Pablo Iturralde: Elaboration is Purely by Our University, and We Are Very Proud of It
The director of the Advanced Engineering School of Electric Transport under Moscow Polytechnic University Pablo Iturralde spoke to “Tatar-inform” about modern technologies, the establishment of AES, joint projects with partners and other topics.
Pablo, you came to Russia fr om Ecuador. Tell us a little about yourself. And how did it happen that our country became a second home for you?
Recently, it`s been twenty years since I first flew to Russia. I've been here for half my life. I am well acquainted with Tatarstan, since my first wife is from the city of Naberezhnye Chelny. We are no longer together, but we are very good friends and we are united by our daughter. I am very familiar with the Tatar culture, I even know some words and phrases. I have a lot of relatives, friends and relatives in Russia. This predetermined the choice of this country as the place wh ere I wanted to live and build my future career.
Why did engineering become the meaning of life for you?
At some point, I realized that there was a very big problem. I feel like an entire generation of professional engineers has disappeared somewhere. Most likely, this happened during the transition period, when the USSR no longer existed, and Russia as a state was going through a certain stage of formation. I received my second degree here. I had very good relationships with the teachers. When I was in graduate school, my teacher, professor Valery Viktorovich Selifonov, said that in the Soviet Union they knew how to build cars. But the problem is that between his generation and mine there is a gap of forty years. And there is no one between us. He was very afraid that for this reason the engineering school in Russia would die.
Tell us about the main areas of your activity at Moscow Polytechnic University. What are you doing as part of the AES for electric transport?
Our team appeared seventeen years ago. At the moment, electric transport is the main priority area for us. The first steps were taken in the sphere of motorsport. The romance with engineering always starts with racing. This is a very valuable experience for us, which taught us to strive for victories. We have learned to work not for the sake of the process, but rather for the sake of the goal. The work is aimed at creating the product as a full-fledged technical product.
What partners do you work with?
Our partner at the moment is “AVTOTOR” from Kaliningrad. Here, we work together to make electric cars. Another partner is Moscow company “MERCATOR”, with which we are jointly developing municipal equipment. We cooperate with “Gazpromneft” in terms of technical support for their racing team G-Drive Racing. In 2023, joint projects with “KAMAZ”, with which we cooperate through R&D, became an unconditional success for us. This is a very important partner for us. Currently, we`re cooperating with this auto giant, an educational program for masters in “Electric Vehicles” has been formed. We work very closely with the “KAMAZ” representative office here in Moscow (Skolkovo).
Read the full interview on the website.
