In the Republic of Belarus there is an independent branch of mechanical engineering - engine building, and it is currently developing intensively. About 60 enterprises of the Republic are engaged in the production of engines, components and parts for them. The nomenclature and types of produced engines are significantly expanding. The department trains specialists in close cooperation with the Minsk Motor Plant, the Gomel Plant of Starting Engines, and auto and tractor enterprises of the Republic. The Department of Internal Combustion Engines was established in 1961. at the automotive and tractor department of the Belarusian Polytechnic Institute for the training of mechanical engineers in the specialty "Internal combustion engines". The initiator of the creation of the department and its first head was the laureate of the State Prize of the USSR, Honored Worker of Higher Education, Professor Kokin Georgy Mikhailovich, former chief designer of the Yaroslavl and Minsk Automobile Plants. Georgy Mikhailovich took part in the development of the first domestic diesel engine for trucks. The department pays much attention to updating the methods of teaching students and ensuring the practical significance of the work performed by students, strengthening the material base of the department and developing scientific research. The most important scientific achievements of the department are connected with the development of theory and the development of directions for improving the working process and systems of autotractor engines. These works are carried out within the framework of the State scientific programs and by orders of enterprises. During the existence of the department, more than 1700 mechanical engineers have been trained in the specialties "Internal combustion engines" and "Technical operation of aircraft and engines", 2 doctoral and 13 candidate's theses have been defended, 5 of which are foreigners. The teachers of the department do a lot of work on the preparation of educational and methodological documentation in the specialty - more than 700 educational and teaching aids have been published, including 4 textbooks, 6 manuals and 7 methodological complexes.
