The Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank (BSPU) is a leading institution of higher pedagogical education, a large modern educational, research, social and cultural complex, which carries out innovative activities to improve the national system of pedagogical education.
The University is one of the oldest higher education institutions in the Republic of Belarus. On November 21, 2022, it celebrated its 108th anniversary.
The developed educational and scientific infrastructure of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University includes nine faculties, three institutes – of psychology, inclusive education, advanced training and retraining, as well as graduate school and doctoral studies, republican educational resource centers, and other departments.
More than 10 thousand students and master students, including 1200 foreign citizens from 12 countries, study in 33 specialties of higher education, including 13 specialties of advanced education (master's degree). 180 students are enrolled in 38 postgraduate specialties and 18 doctoral specialties.
Last year, more than three thousand students mastered advanced training, retraining programs and internships, the programs of additional education for adults, as well as completed master's programs online with the CIS countries' universities.
The educational process is provided by 684 highly qualified teachers, including 43 doctors of science and 307 candidates of science.
For the first time in the history of the continuous pedagogical education system, an educational, scientific and innovative cluster has been created, with BSPU being its core. The cluster includes the universities and colleges of the republic that provide professional training of teaching staff, the institutions of general secondary education, where specialized pedagogical classes are opened, institutions of the additional education system, as well as scientific and methodological institutions, scientific and pedagogical communities, representatives of personnel customers – regional education departments, and others. This form of cooperation ensures the development of a system of continuous pedagogical education based on the integration of science and innovative educational practice.
The BSPU resource centers contribute to the creation of a high-tech educational environment.
The Resource Center for Social and Pedagogical Technologies has been operating since 2016. The center has created a database of electronic and printed resources for educational, research work of students, master students, graduate students and teachers. Online conferences and webinars are being held.
In 2017, the Resource Center for Inclusive Education was opened, which hosts training seminars for students, teachers-defectologists and parents raising children with special developmental needs.
The main tasks of the Resource Center for Educational Robotics are the development of laboratory and practical modules of educational programs for the training of teachers and schoolchildren in the field of educational robotics, the dissemination of effective pedagogical experience in the field of advanced technologies (advanced training of teachers of physics, mathematics and computer science, as well as of other natural science disciplines).
The Center for Modern Methods of Preschool Education has been opened at the Faculty of Preschool Education.
The Republican Center for Psychological Assistance in the structure of the Institute of Psychology of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University is a source of systematic and accessible information and methodological, educational, training support on the issues of psychological assistance to the educational process participants – schoolchildren, students, parents – in crisis situations.
By the decision of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus, the Coordination Center "Education for Sustainable Development" has been established based on the University. The Center ensures the integration of sustainable development education practices into the system of continuous pedagogical education within the university cluster.
In order to improve the quality of pedagogical education, the Republican Resource Center "Digital Academy of E-Learning Pedagogy" has been launched at the Belarusian State Pedagogical University. This modern and high-tech scientific and educational platform unites teachers, students, and researchers from the entire cluster of continuous pedagogical education in a professional pedagogical community.
The Pedagogical University is not only a multifunctional educational and upbringing complex but also a major research center. Fifteen scientific schools are renowned beyond the borders of Belarus. The main research directions are focused on pedagogy, psychology, methods of preschool and primary education, and teaching school subjects. Over the past five years, more than 300 topics have been covered in scientific programs of various levels. The effectiveness and practical orientation of the research results are evidenced by over 1500 implementation acts.
An important achievement of BSPU at the national and international level is the introduction of specialized pedagogical education, specifically the creation of pedagogical classes in secondary schools.
In 2014, BSPU initiated the creation of such classes, and the idea received state-level support. The network of pedagogical classes is developing dynamically: while in the 2015/2016 academic year there were 102 specialized classes (1350 students), in the 2022/2023 academic year, there are 756 specialized classes and groups with over 6.7 thousand students. Graduates of pedagogical classes are academically successful, socially active and proactive students. The experience of creating pedagogical classes is actively borrowed by Russia and other CIS countries.
