The Design of Learning Results According to International CDIO Standards as a Context for Improving Engineering Education at Agrarian University

The need for a meaningful transformation of the professional education of specialists in agroengineering specialization is due to both the increasing demands on the part of employers for the level of training of agricultural engineers, and the intensive development of agricultural technologies and equipment. The authors reveal the features of designing the planned learning outcomes for a qualitative update of the content of modern educational programs of engineering training in an agricultural university based on CDIO standards. The scientific novelty of the research is the development and methodological justification for designing learning outcomes according to international CDIO standards on the example of a separate area of professional training in the agricultural university (35.03.06 “Agroengineering”, specialization “Technical systems in agribusiness”). The article describes in detail the design of the results of the training according to international CDIO standards, based on the principles of “result-based” and “practice-oriented” by considering the interaction of the three factors determining the effectiveness of modern agricultural engineering training. These factors include: 1. Federal State Educational Standard of Higher Education (FSES HE); 2. CDIO Syllabus (a content system or a list of employers’ requirements for engineering education in terms of attributes (competencies) and 3) the results of a stakeholder survey on the list of significant competencies of an engineering university graduate and their priority. Considering the CDIO approach as one of the leading advanced methods for the development, continuous improvement and evaluation of higher education programs in the field of engineering and technology, the authors propose a further algorithm for creating professional programs by defining the intended outcomes of the training. In the Stavropol State Agrarian University, 12 pilot programs have been developed and are being implemented in a similar way, based on the implementation of the approaches of the Worldwide CDIO Initiative. The result of the design and qualitative updating of educational programs based on CDIO standards will be the formation of a set of professional competencies in demand for graduates of an agricultural university of engineering specialization, allowing them to effectively perform professional tasks and function constructively in the conditions of innovative technological and technical development of agricultural production.