Students at the construction site
On 26 March, a large-scale career guidance tour was held for students majoring in Water Supply and Sanitation, organized with the support of Setl Group. The future engineers had a unique opportunity to step outside the lecture rooms and see how life support systems are designed and installed at a real facility – the "Palace Facade" residential complex. This low-rise residential complex is located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, near the historic ensembles of Strelna and Peterhof.
The construction site tour began with a mandatory step that every professional must complete: leading occupational safety specialist Maria Kuropatkina gave the students a detailed briefing. She emphasized that modern construction is a highly sensitive area, where knowledge of industrial safety regulations is just as important as mastery of engineering formulas.
Leading industry experts, who daily transform complex drawings into working systems, led the tour for their future colleagues. Construction Manager Sergey Afanasenko spoke about the specifics of managing a large-scale construction project. The students learned how the work of various departments was coordinated and why it was critical to precisely maintain utility entry points during the frame construction phase.
Lead engineer of the HV & WS (heating, ventilation, water supply, and sanitation) section, Dmitry Prosvirov, immersed the participants in the technical intricacies of their future profession. Under his guidance, the students studied the construction of main pipelines, metering units, and pumping equipment. Dmitry Alekseevich demonstrated how drainage systems were implemented in modern residential complexes and the innovative materials used to protect the networks from wear and tear.
Career guidance at operational facilities allows students to see the inner workings of the profession. Today, the water supply industry involves more than just pipes and valves, but high-tech systems with elements of automation and smart resource management. Roman Gurdin, Assistant at the SPbGASU Department of Water Use and Environment, attended the tour with the students. He emphasized: "The students learned about the installation of utility systems, modern water supply and wastewater solutions, and received answers to their professional questions. The event was organized as part of a practice-oriented training program and allowed future engineers to see the application of theoretical knowledge at a real facility."
A visit to the "Palace Facade" helped the students realize that their future work would provide invisible yet vital comfort to thousands of people. Direct interaction with the skilled practitioners such as Sergey Alekseevich and Dmitry Alekseevich provides a powerful incentive for further education and professional growth.
"In the lecture room we study diagrams and calculations, but only here, at the "Palace Facade", do you truly understand the scale of the profession. When you see these enormous nodes and main lines in person, you realize that utility networks are truly the heart of the home. After speaking with experts like Dmitry Prosvirov, I came to a clear understanding: we're not just building pipe systems, but comfort for thousands of people," noted third-year student Viktoria Marusey.
