Dear conference delegates, dear guests! For more than ten years, the Ukrainian people have been repelling the Russian aggressors at great cost. Teachers, researchers, and students of the University stood up to defend their homeland in times of great hardship. The war claimed the lives of 82 Kyiv Polytechnicians, 5 of whom were posthumously awarded the title of "Hero of Ukraine". They have forever gone down in the history of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. Eternal memory to them!
Last year our university celebrated the 125th anniversary of its foundation. We summarized the previous progress of KPI, thanked people for their hard work and determined the prospects for the future.
The university continued to implement the Development Strategy until 2025 approved by the staff, according to which it fully carried out its statutory activities.
During the war, KPI began to play an important role in maintaining the country's defense capability. By implementing five defense programs and developing new technologies for military use, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute has actually become a key center in the country's defense and security in the higher education system.
The next important area of development of the university was the digital transformation of its educational, research and management activities. In recent years, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute has formed an integrated information ecosystem that ensures the solution of these problems and is constantly evolving.
Dear colleagues! Four years of pandemic and war have significantly affected the quality of education in Ukraine, especially school education. This has exacerbated the problem of quality replenishment of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and forced us to significantly strengthen career guidance and advertising activities.
In 2023, the number of students enrolled in the first year of bachelor's degree amounted to 5278 people, in master's degree - 2523 people, in PhD programs - 331 people. Thus, the generalized results of admission to Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute in 2023 did not decrease compared to the pre-war state, which indicates that the high authority and popularity of our university is maintained.
Traditionally, a comprehensive monitoring of the quality of residual knowledge of freshmen and annual rectorial control of the residual knowledge of senior students was conducted. In order to ensure quality fundamental training, the Center for Innovative Monitoring of Education Quality conducted adaptation courses that allowed students to eliminate deficiencies in knowledge of fundamental disciplines.
During 2023, we constantly increased the number of educational components in which certain types of classes were held in a face-to-face format. In total, the number of students receiving full-time education tripled compared to last year and reached 10 thousand.
Work continued to develop individual educational trajectories for students. In particular, the catalogs of general university and professional elective courses were expanded, and opportunities were provided for crediting the results of non-formal and informal education. At the same time, the dynamics of student expulsions at 5% of the total contingent demonstrates that the university has not lowered the requirements for the quality of training.
Dear colleagues! An important role in our work is played by the system of internal quality assurance of education, which includes a transparent competitive selection of academic staff, a reporting and rating system, internal and external accreditation of educational programs, and their post-accreditation monitoring.
The university's personnel policy has traditionally been aimed at maintaining high professionalism, combining the experience of qualified teachers and scientists with energetic young people, and observing gender equality. At the same time, the rejuvenation of the teaching staff continued by involving master's and postgraduate graduates in teaching activities. In 2023, 83 such persons were hired as research faculty members. Currently, the average age of research and teaching staff is 50.2 years.
At the same time, one of the prerequisites for professional growth and improvement of teaching skills of the teaching staff is advanced training. In 2023, 550 students were trained at the Institute of Postgraduate Education, and 171 teachers had foreign internships.
In the context of limited state funding, the university actively cooperated with external partners to update the educational and laboratory facilities. Thus, a modern technological laboratory was equipped at the FEL in cooperation with the NGO Association Noosphere. Siemens created a training and research laboratory in the field of energy process automation at FEA. Huawei-Ukraine provided equipment for the creation of laboratories in the field of modern communication systems at FEA and RTF and in the KPI shelters.
The past year was very busy in terms of the number of accreditation procedures of the NAQA. 113 educational programs were accredited. In total, 208 educational programs have been accredited over the past three years, 11 of which have been recognized as "exemplary". And by the end of 2024, the number of accredited educational programs is planned to increase to 245. At the same time, in 2023, international agencies conducted the European accreditation of 5 educational programs.
Dear colleagues! The educational work with students was very active and multifaceted. We would like to pay special tribute to those students who demonstrate true patriotism, believe in Ukraine and stand up for it. Today, these students, under the guidance of university scientists, are producing electronic warfare systems, anti-drone guns, drone jettisoners and other types of military equipment.
Special attention should be paid to the national and patriotic education of students. In particular, in 2023, 280 Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute students were trained under the National Resistance Program and received the relevant certificates.
