“I want to become an inspiring teacher”

In November 2019, the selection within the “Candidates Pool” competition among the teaching staff of KNRTU-KAI was successfully completed. Based on the selection results, 12 postgraduate students formed a team of promising young specialists who could contribute to the university.

Press service of KNRTU-KAI shares the interview with Rozalia Gabdullina, a 2nd year postgraduate student of the Department for Jet Engines and Power Plants at IALTE.

— Why did you decide to take part in the “Candidates Pool” competition? 

— When I entered the Department for Heat and Power Engineering at KAI, I realized that I wanted to work as a teacher here. I was truly inspired by teaching staff of our department: Sofia N. Arslanova, Igor A. Popov, Vladimir G. Tonkonog, and Aleksey A. Lopatin. I wanted to be like them. Hence, I decided to participate in this program to reach my goals. Moreover, the “Candidates Pool” competition has good resources to support young specialists.

— Do you have teachers in your family?  

— My grandparents have worked as teachers all their lives: grandfather as a teacher of chemistry and biology, grandmother as a teacher of Russian language and literature. Mom worked as an English teacher for some time. My dad is an engineer, but he also conducts training at his work. 

— Can we say that you are following in your family footsteps?

— I think yes. Probably, I inherited the commitment to mankind from my family. More important, I want to become not just an ordinary teacher, but the inspiring one. Speaking about Popov, Lopatin, Arslanova, Tonkonog, these people have a certain vibe... I mean they put so much love and passion into what they do. 

— How did you see your future when you were a schoolchild? 

— I knew right away that I wanted to be a teacher. My parents encouraged me to choose a technical field of study. Therefore, I decided to enter KAI, and later - to pursue a career as a teacher at the university. 

— How does your family react to your considerable activity?

— My family supports me in every way. While studying in the master’s program, I defended my thesis, being pregnant with the first child. Moreover, I passed the exams to enter the PhD courses when I was also pregnant. However, I decided not to take a sabbatical year. Almost immediately, I became pregnant for a second time. At least, I thought that during my second pregnancy, I would not be engaged in scientific activities, but I could not sit at home and do nothing. I really enjoy my hectic lifestyle: I can work on myself, as well as spend time with my kids. During my both pregnancies, I also obtained many grants.

— Could you tell us about the area of your scientific interests?

— Together with my scientific advisor Alexey A. Lopatin, we are analyzing the effectiveness of cooling systems with slotted fins. This field of study has a global relevance for sure. Nowadays, such a scientific direction as topology optimization is gaining momentum (a method of computer-aided design that makes it possible to obtain the optimal shape of a product under given operating conditions). It means that a 3D model of your cooling system of any shape can be created. Everything is also calculated in the program, and hence, you can immediately see which part is mismatched. This scientific area is actively examined at the Department of Laser Technologies.

— As a member of the “Candidates Pool” competition, what would you change at the university?  

— As a future teacher, specialist, employee of the department, sometimes it can be very difficult to encourage young people. I was looking for assistants to delegate some of my responsibilities, and for quite some time I could not find them, because the majority of students wanted to be paid by doing nothing. The only way out of this is to motivate them by my own example.

Besides, the development of computer technologies is growing rapidly, and many experienced teachers and professors do not keep pace with the progress, and, as a result, there are only few specialists who can teach students to work with the advanced programs. Therefore, I would like the university to attract as many young specialists as possible and refer them to undergo further trainings.

— A few parting words for future participants of the “Candidates Pool” competition.

— I would advise you to be hardworking and independent person. From my personal experience, the key point here – you have to use as a basis to conduct research by yourself most of the time, because quite often the scientific advisers do not have much time to work with their students individually. Moreover, to my mind, it is also important to love what you do.

The scientific advisor, Vice-Rector for Educational Work and Activities Alexey A. Lopatin:

— Rosalia Gabdullina is one of the best students of our university: determined and hardworking person. While she was a master’s student and later postgraduate, she helped me a lot with taking classes. Therefore, I am sure that in the future she will become a great teacher. It is obvious that she loves her students, knows how to communicate with them. Moreover, Rosalia is very successful working mom. She easily can combine her scientific work and big family.

To be a part of the “Candidates Pool” program, you need to have certain qualities, such as commitment, specific mind-set, being good at engineering sciences. The “Candidates Pool” competition for Rosalia is a step forward for sure. No doubt, she is going to be an excellent, inspiring teacher, as she wants to be.