. Proposals for improving the recruiting process

Taking into consideration the fact that Romania’s aim is to become a member of the EU, Romanian higher education in general, and Oradea higher education in particular, should strive to get closer to the advanced European countries.

In order to integrate the graduates more easily in the electric network and electricity distribution units, a great number of professors from the national electricity system and especially those from the “Electrica” company have proven very valuable.

They have contributed to orienting the content of the selection and recruiting process of the higher education institution graduates from Oradea and have defined an adequate content of the tuition process.

Among the proposals they have made to improve the young specialists’ integration in the specific activity of energy distribution mention should be made of:

·  The permanent adaptation of the educational plan to the actual and future needs of “Electrica” units – related to the distribution networks;

·  Graduates’ selection (before graduation), based on tests and their interests;

·  Making the students interested by offering them the possibility of earning money from contracts (on a contractual basis) before graduating;

·  Improvement of students’ practice during lab classes and their practical orientation by enabling them to actually work in production units;

·  Development of activities carried out in small groups of students for solving actual problems in the units they will work after graduation;

·  Openness towards a better cooperation with similar institutions from the EU considering the prospects of free circulation of the highly specialised labour force in the near future.

5. Conclusions

-  The University curriculum should be permanently adapted to the actual requirements of the system

-  The educational process will focus more on the teacher-student dialogue and the formative content;

-  The student tuition will be ensured not only by means of the laboratory tests, but also through simulation applications and work in the existing installations of the network enterprises during the academic years.

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