On April 1, 2024, a bust of Igor Sikorsky, the man whose name is immortalized in the name of the university, was unveiled in the Academic Council Hall.
Kyiv Polytechnic students do not need to be reminded that the outstanding aircraft designer and inventor, pilot and religious thinker studied at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute in 1907-1911. He initially entered the aircraft industry as the author of the first heavy multi-engine airplanes, but his talent as an engineer was most evident in the development of helicopters, which were produced for many years by the aviation corporation he created in the United States. Therefore, the unveiling of the bust is a continuation of the tradition of honoring the memory of our student and compatriot at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
The ceremony of unveiling the bust took place at the beginning of the meeting of the Academic Council of the University. The Chairman of the Academic Council Mykhailo Ilchenko invited the project initiator, Rector of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Mykhailo Zgurovsky, the author of the bust, sculptor Oleksiy Zigura, and the project's patron, well-known Ukrainian IT businessman, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Octava, and a 1987 KPI graduate Oleksandr Kardakov to solemnly remove the cover from the bust.
In his speech at the ceremony, Mykhailo Zgurovsky noted that the placement of a bust of Igor Sikorsky and a bust of Alfred Nobel in the room where the Academic Council of the University meets is connected with the history of this hall and symbolizes the innovative nature of the activities of both the university and the Academic Council itself. "This hall started its work in 1903. Back then, Dmytro Mendeleev accepted theses of the first KPI graduates here. Even then, it was an innovative platform where the projects of the first KPI engineers were presented... Unfortunately, during the First World War, changes took place here: the hall was first robbed and then destroyed... Subsequently, in different years, this room served different purposes," said the rector. The author of the restoration was the architect Volodymyr Lykhovodov, the artistic design was made by the famous artists Dmytrenko..."
This hall is unique, because it was restored based on photographs and drawings that were used to build it. But, of course, now it is not exactly the same as it was in 1901, when the main building received its first students and teachers. Now it is also decorated with large allegorical frescoes and busts. By the way, the rector also explained in more detail why the memory of Alfred Nobel was immortalized in KPI: "Why was this bust presented to us? Because a section of the Nobel Foundation for Sustainable Development was founded on the basis of KPI. It still operates in Ukraine. The section selects and recommends certain works for awarding this prize. It is not a Nobel Prize, it is a separate section of sustainable development."
Mykhailo Zgurovsky expressed his sincere gratitude to the project's patron, Oleksandr Kardakov, and sculptor Oleksii Zihura, for the wonderful gift they made to the university on the occasion of its 125th anniversary. He also noted that Oleksandr Kardakov, a graduate of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and now an entrepreneur and public figure, makes a huge contribution to the defense capability of our country.
Oleksandr Kardakov also addressed the members of the Academic Council. "When I received a proposal to become a patron of the creation of this bust," he emphasized, "I gladly agreed. I still feel like an engineer, I solve many technical problems. I wish Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute to continue to graduate engineers who could eventually grow into managers."
Finally, Oleksandr Kardakov and Oleksiy Zigura were awarded with the Honorary Awards of the Academic Council of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
KPI student who gave the world a helicopter
A bust of Igor Sikorsky, a revolutionary in aircraft construction, a man who received the world's first helicopter pilot's license, the inventor of more than fifty models of helicopters that rescue, fight and transport even US presidents, was installed in the Hall of the Academic Council of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
This is a memory of the aircraft designer who 111 years ago took his first airplane, the C-5, into the sky and passed his pilot's exam on it.
"Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute was a leading technical educational institution in those days. Therefore, Sikorsky's choice was not accidental. This is where the aircraft designer became interested in aviation. And from this place he began to realize his childhood dream: Leonardo da Vinci's idea of a helicopter - a vertical aircraft," says Serhiy Grachov, Head of the Department of Aviation and Astronautics at the KPI Polytechnic Museum.