In Kaliningrad, from October 29 to 31, the exhibition “PRO Education” was held, during which representatives of the regional education system gathered at the Yantarny Sports Palace.
The annual educational event showed the possibilities of developing sectors of the economy of the Kaliningrad region: agriculture, medicine, information technology, creative industries, construction, tourism and services, education and pedagogy, industry and economics, management and administration. Over the course of three days, the exhibition was visited by more than three thousand schoolchildren, their parents and teachers. They were able to see and hear from the largest employers in the region about what specialties and competencies are most in demand today, as well as learn about colleges and universities in the Kaliningrad region.
The Kaliningrad Institute of Management and the Kaliningrad College of Management took an active part in the exhibition “PRO Education”: the stand of these educational organizations was represented by teaching staff, active students and industrial partners – representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Kaliningrad region and the Western Press media group. The KIU/KKU team held consultations on the topics of specialties being implemented and areas of training, features of admission in 2025, and also invited exhibition guests to try their hand at several types of interactive work: assembling and disassembling weapons, shooting at a shooting range, conducting fingerprinting, and also recording a podcast “Learn to Manage”, which was created in real time right on the exhibition site by students majoring in Advertising and their mentors from the Western Press media group. The first guest of the podcast was the rector of KIU/KKU Olga Davydova.
“At the exhibition, the children could meet industrial partners of educational institutions, learn more about their future profession and “taste it.” As part of the exhibition, we held a large number of master classes that allowed us to get acquainted with the professional activities of specialists in various fields: banking, law enforcement, advertising and even journalism. All these industries are in demand both in our region and in the country as a whole. We talked as much as possible about the college’s specialties, because secondary vocational education is in demand now more than ever.”,” noted Olga Davydova.
The guys talked with interest to college teachers, asked about the intricacies of the profession, their features and the difficulties of training. It turned out that if there is a goal, then there are no barriers to achieving it. They shared these observations on the KIU/KKU podcast. And many were already able to decide on their future profession on the sidelines of the PRO Education exhibition.
The head of the department of special, vocational, additional education and upbringing of the Ministry of Education of the Kaliningrad Region, Alexey Goncharov, became the guest of the exhibition and stand of KIU/KKU. He is confident that the trend towards secondary vocational education will continue in the coming years. “Secondary vocational education has now become very popular, because first of all it is a demand of the labor market. Enterprises need qualified workers. The education system responds to this request, and thanks to our vocational education institutions, we are ready to provide workers. Both the applicants themselves and their parents, also seeing this interest on the part of employers, seeing how conditions in colleges and enterprises are changing, willingly go to study and obtain such specialties.”– shared Alexey Goncharov.
Today, about 26 thousand people study in the secondary vocational education system, the number increases every year, and new projects to support the system appear. For the purpose of early professional orientation of schoolchildren, a network of pre-professional classes has been opened, which includes 271 classes with in-depth study of certain areas: space, shipbuilding, psychological and pedagogical, medical, theater, engineering and railway classes, agrotechnological, tourism and media classes.
Participation in the PRO Education exhibition is an opportunity to see the best practices existing today in the vocational education system and choose your future professional path.
In turn, the Kaliningrad Institute of Management and the Kaliningrad College of Management are now waiting for future applicants to get to know each other better at open days, which will be held in 2025:
- January 25;
- February 15;
- March 22;
- April 12;
- May 17;
- June 21.
All additional information can be found on the official websites: kiu39.ru/institute, kku39.ru/college.
How do you believe the PRO Education exhibition has influenced the educational landscape in Kaliningrad, and what specific changes have you observed as a result of its initiatives?
Nded questions to elicit thoughtful responses about the PRO Education exhibition, its goals, and impact on the education system in Kaliningrad. Encourage the guests to share their personal experiences and perspectives throughout the interview.