Editorial

Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute is one of the largest educational research-type institutions in Europe and the world. For three years in a row, it has been ranked first in the Top 200 Universities of Ukraine, and its international recognition is confirmed by the QS World University Ranking Webometrics. It was founded in 1898 at the initiative of the country’s scientific and technical community and entrepreneurs as a response to the needs of industry of the south-west of the country, which was progressing at the end of the 19th century. Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute had 4 departments: Mechanical, Agricultural, Engineering and Chemical.

The university worked and developed based on the best traditions of renowned European schools: The Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, the Vienna University of Technology, the Magdeburg University of Technology. This system of higher technical education was based on a combination of in-depth scientific and fundamental training (in physics, mathematics, chemistry and other subjects) with general engineering training and the acquisition of professional and practical skills in industry and scientific institutions.

It now has around 25000 undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students, including international students from near and far abroad. Training is provided for bachelors, masters, candidates and Dr. habil. There are over 500 professors and over 1300 associate professors in Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. The university has 16 faculties, 11 educational and scientific institutes and several research institutes and scientific centers.

The Publishing and Printing Institute is one of the leading institutes of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute which is aimed at training of highly qualified specialists for all areas of the publishing and printing industry. The nice traditions of upbringing the future Ukrainian publishers and printers, the great experience of the teaching staff of PPI give reason to hope for new achievements of the Institute, new horizons that will open up to it in the next decade, 2020-2030.

The Department of Publishing and Editing, which was established in 1959, is one of the most successful and promising in the Publishing and Printing Institute. The main aim of the department is to train highly qualified professionals in the technology of editing and advertising books, magazines, brochures and other printed materials; to help them acquire a body of knowledge related to the creation and distribution of a competitive publishing product suitable for today’s market; to familiarize future professionals with the topical, practical, theoretical and applied scientific foundations of advertising and PR, to teach how to create competitive print and electronic publishing products, how to organize the editorial, publishing and advertising process in book, newspaper and magazine editorial offices and in electronic media, as well as to teach how to promote publishing products on the market, bring them to the reader, consumer, and create a high image policy for editorial, publishing and other economic structures.

In the next decade 2020-2030, the Department of Publishing and Editing plans to work actively to improve the educational process. In particular, the base of internships is expected to expand, as employers pay more and more attention to practical skills, taking students to the first job. In this regard, project-oriented training is planned throughout the period of study, which will be included in the course projects, as well as the completion of a diploma project aimed at improving and consolidating specific skills, and implementing specific developments in publishing and advertising.

Challenges of distance learning also place certain requirements on teachers of the Department of Publishing and Editing, in particular, further development of distance courses, electronic portfolio of methodological support for each discipline is implemented and planned. For more convenient and trusting communication with students in terms of student-centric model of education, teachers of the department are increasingly moving into a mode of communication through social networks: Telegrаm, Instagram, Facebook.

We also plan to further expand international cooperation in 2020-2030 through international internships, conferences, active involvement of students and graduate students in international projects, which will help expand the horizons and worldview of both students and teachers, to attract best foreign experience.

The University is one of the initiators and direct participants of higher education reform and implementation of the ideas and principles of the Bologna Process in higher education system of Ukraine. The main purpose of this process is to consolidate the efforts of the scientific and educational community and European governments to significantly improve the competitiveness of the European system of science and higher education in the global context.

Rector of National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” M.Z. Zgurovsky rightly believes that the participation of the Ukrainian higher education system in the Bologna transformations should be aimed only at its development and acquisition of new qualitative features, and not at the loss of the best traditions and lowering national standards of its quality. The commitment to the Bologna Process should not lead to an excessive restructuring of the domestic education system. Our transformations must be such as to achieve the desired goal of giving young people the opportunity, in cooperation with Europe, to develop Ukraine and make us all citizens of a beautiful European continent (Zgurovsky, 2021).

Being concerned about Ukraine's entry into a single European educational space, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute became the center of the State Information Network of Higher Educational Institutions and institutes of URAN National Academy of Sciences, which is the basis for accession to the GEANT European Educational Network, initiator of the creation of the “Supercomputing and Data Centre” in Ukraine, which envisages the development of infrastructure for the comprehensive informatization of education and science, the development of elements of artificial intelligence and interactive technologies. 

The University in general and the Publishing and Printing Institute in particular cooperate successfully with 165 higher education institutions from around the world, international organizations (EC, CU, UNDP, UNESCO, UNIDO, WIPO, NATO, EDNES, ICSU, CODATA) and well-known companies (MOTOROLA, SIEMENS, FESTO, SAMSUNG, INTEL and others), are involved in international education and research projects and programs. This provides both students and academic staff with the opportunity to exchange experiences with their international colleagues and to participate in global trends in science and education.
For many years, PPI has valid agreements on joint research and teaching activities with six foreign universities: Leipzig Technical University HTWK (Germany), Warsaw University of Advertising (Poland), Warsaw University of Technology “Warsaw Polytechnic” (Poland), Berg University of Wuppertal (Germany), with the Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication (China), the Institute of Packaging at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (France) and with the Media University of Stuttgart (Germany) and the Technical University of Lodz “Lodz Polytechnic” (Poland).

The concluded agreements envisage exchange of work experience, information on the methodology of training highly qualified specialists, mutual invitation of teachers and researchers to conferences, seminars, scientific symposia, cooperation of scientific journals published by partner universities, publication of articles of scientists in publications of partner universities, training students at preparatory department and faculties, training of scientific personnel through postgraduate, doctoral courses through inter-state agreements and on a contractual basis. The students also take part in the Erasmus Mundus student mobility program every year. For the coming decade 2020-2030, the active development of international cooperation, conclusion of contracts, establishment of mutually beneficial relations in terms of exchange of experience in the field of education and research activities are planned.

However, today's realities present challenges of immense complexity and pose new tasks to the teaching staff, which have been successfully overcome and resolved. Thus, the academic year 2020-2021 was full of challenges when, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the educational process had to be restructured and shifted to a distance learning mode. Both the administration and teachers of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute have successfully coped with this task: A special Sikorsky platform was created for communication, posting of training materials and organization of the training process; the operation of the Campus, where students’ progress records are kept and all necessary learning materials are posted, has been improved.

Overcoming the challenges of modernity was made possible by adhering to the basic principles of the University’s philosophy - the student-centricity approach and orientation towards the best European traditions offered by the Bologna system, and especially due to the high professionalism of the teaching staff, capable to respond to the challenges of the times. In the future, the University plans to develop a strategy for entering the European educational space, following the principles of student- centricity, where the educational process is based on the student with his or her needs and demands. Moreover, the glorious, centuries-old traditions dating back to the 19th century will be preserved: publication of scientific collections, holding of student Olympiads, creative competitions, various events for the interest and identification of talented, gifted young people.