The Institute of Digital design will be training designers for Russia’s new innovative economy
On May 1st, the Institute of Digital Design (DD) was established at MIET University. It was created by transforming the Chair of Engineering Graphics and Design, and its main objective will be to train personnel and develop a professional environment in the field of computer graphics and design. The Institute of Digital Design is also to develop the newly opened Virtual Prototyping Center, where VR laboratories with high-tech equipment are already being created in cooperation with the university's industrial partners, using modern technologies of three-dimensional computer simulation, virtual and mixed reality (VR/AR/MR).
"Design and IT-design are popular modern professions related to in-depth study of digital technologies, which are now widely used in different industries. The mission of our institute is to develop a professional environment in this field and thoroughly train new personnel for the needs of Russia's innovative economy," says Tatiana Sokolova, Director of the Institute of Digital Design.
In 2019 MIET launched a new bachelor's degree program “IT in design”, and is to launch a similar master's degree program in 2023. There are also plans to develop mixed educational programs featuring elements of design, IT, and electronics in cooperation with other MIET Institutes.
"Microelectronic MEMS technology" VR-lab was a pilot project by the Virtual Prototyping Center (VPC) and Zelenograd Nanotechnology Center. This project simulates the full production cycle of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) products. Such VR labs are designed to train specialists to operate expensive equipment, as well as to provide virtual access to unique machines' simulators.
Since the implementation of the pilot project was a success, the university decided to create a Virtual Prototyping Center, which was launched in September 2022. Today the Center is developing embedded interactive cyber-physical models for real high-tech equipment.
The Thermal Diffusion VR Lab is another new project done in cooperation with Zelenograd Nanotechnology Center. It is an interactive simulator of a diffusion furnace; this appliance is widely used for processing semiconductor and silicon wafers. The work on the development of the Cluster TM 200 VR lab is also underway. It's a model of the Cluster TM 200 robotic vacuum-transport system, which consists of eight technological modules for the semiconductor wafer processing units. The project is being done in cooperation with the Institute of Advanced Materials and Technologies and Research Institute for Precision Machine Engineering.
The implementation of research and commercial projects also includes active student involvement under the guidance of leading industry experts. As part of the educational process, undergraduates took part in a number of other VPC projects, for e.g. digital anatomical atlas, VR simulator of automobile electronic sensor-based systems, and VR labs for schoolchildren. Virtual prototypes of transplantable heart and kidney are being developed in collaboration with the Institute of Biomedical Systems.
The newly established Institute is equipped with a modern digital design computing center, render farms, and multimedia design workshops. More recently, as part of the Priority 2030 state program, the university acquired its latest equipment – another computer lab with powerful gaming CPUs and GPUs, as well as VR equipment.