From student to CEO: how S-Engineering nurtures talent at ONTU
The Odesa National Technological University (ONTU) has received a unique Digital Electric Drive Control Technologies Laboratory worth over $220,000 from S-Engineering.
According to Bohdan Yehorov, cooperation with S-Engineering began with a meeting with the company’s CEO, Batyr Annaiev. The head of the enterprise set a clear requirement for graduates: they must be ready to work with modern equipment without additional retraining.
When Batyr Saidullaievych and I realized how we could shorten graduates’ adaptation period, the conclusion was obvious: first and foremost, we needed to improve the material and technical base for training specialists and train the teaching staff.
Yehorov notes.
The result of this partnership was a laboratory that S-Engineering CEO gifted to the university personally, on behalf of himself and his family.
ONTU graduates at S-Engineering
The Odesa-based S-Engineering, which Yehorov calls one of the best technology companies in Ukraine, already employs 30 ONTU graduates. Among them is the current CEO, Ivan Kiriazov, who began his career at the company as the Head of the Design Department.
It is very gratifying that so many of our graduates work in this company — indeed, the very best graduates.
emphasizes the university president.
A unique laboratory
The Digital Electric Drive Control Technologies Laboratory was created under an individual project developed by Batyr Annaiev, following the most modern technological standards.
We even built a separate grounding system. All existing grounding at the university dated back to Soviet times. Batyr Saidullaievych said: if we do it, we do it from start to finish — everything must be state-of-the-art.
Yehorov explains.
The laboratory includes workstations that allow configuring any industrial enterprise setup for electric drive control. Students can model methods to reduce energy consumption during startup and control processes.
Benefits for all
This cooperation proved mutually beneficial. The university received a modern training base, while S-Engineering gained the opportunity to prepare qualified specialists tailored to its needs.
Moreover, the laboratory will host training sessions for representatives of other companies that use S-Engineering products. This will help promote the company’s brand and attract new clients.
Adaptive education model
ONTU is implementing its own education model that allows students to combine studying with work. According to Yehorov, almost all students start working after their third year.
We adapt to each student. If they can attend classes, they join offline or online. If not, they work one-on-one with a teacher to master the required topics.
the university president explains about the individual approach.
This approach reduces the adaptation period for graduates at enterprises to about three years — the time needed for a young specialist to become independent and effective in their position.
The partnership between ONTU and S-Engineering is an example of how business can effectively invest in education, gaining in return qualified specialists ready to work with modern technologies.
For reference: every year, 5–7 students complete internships at S-Engineering in departments such as Design, Electrical Laboratory, Software Development, and Commissioning.
This year, the company plans to accept over interns as part of a new specialist training program.
