Georgia’s New Railway College
Interview
A Railway College has been opened within the frames of the American foundation ‘Millenium Challenge Cooperation.’ The professional institution offers students dual programs in many different directions. Manana Moistrapashvili, Railway Transport College Quality Management Manager, talks about the first students of the college and the priorities of the institution.
How did the idea of establishing a railway college come about?
Over the last 20 years, trainings for professional personnel in the railway industry have been in deficit. The Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and the Georgian Technical University thus decided to unite to open a Railway Transport College with the initiative and support of JSC Georgian Railway and a grant from the Millennium Challenge Fund.
With the State’s encouragement, many professional colleges have recently emerged on the market. How is the Railway Transport College different from other institutions?
The main priority of the College is based on European experience and a dual methodology. Our goal is to prepare professional technical personnel of high civil awareness for the railway. Highly qualified staff provide the company with the possibility to replace elderly staff and boost development. A strong team of motivated personalities are gathered around the college idea, which received funding from the Millennium Challenge Fund of $2,281,900. Georgian Railway further invested $1,829,141.
The profession of railroader is one of the oldest occupations and since the 90s, training has been carried out in the trade unions. Why open a professional college today?
Preparing technical personnel for railways in Georgia has been ongoing since 1878, closely linked to the production side of the industry. Unfortunately, as you mentioned, this system has declined since the 1990s, resulting in the loss of specialized institutions and a sharp deterioration in staff quality. Education which does not provide for the job market requirements loses its function and, as a result, damages the country’s economy. Professional staff deficits impede the development of companies and after a while, they face the need to necessarily conduct further training.
Tell us how the professional institution is equipped
We worked hard to ensure that our grants were rationalized, allowing more preparatory work to be done. We started construction from scratch: the building was constructed specially for its purpose, educational spaces were arranged and equipped, rails were put in the courtyard for educational purposes, and a modern simulation of locomotive management, signaling, centralization and blocking trainers were set up.
How did you select the teachers and what does the “dual method” imply?
We are proud to have worked with the best experienced partner, German Railway Training Center DBE&C. Trainers, managers and program managers were trained in Germany in methodological literature as well as demonstration materials, both of which were prepared specially for our students in Georgia. Moreover, our second partner, the Iowa State University, hosted additional trainings for our work and health security staff.
What can students study specifically at the Railway Transport College?
We successfully received authorization and agreed and approved with the National Center for Education Quality a 4-point document, which includes 8 major railway specialties in the field. These include the third stage of professional development of railroad tracking, third stage of railway track monitoring, a professional program of railway electric power supply, fourth stage of locomotive driving, a professional program of farming wagons, a railway carrier fourth cycle professional program, centralization of signaling and railway cycle, a four-level professional program of railroad transport and a fourth stage of railway electric rolling stock.
What is the aim of the College?
The main aim of the college is to guarantee work placement for each student. To come up with a contingent plan, we cooperated with Georgian Railway: our team has the ambition to become the region’s best railway college, therefore, management will continuously monitor the education process. The purpose of the monitoring system is based on analysis of the results of observation and on the basis of Georgian Railway’s demand: to implement continuous development, complete pedagogical resources and to strengthen the material-technical training base. We also plan to fit out the campus in a comfortable and healthy way for the students. However, the main priority is to popularize railway specialties and make our modest contribution to the development of the Georgian railway and to strengthening the country's economy!
By Anna Zhvania