In recent decades, biotechnology has often been called one of the leading sectors driving societal development, and biotech terminology has recently become commonplace virtually worldwide. After all, who hasn’t heard of PCR tests or various types of viruses, some of which have crown-like structures?
The rapid development of vaccines and medications that saved humanity from the coronavirus pandemic served as a striking demonstration of the capabilities of highly skilled biotechnologists. Thanks to the application of fundamental and applied knowledge accumulated by biotechnologists and bioengineers, developments that previously took years to achieve have become possible.
It is precisely this kind of fundamental and practical knowledge that students receive at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute’s Faculty of Biotechnology and Biotechnics, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year.
In fact, biotechnology at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute emerged as early as the early 1990s, when Lyubov Shynkarenko (who later became the first dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Biotechnics) established the Department of Biotechnology. Thus, the first class of biotechnologists graduated in 1998. During the 1990s and early 2000s, Kyiv Polytechnic University was the driving force behind establishing biotechnology as a distinct field of study for training specialists in this field in Ukraine. A working group of the Ministry of Education and Science, composed primarily of faculty members from the newly established faculty and led by Professor Volodymyr Gorchakov, developed the components (OKH, OPP) of the first national Higher Education Sectoral Standard for the “Biotechnology” field of study. The components of the Standard were submitted for review by NTUU “KPI,” approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, and put into effect in 2006. For nearly a decade, these components were used by all higher education institutions in Ukraine that trained biotechnologists.
Over the next 15 years, the faculty was headed by Dr. Oleksii Dugan, under whose leadership important measures were implemented and decisions were made that led to the faculty’s development and achievements in various areas of activity. Since its founding, the Faculty of Biotechnology and Biotechnics has remained virtually the only one in the country specializing exclusively in training biotechnologists, while covering all of its major contemporary fields.
These areas are reflected in the names of the faculty’s three current departments: Industrial Biotechnology and Biopharmacy (IBB), Bioenergy, Bioinformatics, and Ecobiotechnology (BBE), and Biotechnology and Engineering (BE).
For more than a decade, Kyiv Polytechnic has remained the flagship of biotechnology education among nearly 30 institutions in the country. Approximately 20% of all biotechnology students in Ukraine study here, with the vast majority of them enrolled on a state-funded basis. The same was true for the 2025 admissions cycle, when one in five applicants to the G21 specialty “Biotechnology and Bioengineering” chose our faculty and university to pursue a career as a biotechnologist. We value our students’ choice and do everything possible to provide a quality education and train biotechnology specialists who are so eagerly awaited by industry, science, and other sectors. On the other hand, we view this choice as the result of our many years of professional and dedicated work in training highly qualified specialists, many of whom have long been successful leaders, confirming the high level of biotechnology education at Kyiv Polytechnic.
The faculty takes pride in the professional and scientific achievements of our graduates, as there are already dozens of candidates of sciences and quite a few doctors of sciences among them, as well as leading experts and scientists, and heads of departments at industry enterprises—such as Asino Ukraine LLC, FF Darnitsa PJSC, Farmak JSC, Arterium, Diaprof-Med Scientific and Production Complex PJSC, and many others. Our graduates make up a significant portion of the faculty’s teaching staff, head departments (Valentyna Polishchuk, Ph.D.), and serve as associate deans (Vita Linovitska, Ph.D., and Serhiy Kostyk, Ph.D.).
Our graduates’ success stems from the knowledge and skills they acquired during their studies, as well as from the various opportunities that allow them to further develop these skills. Students and faculty members actively engage in innovative activities and the implementation of their own ideas in development projects. They have repeatedly reached the finals and won at the annual “Sikorsky Challenge” and “Global Greenchem Hackathon” innovation project festivals—including in 2025. The scientific and academic achievements of many students and faculty members are recognized with awards and scholarships from the President of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers, the university rector, and others.
