Nowadays, Astrakhan State Technical University is one of the largest educational, scientific and cultural centers in the South of Russia and the Caspian Region. Its Institutes and Faculties provide training for those who want to become certified specialists, and a wide range of degree courses for those who are interested in Fish-Breeding and Fishery, Chemical Engineering and Food Technology, Refrigeration and Technological Equipment, Ship-Building and Marine Power Engineering, Ecology and Nature Management, Marketing and Advertising, Automation and Control, Information Technologies and Telecommunication, Computer Sciences, Jurisprudence, Recreational and Cultural Services and Tourism, Biology. Upon the whole the University offers training in more than 50 specializations, 20 major fields, various programmes of Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and optional programmes, 30 Ph.D. and Senior Doctorate qualifications.
The graduates of the university have participated and go on taking part in economic development of all regions of the country: the Volga region, Siberia, the Far East, the Independent States of Baltic, Central Asia, the Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
At present, 8000 students are being trained at the ASTU. The total number of qualified specialists trained at the university is about 35 000, including 2000 specialists from Asia, Africa, Latin America and European countries.
Many students of the university have been awarded special grants of the President of the Russian Federation, of the Russian government and of the governor of the Astrakhan region. This proves that the level of knowledge gained by the undergraduates of ASTU is very high.
ASTU was founded in 1930. The history of its growth, development and expansion of education and scientific activity is marked by the Institute's transforming in 1994 into Astrakhan State Technical University (ASTU).
All the following changes in the life and structure of the University always met international requirements for institutions of higher education as well as the needs of the state and the regions.
The University is licensed to conduct an educational activity and is awarded a State Accreditation Certificate was issued by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.
Permanent aspiration of university’s scientists to expand their research provides the development of the University and increases its role as of an educational establishment and as of a scientific center as well. This also results in the growth of teachers’ professional skills and the quality of undergraduate training. The University constantly improves forms and methods of training and offers its teaching staff new opportunities for innovation both in teaching and research. The success of the University's education policy is confirmed by the fact that among its graduates there are governors, managers of large businesses, world-famous scientists.
At present, the structure of the University includes several Institutes: the Institute of Distance Learning, the Institute of Marine Technologies, Power Engineering and Transport, The Institute of Biology and Nature Management, the Institute of Information technologies and Communications, The Institute of Economics, The Institute of Oil and Gas. There are several Faculties at the Universities as well: the Mechanical Faculty, the Faculty of Law; the Faculty of Fisheries, the Faculty of Applicant Preliminary Training, the Faculty of Optional Vocational Training; the Faculty of International Student Preliminary Training, the Faculty of Secondary Vocational education. There is an affiliate of the University in the Moscow region. Besides, there are several colleges that provide secondary engineering training under auspices of the University.
International collaboration of the University has a long history. One of the most important directions of ASTU International collaboration involves education programmes for international students. Specialists’ training for foreign countries has been carried at the University since 1955. Many international graduates of the University made their way up in the countries they came from and are now at the head of state or private industrial enterprises, engaged in commerce or achieved a success in other types of business.
Achievements in the training of international students as well as the reputation gained by the University among foreign countries encouraged the University to initiate the establishment of the Association of the Universities of the Caspian region countries in 1996. The permanent headquarters of the association is situated in ASTU. The Association’s activity is intended to the implementation and development of international, educational, scientific and cultural programmes in close collaboration with the other countries of the Caspian region.
ASTU is switching to federal state educational standards of the third generation nowadays. The University has been managing the preparation according to the level-based system “bachelor master” on more than 30 directions for a long time.
Astrakhan State Technical University has won the award “Inner-university systems for providing qualified preparation of specialists” by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation. The University worked out and implemented the system of quality management which is based on the international standards ISO-9001 : 2000. Abidance with these standards was certified in Germany (DQS) and International Association of Certification Institutions (IQNet) which are approved in more than 60 countries.