All of this contributes to the growth of the University's image not only in the republic but also internationally.
BSPU is an active player in the international educational area. The University is a member of nine international organizations. BSPU has signed 185 international treaties and cooperation agreements, ensuring effective connections with leading educational and scientific institutions worldwide.
Information centers of the BSPU are used as platforms for the development and strengthening of inter-university cooperation in the field of education and culture. For example, the BelarusianUzbek Educational Center at the Nizami Tashkent State Pedagogical University (Uzbekistan), the Belarusian Language and Culture Center at the Baku Slavic University (Azerbaijan), and the Information and Educational Center of BSPU in China (Sanya) operate successfully.
The strengthening of cooperation with foreign partners and acquainting students and teachers with the history, language, and culture of other countries are the goals of the Belarusian-Kazakh, Belarusian-Italian BSPU centers, the centers of Chinese culture, Azerbaijani language and culture, Iranian studies and Persian language, and others.
The strategically important regions for the BSPU's positioning on the international market for educational services are the member countries of the EAEU and the CIS, as well as the countries of Southeast Asia.
Training specialists for foreign countries is an important and dynamic direction of the BSPU international activities. Since 2018, the number of foreign students studying at the University has been exceeding one thousand.
This year, representatives from 12 countries are studying at BSPU. These are Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, China, Latvia, Moldova, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Estonia. The majority of them (75 percent) are studying at the level of general higher education (bachelor's degree).
Export of educational services is carried out by BSPU in three forms: attracting foreign citizens to study in the country, opening foreign educational institutions and disseminating educational programs abroad.
As part of the policy to diversify the export of educational services, the Belarusian State Pedagogical University and Nizami Tashkent State Pedagogical University have a joint faculty called "Innovative Pedagogy," which provides training in higher education programs of the general higher education in full-time and part-time forms in the following specialties: "Speech Therapy," "Practical Psychology," "Preschool Education," and "Primary Education."
Besides, BSPU implements joint educational programs at the level of general higher education with Kadyri Jizzakh State Pedagogical University (Uzbekistan), Loyang Pedagogical University (China), and Hennan Professional Institute of Arts (China).
Diversification of the range of educational programs implies the possibility of studying in foreign languages. Starting from the 2020/2021 academic year, education in five master's programs, such as "Music Art," "Fine Art and Drawing," "Educational Management," "General Pedagogy, History of Pedagogy and Education" and "The English Language", is provided in English.
Over the past 10 years, the volume of the BSPU's exports has increased by 5.6 times. In 2022, the University not only achieved but also exceeded by 32.4 percent the target indicators set by the Ministry of Education for the export of educational services.
The achievements of the University are confirmed by prestigious awards.
In January 2017, BSPU was awarded the Prize of the President of the Republic of Belarus "For Spiritual Revival" for active activities in the humanitarian field and significant contribution to the development and popularization of the volunteer movement among student youth. In the same year, BSPU was included in the Republican Honor Board among the best scientific organizations.
BSPU has received a Certificate of Appreciation from the United Nations for active participation in the "Express UN-70 in Belarus for Sustainable Development" initiative. Additionally, BSPU has been designated as the official regional center of expertise in education for sustainable development (RCE-Belarus) within the RCE-Global international
community.
In 2018, BSPU was granted the status of the basic organization of the Commonwealth of Independent States for the training, retraining, and professional development of pedagogical staff and specialists in the field of inclusive and special
education.
In 2019, the university was awarded the Quality Achievement Prize by the Government of the Republic
of Belarus.
Thus, the balanced complex of organizational and managerial solutions and incentive measures aimed at ensuring high-quality education, fostering the process of scientific and innovative activities at all stages, and the educational, scientific, and innovative potential available at BSPU allow the University to address important tasks in improving the quality of teacher training. This gives the Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank the opportunity to rightfully take pride in its achievements and face the future with confidence.
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