In 2023, the Student Consolidation Center, which hosted charity events and numerous interest groups and clubs, reached more than 800 students with its activities. The KPI Center for Culture and Arts held more than 80 charity concerts, performances, exhibitions and other events.
One of the motivational components for students is a scholarship. In particular, in the reporting year, the number of scholarship holders who received academic scholarships amounted to 5.8 thousand (including 1.4 thousand for special academic achievements). In addition, 42 personalized academic scholarships, 54 scholarships from enterprises and 1570 social scholarships were awarded.
Dear conference delegates! The development of science and innovation remained one of the main priorities of our university. In general, in the reporting year, the university carried out 29 research projects, 6 fundamental, 20 applied, 3 scientific and technical developments, 7 research projects of young scientists. Most of them were aimed at improving the defense capability of the state. Research activities were financed from the general fund of the Budget of Ukraine and at the expense of domestic and foreign customers. In 2023, the amount of funding for Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute science reached UAH 26.7 million from the general fund, UAH 69.4 million from the special fund, which is 30% more than in 2022. The leaders in terms of scientific research were the Institute of IMZ, the Institute of FTI, the Institute of IEE, and the KhTF.
There was a significant increase in funding for grants from the National Research Foundation of Ukraine and international cooperation projects. In 2023, this funding amounted to UAH 40.5 million, which is 26.3 million more than in the previous year.
In the face of a reduction in national funding for science, the participation of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute scientists in international projects has been steadily increasing. In 2023, 8 projects of the European Commission Programs, 3 projects under the NATO Science for Peace and Security Program, and 5 bilateral projects were implemented. The implementation of projects funded by EU and NATO external assistance totaling UAH 9.1 million has begun.
The Institute of Advanced Defense Technologies was active. It ensured the implementation of the KPI space program, humanitarian demining programs, UAV development, and electronic warfare. A significant result of the university's space program was the successful launch of the third Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute research satellite PolyITAN-NR-30 on January 3, 2023. The work on new satellites - PolyITAN-12U and PolyITAN-3-PUT - continues.
Borys Paton State Polytechnic Museum continued its work. Last year it was visited by more than 28 thousand people, about 400 excursions and lectures on the history of KPI were held. Nine new thematic exhibitions were created, and the exposition was replenished with 706 items of the main and auxiliary funds.
An important activity of the university was holding 115 scientific conferences, 90 of which were international. An event of national importance was the twelfth Festival of Innovative Projects "Sikorsky Challenge 2023" held in October 2023, which was attended by 862 participants from 18 countries. 70% of the finalists and 50% of the winners of the Festival were representatives of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
Last year, the training of highly qualified scientific personnel had a positive trend. 331 people entered the postgraduate program, 59 dissertations of Doctors of Philosophy, Doctors and Candidates of Sciences were defended.
Traditionally, the high achievements of our scientists were recognized with seven awards from the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for special achievements in the development and implementation of innovative technologies, and three awards from the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for young scientists. Nine young scientists became scholarship holders of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
In 2023, scientific equipment was updated, with over UAH 4.1 million spent on it. In particular, a new ground station was installed at the university satellite control center.
An important task of the university was the publication policy. Among the 27 scientific journals of KPI, 7 were included in category "A" and 20 in category "B". 4 journals are indexed in the Scopus database and 3 in the Web of Science.
H.I. Denysenko Scientific and Technical Library is now a major educational center, a leader of the policy of open science and academic integrity in Ukraine. On a regular basis, in a comfortable and safe environment of the library, training, research, cultural and educational events of university and national scale are held.
Dear conference delegates! In 2023, the university made significant efforts to develop international relations. Granting Ukraine the status of an EU candidate changed the content and forms of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute's activities in the international arena, which allowed to increase the number of international events by 40%, and triple the number of conferences, seminars, and summer schools.
In 2023, the number of active agreements and participants in academic mobility programs increased. The total amount of grants in this area of work increased by 36% and reached UAH 32 million. In particular, 71 projects were implemented under the ERASMUS+ mobility program with universities in 25 European countries.
Currently, European projects are being implemented by scientists from 13 departments, and Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute's share in the winning projects has increased by 1.5 times. In total, revenues from international project and grant activities in 2023 amounted to UAH 102 million, which is almost 30 times higher than in 2022.
