VSMPO-AVISMA opens training workshop for future metallurgists at UrFU branch

SVERDLOVSK REGION

 

The modernization of educational infrastructure has been completed at the Ural Federal University (UrFU) branch in Verkhnyaya Salda. The major renovation was carried out with support from the university's strategic partner – the VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation. On October 6, a new metal forming laboratory was ceremonially opened there. The launch ceremony was attended by UrFU Rector Ilya Obabkov, CEO of the VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation Dmitry Trifonov, and Director of the Verkhnyaya Salda branch of UrFU Maria Savelyeva.

 

The first blank on the new rolling mill was rolled by Dmitry Trifonov, the Corporation’s CEO – it was as a roller operator that he began his career in titanium production in 1984.

"I started at VSMPO as a roller operator, so today I took on the first blank not for a nice photo-op: my hands still remember. The only difference is that for my first metal rolling experience I had to go to the factory shop, while today's student only needs to go downstairs to the laboratory," noted Dmitry Trifonov.

 

According to Sverdlovsk Region Governor Denis Pasler, the region needs engineers, and they must be trained right where the plants operate.

 

"In Verkhnyaya Salda, the Corporation has built a system of career guidance from kindergarten to university. Today, students have gained the opportunity to master metal rolling technology in practice. As a result, by the time they graduate, they will have the skills they need to work at the enterprise," he emphasized.

As part of a partnership agreement between the Corporation and the university, the laboratory was equipped specifically for VSMPO-AVISMA's production needs. For hands-on student training, it houses a training heating furnace and a rolling mill: the same operations as in factory shops, only on an educational scale, the Corporation's PR Department told RusBusinessNews.

 

The major renovation covered more than 2,000 square meters. Among other things, the building's load-bearing structures were reinforced, flooring was replaced, new power supply and ventilation systems were designed and installed, and outdated fire alarms were replaced with modern ones. The building has been brought into full compliance with current accessibility standards for people with disabilities. Materials science and hydraulics laboratories, as well as sanitary facilities, were renovated from the ground up. At the same time, the teaching facilities and equipment were upgraded: classroom furniture, computer hardware, interactive whiteboards, and display shelving were purchased.

 

In the future, the renovated building will house a museum and exhibition area and a coworking space for research work.

"A university branch in an industrial town only makes sense when it works hand in hand with an enterprise. In Verkhnyaya Salda, that connection is strong. Today we launched a laboratory built for the needs of titanium production. This project, like all our cooperation, is part of a broader strategy. It matters to us that our graduates and specialists work where their families and friends live, where there is an enterprise they respect, and where they have room to grow professionally," UrFU Rector Ilya Obabkov explained.

 

In the 2026–2027 academic year, the branch will enroll 270 students in three fields of study: "Metallurgy" (with in-depth study of titanium technologies), "Technological Machines and Equipment", and "Design, and Technological Support for Machine-Building Production" – offered full-time and part-time. Two more programs, "Electric Power Engineering and Electrical Engineering" and "Automation of Technological Processes and Production", are undergoing licensing.

 

Notably, VSMPO-AVISMA's investment in higher education in Verkhnyaya Salda in 2025–2026 amounted to more than 73 million rubles. In addition, the Corporation spends around 14 million rubles annually on educational initiatives.