Scientific work at the faculty is interdisciplinary and covers three key areas: industrial microbial biotechnology, engineering and technical support, and eco-biotechnology. Research focuses on developing technologies for producing biopreparations (enzymes, probiotics, antibiotics, etc.), engineering solutions for pharmaceutical production equipment, computer modeling of bioprocesses, and comprehensive biotechnological solutions for the agricultural sector. A significant portion of the research is dedicated to bioenergy (biofuel production) and environmental biotechnologies, including wastewater treatment and genetic risk analysis. Young researchers can present their findings at traditional faculty-level international scientific and practical conferences such as “Biotechnology of the 21st Century” and “Clean Water: Fundamental, Applied, and Industrial Aspects.”
Students and faculty have the opportunity to complete internships at industry enterprises and in research laboratories, including abroad as part of international academic mobility programs and cooperation agreements. For example, in 2019, students and faculty from the Department of Biotechnology and Environmental Engineering completed internships at Huaiyin Normal University (People’s Republic of China), and Dina Koltysheva, an assistant at the Department of BBE, completed an internship in Germany in 2025 as part of the develoPPP project “Ukraine Energy Autark” – EPW 4884.
International cooperation at the faculty is developing within the framework of cooperation agreements and joint projects with a number of institutes and universities in Poland, France, and the Czech Republic (Department of BI), China, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Germany (Department of BBE), and China, Kazakhstan, and India (Department of PBBF). This cooperation is closely linked to the research areas in which several research groups of the faculty and two research schools operate: "Energy Conversion – Bioenergy – Ecobiotechnology“ (headed by Prof. Yevhen Kuzminsky of the Department of BBE) and ”Applied Aspects of Ultrasonic Technologies in Biotechnological Production" (headed by Prof. Viktoria Melnyk, Head of the Department of BI).
Student life at the Faculty of Biotechnology and Biotechnics is rich and diverse. Students combine their studies and research with active participation in the university’s creative, athletic, and social events, and often gain practical experience by starting to work in their field.
Traditional events play a significant role—Freshman Day, the graduation ceremony, charity events, and open house days, all of which involve student leaders.
The celebration of the FBT’s 25th anniversary brought together faculty and students, distinguished guests and alumni from various graduating classes, as well as domestic and international partners. The faculty was congratulated by university leadership, colleagues from the academic community, educators, alumni, and military personnel, while video greetings were sent by scholars from Poland and the United States. On the occasion of the celebrations, a group of students and faculty members were awarded certificates of recognition, while partners—Asino Ukraine LLC, Yuria-Pharm, and the Ukrainian Technology Company—spoke about the history and prospects of cooperation with the faculty. A charity raffle was also held to support the 4th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine “Rubizh”—in memory of former FBT student, National Guard Lieutenant Oleksandr Chukhn, Hero of Ukraine (posthumously).
Today, the Faculty of Biotechnology (FBT) is also the Faculty of Biotechnology Talents—a place where science becomes technology and works toward the country’s bioenergy and environmental security, while also developing domestic biopharmaceuticals, bioengineering, and biotechnology. The faculty is growing, advancing science, and training specialists who are shaping Ukraine’s modern biotechnology sector.
📜A quarter of a century ago, KPI initiated the separation of biotechnology as a field of training for domestic specialists and was one of the first in Ukraine to begin teaching students in all major biotechnology specializations. Today, the FBT is a place where science becomes technology and works for bioenergy and environmental safety, developing domestic biopharmacy and bioengineering in our country.The celebration of the 25th anniversary of the FBT brought together:
🔹honored guests: academicians of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, fellow educators, graduates, military personnel, domestic and international partners;
🔹employees, students, and teachers who were awarded certificates of merit
🔹stories about the experience and prospects of cooperation with the faculty from FBT partners: Asino Ukraine LLC, YURIA-FARM, UTC;
🔹Charity lottery to support the 4th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine “Rubizh” — in memory of former FBT student, Lieutenant of the National Guard of Ukraine Oleksandr Chukhn, Hero of Ukraine (posthumously).💚25 years is just the beginning. The FBT KPI is growing, developing science, and training specialists who are shaping the modern biotechnology sector in Ukraine.