The university's work in 6 Alliances and 8 Associations of European Universities continued actively. Thanks to the UK Government's "Connectivity Initiative", Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute worked closely with the universities of Glasgow, Kingston and Sheffield. The decision of the University of Sheffield to transfer powerful equipment for the Center for Supercomputing to KPI was important.
Dear conference delegates! Economic activity in this difficult year was primarily aimed at ensuring the life of the university and the maintenance and development of its property complex. It includes 32 academic buildings, 21 dormitories, the Center for Culture and Arts, the Scientific and Technical Library, outbuildings, 6 residential buildings and 4 recreation centers.
Last year, the university equipped and certified 17 shelters in academic buildings and 14 in campus dormitories. Today, the number of certified places in KPI shelters is 10200, which is 35% more compared to 2022. Among them, it is worth highlighting the "smart shelter" for 500 seats of the Scientific and Technical Library. It is equipped with modern technical facilities and allows for educational process, dissertation defense, organization of meetings, seminars, conferences, etc.
The plan for the arrangement of shelters for 2024 envisages the creation of an additional 2,500 seats and an increase in their total number to 1,2700 by the end of the year. At the same time, the necessary regulatory support for the civil protection system was developed and the people responsible for this work were trained.
To avoid situations where the activities of university departments could be suspended due to possible blackouts, 10 indestructibility points were equipped on campus and 11 in academic buildings, and power generators with a total capacity of 300 kilowatts were prepared.
The Security Department ensured public order, round-the-clock access to shelters during air raid alerts, access to academic buildings, and joint patrols of the university with police officers. We installed 23 new video surveillance cameras. There are now 215 in total. We plan to install another 50 cameras by the end of 2024.
One of the important tools to help our soldiers at the front was the functioning of the Kyiv Polytechnic Charitable Foundation for Support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. During 2023, this fund financed the purchase of UAVs, electronic warfare equipment, and other types of weapons totaling more than UAH 4 million.
On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, the facades of the 1st, 4th and 35th academic buildings were renovated, the Big Physical and Big Chemical Auditoriums, classrooms in 15 academic buildings, 146 living rooms and common areas in 14 dormitories were overhauled and the road surface on Parkova Alley was asphalted.
The landscaping of the "Park of the Unconquered" along Borshchahivska Street was completed, with more than 650 new trees planted. More than 300 diseased trees were replaced in the KPI park along Beresteysky Avenue. Two new architectural and artistic compositions were installed on the campus: "Youth", dedicated to student youth, and "The First Conquerors of the Sky", dedicated to KPI aviation pioneers.
Consumption and saving of energy remains one of the key problems of the university. Last year, utility costs cost 6.5% of the KPI budget. Given the increase in energy tariffs, a remote energy monitoring system was introduced, which allowed online monitoring and recording of energy consumption by university facilities. We installed 20 water meters with the possibility of remote reading. Old windows were replaced with energy-efficient ones in the 1st, 4th, 18th, 28th and 35th academic buildings and 4th and 20th dormitories.
Dear conference delegates! The stability of the university's financial and economic activity during the war was ensured by effective financial management, constant monitoring of the budget execution, timely payment of all types of payments: salaries, scholarships, financial assistance, payment of utilities, taxes and fees to budgets of all levels.
In particular, in 2023, the university paid: UAH 37.2 million of assistance to employees for health improvement; UAH 17.7 million of quarterly bonuses; UAH 8 million of salaries to employees who are on military service; UAH 5 million to the 125th anniversary of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute; UAH 700.0 thousand of bonuses for publications in journals indexed in international scientometric databases; UAH 1.6 million of annual financial assistance to pedagogical staff; UAH 0.3 million of financial assistance upon application.
Dear colleagues! New realities have forced us to add to the university development strategy the components of increasing the state's defense capability and the basic principles of national resistance.
Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute has significantly expanded the training of personnel for defense agencies and the Armed Forces. Thus, 169 masters for the defense industry were trained under various programs of management in the field of defense industry. 109 employees of the Armed Forces were retrained. The National Resistance Forces program trained 20 employees and 280 students.
