Professor Yuriy Bobalo, Rector of Lviv Polytechnic National University, reported on the work of the University in 2016 and spoke about the main tasks for this year. The speech he made at the staff conference was accurately structured. First of all, Rector named 10 most significant accomplishments of the last year and outlined 10 most important tasks for this year.
According to Rector, the most outstanding event last year was celebration of the University bicentenary. Lviv Polytechnic entered top ten oldest universities of Europe and the world. We found out a lot of new historical facts, had an opportunity to meet University alumni, many of whom are successful and famous.
The most significant accomplishments of Lviv Polytechnic include entering (for the first time) Times Higher Education (world universities rating). It is important to point out that indicators for assessing work of the departments and staff have been worked out taking into account indicators which form the basis of this and other international ratings. Rector maintains that every head of the department has to form their own strategy, tasks and steps to realize it.
As far as the enrollment campaign is concerned, last year Lviv Polytechnic received 2555 places for all specialities from the government contract, which is 25% more than in 2015. The government contract has been successfully completed. Last year 245 educational curricula were developed and approved according to the new list of specialities. In 2016, almost 40 educational and scientific projects were carried out, University staff submitted 100 project proposals for international grants, the number of articles published in the journals that are in scientometrical databases doubled. Last year new laboratories within the frameworks of educational and scientific European projects and also with the support of leading foreign companies were created.
Lviv Polytechnic took active part in legislative and expert analytical work. Rector Yuriy Bobalo drew attention to the work of the International Institute of Education, Culture and Diaspora Relations, Institute of Economics and Management and Institute of the Humanities and Social Sciences, which actively co-operate with the Supreme Council of Ukraine, take part in working out legislation, the Law of Ukraine on transborder co-operation.
Continuous improvement of the quality of education remains among the main tasks for this year. The agenda includes forming an integral system of internal provision for the quality of higher education. It is necessary to work out educational scientific programs of professional training according to which enrollment for the Master’s Degree will be carried out. It is important that research should constitute 30% of these programs. This should be real scientific research. Its assessment criteria and methods should also be worked out.
The remaining relevant tasks include active work of the departments to increase the number of programs for double diplomas, and also University students’, lecturers’ and scientists’ participation in academic mobility programs as well as international scientific grants.
Lviv Polytechnic works actively on developing innovation environment. Co-working and startup school is going to be organized on the basis of the academic building in Kolessa str. There are plans to hold contests and competitions of innovation projects and startups within the framework of «Lviv Tech Challenge». A number of steps to informatize University, to further implement distance learning technologies, to form a network of on-line resources are planned to be taken this year. Steps to simplify the procedures which complicate the process of preparing documents and also some forms of reports, to introduce electronic paperwork are also planned to be taken. University organizational structure is to be improved.
The problem of student dormitories has been relevant for Lviv Polytechnic for many years. The speaker said that money to build a new dormitory for 480 people in Vidkryta str. had already been allotted. Plans for 2017 also include a project financed by European Investment Bank: University is among seven higher educational institutions of Ukraine selected to take part in this project. Heating and hot water supply systems are planned to be reconstructed, exterior walls and foundations are to be insulated, new doors and windows are to be fitted. The total cost of the project is almost 11 million euros.
Rector Yuriy Bobalo also drew attention to the staff interest in improving youth policy. It is impossible to realize such large-scale projects as Science Festival, festival «LITTERIS ET ARTIBUS», local rounds of European BEST Engineering Competition, BEST International educational courses, such art events as «Spring of Polytechnic» and «Autumn of Polytechnic» without students’ participation.
Lyubomyr Pylypenko, scientific supervisor of the higher educational institution management laboratory, Volodymyr Hlotov, professor of the Department of Photogrammetry and Geoinformatics, Nazar Podolchak, Head of the Department of Administrative and Financial Management, Leonid Ozirkovskiy, associate professor of the Department of Theoretical Radio Engineering and Radio Measurement, Ihor Oleksiv, Head of the Centre for International Education, Oleksandr Nykolyak, leader of student self-administration, Mykhailo Lobur, Head of the Department of Computer-Aided Design, Volodymyr Haiduk, Head of the University staff trade union, took part in discussing Rector’s speech. While voicing concerns of their units, they all assessed Rector’s work during the given period as satisfactory.
At the end, Yuriy Bobalo answered the questions from the conference delegates. The most pressing question concerned the financial situation in connection with increasing the minimal salary up to 3,200 hryvhyas. There is disturbing information that some higher educational institutions make their employees redundant or make them work part-time. Rector assured those present at the conference that no University employee will be made redundant or made to work part-time. Additional payments and accidental benefits will not be decreased. 1487 employees of the University will receive increased minimal salary. This means that, apart from budget funds, 10 million hryvnyas from the special fund, that is money earned by the University, will be used to cover salary payments. Unfortunately, this will lead to limited financial possibilities of developing University infrastructure. The statute of scholarship accruing is now being developed based on the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and taking into account the position of University Student and PhD Student Board and Union. Earlier Government limited payment of scholarships to 45% of the total number of budget students. It is a controversial issue whether this number will be limited by grade 71 or not. This grade may be different for different institutes depending on the difficulty of studies.
Oleksandr Berezko, chairman of the Council of Young Scientists of Lviv Polytechnic, presented the project of the Provision on the scientific society of students, PhD students and young scientists of Lviv Polytechnic National University, which was approved by the delegates.
Volodymyr Pavlysh, First Vice-Rector of the University, announced Rector’s decree on honouring staff of the departments which made top three in the rating. The Department of Semiconductor Electronics, the Department of Computer-Aided Design and the Department of Software received honourary diplomas. Those who defended their doctoral thesis in 2016 received Lviv Polytechnic breastplates, Rector’s honours. Candidates of sciences received Rector’s gratitude.
Maria Yatseyko, chairperson of the regional organization of educators and scientists union, gave honourary diplomas of the Central committee of the union to the directors of recreation camps for their work in improving health of children and adults. Active members of the union also received honourary diplomas.
