Improvement of the Quality of Future Engineers’ Social and Humanitarian Training in the Higher Technical Education Institution

Abstract

The article highlights the urgency of training highly qualified and competitive engineers in the labor market under the requirements of the world economy, the level of technological development, and taking into account societal demands for the quality of educational services. International experience of training future specialists and directions of improving the skills of engineering and technical personnel are analyzed. The results of the study of educational programs for the training of future engineers in the institution of higher technical education are presented.  The necessity of updating the content of education based on professional and creative training of specialists in the field of engineering has been proved, considering it as a holistic process of personal and professional development of the graduate. The pedagogical potential of social sciences and humanities about the professional development of engineering and technical specialists is presented. Interdisciplinary courses are offered, which are aimed at philosophical understanding of the socio-economic situation in the country and the world, the development of critical thinking and abilities to organize one's own business, management skills, and more. Several methodological aspects of the implementation of pedagogical innovations in higher education are substantiated, including business and role-playing games, Problem Based Learning, Project-Based Learning, Oxford Debates, group work, interactive training, and workshops. The importance of professional communication as a complex socio-psychological formation is associated with the process of training future engineers and characterizes the level of formation of integrative knowledge, professional skills, and abilities. Emphasis is placed on the necessity to develop highly qualified specialists’ creative thinking, the initiative in decision-making, the ability to work in a team on solving philosophical issues, etc. The author has proven convincingly the urgency for preventing various forms of discrimination against people with special educational needs, as well as avoiding gender stereotypes and ideas in the institution of engineering and technical profile.