Dear conference delegates! Today, the university is not only doing everything possible for the Victory, but also developing a strategy for the innovative transformation of the country. Over the past two years of war, Ukraine's economy has undergone dramatic changes. The heavy, energy, and mining industries have suffered significant damage. Most large strategic enterprises in the field of transport aircraft, space rocketry, energy, chemical engineering, and other traditional areas of Ukrainian industry, which were mainly trained at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, have ceased to operate.
At the same time, new areas began to develop rapidly: robotics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, electronic warfare, drone production, humanitarian demining, prosthetics and rehabilitation, blockchain technologies, and others. The public demand for innovation in the defense sector has grown significantly.
By inertia, we are still training specialists according to the previous structure of specialties and previous volumes. But after the introduction of a grant-based system of financing higher education, we will inevitably face a change in these proportions and a significant change in the nature of the university's work.
The essence of the grants will be that the state will give money to a citizen, and the latter will choose a university and bring it there. The state will place orders only for the most popular engineering specialties for defense and critical infrastructure development. In other words, the vector of state support will actually change.
These and other circumstances will force KPI to overcome a difficult stage of restructuring, which will fall on the shoulders of the new KPI management team at all levels and the new rector. The transformation strategy of KPI under such conditions will require a comprehensive approach and strategic management to adapt to new requirements and remain among the leaders in education, research and innovation in Ukraine.
It will be necessary to conduct an in-depth analysis of the needs of the new labor market and its trends in technology. Priority attention will need to be given to the needs of the national security and defense sector and to identify groups of technologies for which the demand is growing steadily. To meet these demands, it will be necessary to organize constant updating of educational programs, teaching methods, and the introduction of new specializations and courses that meet the requirements of the new economy.
In close connection with the reform of the educational component, the innovative environment of the KPI "Sikorsky Challenge" should be developed, aimed at research, innovation and commercialization of scientific developments of students, teachers, and scientists. These transformations should be carried out in close cooperation with industrial partners and high-tech businesses.
Dear colleagues! Turning to the report on the implementation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, I would like to note that all its clauses have been fully implemented.
In accordance with the first point, the costs of social benefits, labor protection, and medical examinations were provided for in the university's budget and financed in a timely manner. Transparency of financial and economic activities was ensured, information on staffing and budget execution report was posted on official resources.
The second section, which concerns the conclusion and termination of labor contracts, remuneration, creation of favorable working conditions and social protection during the legal regime of martial law, has been fully implemented.
The section on occupational safety and health has been fully implemented. The Labor Protection Department systematically conducted internal inspections of the University's departments. Scheduled and unscheduled certification of workplaces was carried out to identify harmful production factors and establish compensation for employees for harmful working conditions.
The fourth section of the agreement, Social Insurance, Medical Care, Organization of Sanatorium Treatment and Recreation, was also fully implemented. Throughout the year, we worked to preserve the infrastructure at the recreation centers located in the territory controlled by Ukraine. The Center for Physical Education and Sports intensified its work. Members of the KPI team had the opportunity to receive preferential and free services. The work of 13 sports and recreation sections and 10 national teams in various sports was ensured.
The fifth section, devoted to the working and living conditions of women and assistance in raising children, was fully implemented. Throughout the year, a "flexible" working time regime was in place for women with children of preschool and primary school age. Measures were taken to improve the health of children of university employees.
The paragraphs of the sixth section on housing and living conditions, catering and cultural needs of employees were fully implemented. For employees who lost their homes as a result of the hostilities, the university provided accommodation in dormitories. The canteens in the buildings No. 1, 24, 27, 31 were opened and functioning.
The seventh section of the agreement was fully implemented, which refers to the provision of separate premises, means of communication, payment of utility costs, and access to all official materials for the trade union. The elected trade union officers were given time to perform their trade union duties within the framework of their main job with full pay. Representatives of the trade union committee worked in councils, commissions, and working groups in the main areas of KPI's work.
The eighth section, dedicated to the distribution of powers between the administration, trade unions and the labor collective, was fully implemented. The heads of all departments reported to their teams and extended collective bargaining agreements for the next year. Rector reported to the Supervisory Board of KPI.
Dear conference delegates! Our university has always played a leading role in the implementation of large-scale plans and tasks. The key to this is the glorious history of KPI, the outstanding traditions of our predecessors, the inspired work of teachers, scientists, staff, and talented youth. This is what will ensure a worthy and unstoppable progress of Kyiv Polytechnic in the future. Good luck to us! Thank you for your attention!