Technical and engineering professions are always in demand on the labour market, as technical specialists deal with real-world objects without which modern life as we know it would be impossible.

Europe and Asia is currently experiencing a real shortage of technical professionals, including engineers and IT specialists, which will peak by 2030.

Technical universities offer courses in technology, engineering and information technology, but recently the boundaries have become blurred and technical institutes and universities are introducing courses in education, sociology, psychology, law and design.

Both a traditional university and a polytechnic are higher education institutions, i.e. institutions of higher education.

However, there are certain differences between these types of university.

A classic university is a classic educational institution with a broad profile, where there are educational programmes in different, unrelated fields. A classical university provides a classical basic education; the programme includes not only major subjects but also a large number of general education subjects. At the same time, the education at a classic university is more "broad", but at the same time more "theoretical" than at a technical university.

There are also more specific characteristics:

• The teaching staff of a classic university must include at least four doctoral students for every hundred undergraduates.
• Scientific research at a classic university must be carried out in at least five fields.
• More than 60 per cent of the academic staff of a classic university must have a university degree.

Technical universities and institutes have a narrower technical orientation and train specialists such as engineers, IT specialists, technical translators and others somehow related to technology, engineering and information technology.

Another important difference between technical universities is the emphasis on practical training. There are less 'water' and general academic disciplines and more 'business' subjects, experience and practice. Technical specialists include:

• Industrial engineering
• Mechanical engineering - mechanisation and production engineering
• Mechatronics
• Materials science and engineering
• Materials Science
• Software Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Building Materials
• Resources and Engineering
• Electrical and Information Engineering
• Chemical Process Engineering
• Environmental Engineering (Applied Ecology and Environmental Protection)
• Environmental Engineering
• Transport and Mobility (Logistics)
• Applied Geology
• Geodesy and Geoinformation
• Geology and Earth Sciences
• Physics with specialisation in meteorology
• Landscape Architecture and Planning

Subjects of the Bachelor of Engineering Science programme.

Students have the opportunity to specialise in one of the following areas:

• Various branches of mechanical engineering;
• Instrumentation;
• Civil Engineering;
• Industrial Engineering;
• Engineering design and process control;
• Electrical engineering;
• Systems Engineering;
• Computer Engineering;
• Communications engineering;
• Chemical and biotechnologies, chemical engineering;
• Development of ecologically clean technologies and environmental protection technologies;
• Materials science;
• geo-information systems;
• Nuclear Engineering.

Students enrolled on the various Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) courses spend their first year studying the theoretical foundations of their chosen specialisation. The focus then shifts to practical work and research. At the end of the course, most institutions require students to develop and defend a final project.

In most institutions, there are many elective courses where students can acquire knowledge in a field other than their major field of study. The administration of educational institutions supports students' desire to pursue additional education.

Prospects for Bachelor of Engineering graduates.

On completion of a Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) degree, a graduate is qualified to work as an Associate Engineer (the title varies from country to country). In order to practise the profession, a B.Eng. graduate must be registered with one of the professional bodies (e.g. the British Computer Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), or the Engineering Council of a state). A graduate is entitled to prefix Eng to their name on all official documents.

To obtain the title of graduate engineer, or for the purpose of further scientific research, a bachelor must complete a master's programme. A Chartered Engineer registered with an Engineering Council or other professional body is entitled to use the prefix RE (Registered Engineer) before his or her name. To qualify as a Professional Engineer (PE), one must have worked in the field for at least five years.

Given the research and practice focus of the Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) programme, a graduate with a Bachelor of Engineering degree is a highly skilled professional who can find interesting and well-paid employment.

Who is suited to technical careers.

The following personal qualities and skills will help you master the technical direction

• Developed mathematical skills. This will help you to analyse tasks quickly and solve them promptly.
• Attention to detail. A small mistake can cause an accident and stop all production. Not only can this cause loss to the company, but it can also cause harm to other employees.
• Take personal responsibility for your work. A technical specialist must not only have a thorough knowledge of his or her field, but also be able to make responsible decisions quickly in difficult situations.
• Vocational training provides comprehensive knowledge in the chosen profession. Professionals with technical training are in demand on the labour market.

Choice of university.

For a technical specialist, it is important to get a profile education or close to the chosen direction. Technical universities can be divided into :

• advanced research in new fields, high status of the diploma.
• high quality of education, good prospects, wide range of specialisations.
• modern opportunities for specialisation and intellectual growth.
• excellent development of personal qualities such as self-organisation, discipline, teamwork.
• great opportunities for international exchange.
• good traditions in engineering design specialities.
• quality training of engineering personnel in modern specialities.

Below is a list of technical universities with a strong tradition of engineering education and high quality teaching.

• Cambridge University, United Kingdom
• Oxford University Great Britain
• University of Paris-Saclay France
• Paris-Sorbonne University France 72
• Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland
• University of Geneva, Switzerland
• University of Copenhagen, Denmark
• University of Munich, Germany
• University of Utrecht, Netherlands
• University of Oslo, Norway
• University of Bologna, Italy
• University of Pisa, Italy
• Tsinghua University, China
• Harbin Institute of Technology, China
• Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
• Huazhong University of Science & Technology, China
• Zhejiang University, China
• Southeast University - China.
• Tongji University, China
• Xi'an Jiaotong University¸ China
• Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore
• Singapore Institute of Technology(SIT), Singapure
• Hong Kong Polytechnic University, HK
• Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, HK
• Middle East Technical University, Turkey
• Izmir Technical University, Turkey
• Czech Technical University, Czech Republic
• University of Vienna, Austria
• Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China Hong Kong
• Hanyang University, South Korea

The most in-demand technical professions.

The labour market is currently experiencing a shortage of technical personnel, as progress and robotisation are moving faster than the training of specialists in the required profile. However, the demand depends not so much on the profession itself, but on the industry and the direction of work.

Technology now accompanies almost all spheres of life and is becoming more and more complex every day. Therefore, for its operation, maintenance and repair require such specialists as:

Prospects of holders of technical professions.

The demand for representatives of technical specialities will only grow every year. Global automation of enterprises, which set the growth of the country's economy, is increasing, which makes such specialists more in demand.

The level of economic growth of the state is directly related to the level of training of technical specialists, so the development of technical education is a priority for many countries. It is related to competitiveness and political ranking.

Experts' opinion.

According to the conducted ratings, the top five most popular companies among job seekers are market leaders in development in energy, raw materials extraction, banks and IT companies. Such companies require specialists with a high level of technical knowledge and training.