On May 18, 2017 Great Plains Ukraine together with the Association ‘Ukrainian Agribusiness Club’ and AgriEvent Agency conducted a hands-on workshop for students of 4th and 5th courses of engineering specialties at agricultural higher education institutions of Ukraine ‘Day of the Young Engineer of Great Plains’. Purpose of the event was to acquaint students with highly efficient and modern machinery of Great Plains as well as showcase it in work, develop theoretical and practical skills of students concerning the use of modern solutions in order to increase efficiency in the field.

The event was held at International office-warehouse complex of the Great Plains in Ukraine  (Rosavychi village, Vasylkiv district, Kyiv region) with participation of nearly 40 students of technical specialties of agricultural universities from different regions of Ukraine: Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson regions. Selection for participation in the workshop was held among active students with high achievement and motivation for further employment by occupation.

During theoretical part of the event future engineers learnt about history of Great Plains, its goals and future plans. Service engineers of the company, Vladyslav and Vadym Martynenko showed production range of the machinery for soil processing, sowing machines and units for fertilizer treatment.

Andriy Vorobyov, Director of the LLC ‘Great Plains Ukraine’ in his speech stressed the importance of training for students. ‘This event is very interesting and useful for young specialists because it gives them a chance to see what is waiting for them in the future and why they are studying on their speciality. I think our company will be a good example for them because today we showed them products manufactured by our plant and used by a lot of farms in Ukraine. Our experts told about history of development of this industry since the brand ‘Great Plains’ stood at the origins of import of foreign agricultural equipment to Ukraine’, said Mr. Vorobyov. ‘Our experts gave a demonstration of the machinery and features to set it up so that students understand that without knowledge they are obtaining at the moment it will be impossible to operate this machinery. That is why such hands-on workshops are very useful. In its turn, we create prospects for young professionals and employ them. We are interested in employing young, talented engineers and training them standards of business carrying out in our company. For example, our service engineers have been working in the company since 2008, they are highly experienced and can teach young people a lot. Therefore, conducting of such events is, undoubtedly, mutually beneficial’.

Nataliia Pryshliak, Senior Lecturer of Administrative Management Department at Vinnytsia National Agricultural University, Head of the Scientific Society of Students, Postgraduates and Young Scientists, also believes that similar offsite events are important for students. ‘The last six months I was in the USA and participated in various workshops and seminars, and according to my ranking I can give this event 10 marks out of 10 in terms of organization, informational value and interactivity. Such practices should be conducted more frequently since they greatly stimulate students. Young people see that working in the agricultural sector means working in a modern company. Students have the opportunity to observe working place and machinery during its operation, sit in the cockpit and even ride on the field’, noted lecturer.

Positive impressions from participating in the event the young engineers expressed themselves as well. They observed demonstrations, asked questions and took an active part in the quiz at the end of workshop. ‘I believe that such events should be carried out since they provide an interesting and new information for student as well as opportunity to accumulate practical experience, solidify gained knowledge and explore new technologies. And what is the most important, we have a chance to oversee modern agricultural technology and understand how it operates’, commented Oleksandr Kondratiuk, 4th year student of the Agricultural Mechanization Department of Vinnytsia National Agricultural University.