Formation of IT Competences of Future Mechanical Engineers

Abstract

Modern trends in the development of manufacturing industries impose new requirements on engineers. Due to the rapidly deepening trends in the digitalization of mechanical engineering, one of the main requirements for the successful professional activity of technical specialists is the possession of tools in the field of information technology. The work highlights the directions of development of mechanical engineering, which define IT-competences of engineers: automation of production and management of product life cycle, use of IT in design and production, growth of demand for “smart” machines. The prospects for the development of it infrastructure in the industry are outlined. On the basis of the analysis, a new content of the discipline “Information technologies in professional activity” of the basic part of engineering training aimed at the formation of popular it competencies is proposed. The main sections of the discipline are: the basics of algorithmization and programming, programming elements in Python, development and integration of software modules in automation systems, the basics of mathematical modeling, the basics of simulation. In the conditions of mass application of information technologies, transition to digital production, the use of the project method is seen as extremely promising in order to obtain a high-quality training result. The discipline provides for the implementation of the project, which includes tasks in a number of sections. Project assignments vary depending on the direction of training and the level of training of students. The structure of the content of the project work is presented in two versions: the work in the CAD-system, including the use of API; the execution of tasks in different sections with a division by level of complexity. It is proposed to divide the time allocated for the study of the discipline between sections on the basis of expert evaluation. Approbation for a number of areas of bachelor’s training in the Department of mechanical engineering. Examples of projects implementation by students are given.