The application was selected by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and Timiryazevka became the only agricultural university to win a grant designed for 3 years.
The initiator of the application was the Institute of Land Reclamation, Water Management and Construction named after A.N. Kostyakov under the leadership of Dmitry Mikhailovich Benin. The head of the Department of Reclamation and Construction Machinery, Professor V.I. Balabanov, was responsible for the block of robotic equipment when drawing up the development program of the center. For the energy–efficient water supply unit - Acting Head of the Department of Agricultural Water Supply, Sanitation, pumps and Pumping Stations A.M. Suleiman.
The Engineering Center is a structural division of the Timiryazev Academy, which will provide engineering and educational services, as well as industrial design services. The main areas of activity will be the development of innovative agricultural machinery, equipment and technologies, as well as energy engineering and energy efficiency technologies.
– By engineering, we mean technical consulting services related to the development and preparation of the production process and ensuring the normal course of production and sale of products, – A.Y. Kuznetsov explained.
According to the director of the center, several projects have already been launched and will come to the final by the end of the year. For example, one of the projects implemented jointly with the Roboprob company is a robotic platform for ground–based agrochemical surveys.
– This product is already on the market. But the company's specialists need the help of our scientists who will be able to refine their software in order for the robot to collect samples more efficiently, – said A.Y. Kuznetsov.
Software development is undertaken by IT specialists of the university with the assistance of experienced agronomists. The project is being carried out by employees of the Department of Information Technologies in AGRICULTURE under the leadership of Professor V.L. Snezhko, the Department of Applied Informatics under the leadership of Professor E.V. Khudyakova, as well as the Institute of Agrobiotechnologies under the leadership of Professor S.L. Belopukhov.
The Engineering Center will develop more than 40 programs of additional professional education, which will be attended by 750 people until 2023.
More than 40 percent of the grant funds will be directed to the development of the material and technical base, repair and modernization of the center's premises. Special attention will be paid to the formation of a demonstration complex of the results of engineering activities on the territory of the Russian State Agricultural Academy named after K.A. Timiryazev.
The engineering center is located in the 29th academic building. The division will include a comfortable coworking area, a media zone, a transformer auditorium, a spacious lecture hall, and modern laboratories. Now large-scale repairs are being carried out in the premises of the center. The opening of the new division is scheduled for the fall of this year.