Today, when it comes to improving the quality of learning, usually it refers to the training of teachers, quality of teaching, providing equipment and training aids and the like. At the same time students are considered (consciously or not) solely as passive "consumers of educational services." And often - not without reason. But in the history of the KPI there is a wonderful example of how much can be done to improve the students level of training. This refers to the activities of student groups. On the first of them - engineering - I would like to tell you in detail.
In November 1901 the students of the 4th year of the engineering department M.V. Chikov, Y.Lange and P.E. Butenko expressed the idea of creating a group to share the most valuable information obtained during a summer internship, and the joint solution of issues arising in the design. Other senior students support this idea. Taking into account the opinion of the majority of initiators, the program also included meetings of theoretical nature, because it turned out that many of the students are engaged in independent research of some theoretical issues. When the nature of the group has been primarily defined, December 1, 1901it was held its first meeting, which was attended by 12 people. There P.E. Butenko read the report, "The relationship between the greatest moments of the three adjacent cargo system", which was accompanied by demonstration experiments and diagrams. At the next meeting on December 10, more listeners gathered, and at the meeting of January 24, 1902, the group board was elected and adopted the statute.
According to the statute, the purpose of the circle was the completion of practical and theoretical knowledge of the engineering and construction business and construction machinery. Members of the circle could be students of engineering offices and persons who have served at the institute. The head was a professor or teacher who was elected for one year. The statute has identified the following areas of group’s activity: periodic meetings where its members, as well as visiting professors made reports of practical and theoretical nature, discusses problems encountered in the design were discussed. If necessary, the group could invite outsiders to lecture.
The charter was also noted that the group at the Institute equips museum with building materials, models, maps, plans, etc., And it is engaged in conservation and replenishment of an exhibition. In addition, it was said that the group publishes for its members "Journal of engineering group" with the following program: some reports on the decision of the circle with the consent of the author, articles and notes of professors and students, as well as pointers to articles in periodicals, departments of the museum, minutes of meetings and reports of the Board. It was also said that the group organizes excursions to construction sites and factories.
The first years the group worked very intensively. During 1902 there were 22 reports, which brings together up to 500 students. The group organized tours to familiarize with the construction and operation of various engineering structures in Kiev and beyond - made trips to St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Odessa, Riga, Cherkassy and other cities. In 1902 "Journal of engineering group» №1 was printed (December 1901 - March 1902), in 1903. - №2 (April 1902 - December 1903), in 1904. - №3 (January - May 1904). In each, except for the reports published the minutes of meetings, cash report, a message about engineering museum.
In the first report about the Museum (1902) it was said that it had to give future civil engineers the possibility to be fully acquainted with construction materials, their varieties, disadvantages, types of damage. On this basis, the board has developed a plan of group’s museum, according to which the exhibits were divided into 19 series. They are as follows: metals, wood, stones, natural and artificial, auxiliary building materials, architectural department, paint, top construction of railways, of the rolling stock, bridges, inland waterways ways, ports, drainage and irrigation, water supply, sewage, heating and ventilation, electrical telegraphy and signaling reference department, and finally, "a variety of items that are not included in any of these series." The museum was opened February 1, 1902, and 1906. It was combined with engineering museum under engineering department, created in 1903 by management KPI.
Since at that time there was a lack of the technical literature, in particular, textbooks, members of the engineering group agreed to organize a technical library, opened in 1904. With the help of Professor E.A. Paton, S.P. Tymoshenko G.Dubelir and others who gave the library a lot of valuable books, it has gradually increased and in 1913, there were in it 1,100 books.
The Revolution of 1905 and the subsequent reaction led to the fact that the activities of the group were declined - from 1905 to 1909 the group was active only for two semesters. In 1909 thanks to the energy of the initiative group, it resumed regular work. There are new areas of activity – it was organized the Office for search practice, the publication of textbooks was started. The sales department was organized in 1911 for distribution of publications. In 1912 №4 «Journal of engineering group" was printed.
In 1913 it was adopted a new statute. If before it was consisted of 19 paragraphs and had a volume of two pages, the new on included 36 paragraphs on 6 pages. It should be said that the new statute significantly increased in volume the sections relating to the organization of group’s activities - "Composition of the groupe", "administration and fees of the groupe", new sections - "Means of the group", "Charter of the Audit Commission", "Changes in the statute and closing the group "," General Rules ".
If the goal of the group was formulated almost the same way as in the first statute, the new added new areas of work. They are: the content of the reference department of general use and for its members - the library; search for its members practice; the publication of manuals on subjects; course engineering department of the organization - at the request of its members - foreign language courses. It was envisage also to fit laboratories and classrooms to study individual questions in the theory and practice of engineering and construction business.
In 1914, the outbreak of the imperialist war, the activities of the group stopped. From 1916 to 1922 from all parts of the group only library and sales department worked.
Since 1922 together with the revival of life of the institute it began to revive engineering group. In 1923, it included 255 members. The group published the atlas to the book prof. Paton, "Determination of the number and size of the opening in the stone piers of bridges", however, only in the amount of 5 pieces.
March 2, 1923, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the group it was opened the Museum of student exercises, which exposed for all to see the best student graphic works. In the same year it was published Journal of the group №5 - under the new name "Red builder." In 1923 it was organized a new section of the circle: the scientific organization of labor; "Self-help", which had the task of helping students rabfak during their preparation for the passage of degree, and terminology, translation, worked on the use of the Ukrainian language.
Analyzing the results of twenty-five years activities of engineering group KPI, we can say: much of what is now an integral part of, so to speak, the authorized activities of the university - publication of manuals, textbooks, the contents of the museum, the selection of places of practice, learning foreign languages - were first appeared in the group. It was done thanks to the initiative of the students to overcome the shortcomings of their then-preparation. They acted as partners of their teachers in improving the educational process. Some forms of activity of the group can be seen in the work of the scientific and technological community of students and postgraduates. And something in particular student edition of the scientific journal, which published material would talk at the group, perhaps, it would revive. In any case, the study of the experience of student groups beginning of the last century can be useful today.