DEVELOPMENT OF ENGINEERING WORKSPACES FOR HANDS-ON AND PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

Surgut State University joined the CDIO initiative in June 2017. Since then 1-5 CDIO standards have been implemented in Bachelor’s program on Chemistry. In March 2018 the process of sixth standard (Engineering Workspaces) implementation was initiated. Traditional learning spaces have been created in Surgut State University (SurGU) since 1998. They support the learning of chemical substances, processes, systems and technologies. The creation of new workspaces or remodeling of existing laboratories, in which students are directly engaged in their own learning, as well as providing them with opportunities for social learning and settings where students can learn from each other and interact with several groups is needed to encourage hands-on learning. For these purposes three research laboratories at the Department of Chemistry have been remodeled since 2016, in which several projects, aimed at the investigation of oil composition, source rocks organic matter and biologically active substances from plant materials of Western Siberia, are being realized for last three years. Two laboratories have been created as new workspaces for students’ project activity in the ongoing projects since 2018, namely Local Farm, focusing on the chemical monitoring of plants grown in hydroponic sets under agrophotonic conditions, and Drilling Fluids, aiming at the optimization of drilling fluid compositions under the geological conditions of formation. Moreover, university halls have been furnished with individual and co-working spaces and recreation areas. Also a Boiling Point was established in 2019 as a public space convenient for both students and teachers to develop future projects, to organize educational events or participate in ones. Everyone can organize an educational event here or take part in it. Thus new or existing workspaces have been created (or remodeled) at Surgut University for the last 4 years to emphasize hands-on learning and project activity of students in Bachelor’s program on Chemistry.